Authortube: What's It Like? - The Creative Process

AUTHORTUBE: WHAT'S IT LIKE?

I thought I would do a new series, while keeping it under the header of the creative process, but giving you all an idea of what happens in the world of #Authortube. Put simply, this is a community of authors who also do youtube videos. They can be on anything related to the writing process. I do writing advice as well as updates on my progress, and upcoming releases, cover reveals and all of that. But it's a question I've had asked before, basically what is being on authortube like? Hence this piece.

Now I want to be clear that I am one of the very small fishes on Authortube. In that I don't generate a lot of views and despite being on the channel for almost three years, I don't have a ton of subscribers. A lot of that is down to my own mistakes when starting out. To be blunt, I didn't do my research and I should have. I thought I had it all planned with a camera and made my own thumbnails, but they were, to be kind, cringe-worthy and horrible. I have since deleted every video from that first year and so I can only really say that I've got videos going back to the beginning of 2017.

So step one of what's it like, you need to be aware that there is no competition between you and another channel. The best thing you can do to help increase your own visibility is to engage and talk with other authors in the community. Take part in tags, collab with other authortubers, and get to know these people because they're out doing the same thing as you and it's always good to have people in your corner. I said above, I'm still very much a small fish and while that's starting to change, it's because I adopted this message of subbing and watching and commenting on other videos. That's drawn more people to my channel and has made my time there a lot easier.

Before it felt like I was, quite literally, talking to myself. On top of that I have to say that cross-posting to Goodreads, Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram is a great idea as it brings more people to your channel and watching your videos. But when we get down to the meat and bones of this topic, what is authortube like? It's terrifying and amazing all wrapped up in one. I have made some amazing friends and watched and followed some damn talented authors. And I don't see any of them as my competition simply because we're all in this together.

On top of that I've been able to share my covers, my releases, my ups and downs. I don't know if any of you followed me in the 2017 time before the trial drug was approved? That was hard as hell trying to stay optimistic while knowing that my time was on a clock. When it finally started in October 2017, I was over the moon and now a year later I am doing so much better and I have a record of that because of being on authortube.

I know you might be wondering about why that matters to me, or why it counts as authortube. I mean, surely that's just me vlogging about my health issues right? Well, yes and no. While the majority of my videos are writing related, I do have my Life Of Joey videos that contain a short segment on how my health has been over the past month. I do this for a couple of years. One, it's part of me being real, part of being transparent and also part of showing the truth of my life and why I did or didn't get such and such done. Another reason is that I feel like it's a good idea to be visible as a spoonie, even on Authortube. I can't tell you how many other writers and authors I know who actually have chronic illness. While some of them prefer to keep that part of their lives private - which is completely okay - others, like me, don't mind sharing bits and pieces with their audience.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you need to decide just where you draw the line at sharing. And wherever that line is, that's okay. Being on authortube has made me very aware of just how welcoming the writing community is. Not only have I found friends through the other authors, but also through the people watching. I feel like I have carved our a corner for myself and I like that corner. I liked being part of that and I liked and still do like, that I can connect with other people. While yes, it was, and sometimes still is, terrifying to record myself and put myself out there, the benefits, for me, have outweighed that.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to lemme know in the comments and I'll try to answer them!

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