How To Build Your Author Platform On Youtube, ft. Jenna Moreci (Classic Replay EP#575)

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Jenna Moreci is an award-winning romantasy and writing craft author with a YouTube channel of hundreds of thousands of subscribers and tens of millions of views. In this classic replay (originally recorded 2023) episode she explains how she built the channel, and how a writer can do the same without it taking over the writing.

Her channel grew slowly for months. It took off the week she stopped trying to be polished and started being herself. Her advice to anyone starting now is the same: don’t copy another creator, and don’t make your first video about you. Give the audience something useful first. They get interested in you and your books once they’re loyal to the content.

She also covers the practical side. Film on your phone, spend money on a mic before anything else, and edit with free software. Post on the same day every week. Budget about a week a month for YouTube and protect the rest for writing. Treat the whole thing as an experiment, so if it isn’t for you, that isn’t a failure.

In this episode:

From a finance degree to full-time writer and YouTuber
The channel grew when Jenna stopped trying to be polished and started being herself
Who she makes videos for: readers and writers who would like her books
Why “worst” outperforms “best” in a title, and why she caps the rants at one a month
Thumbnails that work: silly faces and the dog
Video length, Shorts, and why the bookish audience likes longer videos
One video a week, same day, same time
Writer first, YouTuber second: when to dial YouTube back
Starting on a budget: phone, a decent mic, iMovie
The pros: free marketing, six or seven revenue streams, an audience that likes you as you are
The cons: scripting, batch filming, editing, and the trolls
Give writing advice and readers will judge your books harder
Release videos: character art, backstories and worldbuilding around launch
Repurposing videos into Shorts, TikToks, Instagram clips and blog posts
Your first videos will be bad, and nobody is watching yet, so that’s fine
The biggest mistake: making your first video about yourself
How to find BookTube and AuthorTube

About Jenna Moreci

Jenna Moreci is an award-winning romantasy and writing craft author and YouTube sensation. Her first installment in The Savior’s Series, The Savior’s Champion, was voted one of the Best Books of All Time by Book Depository. Following the release of her first writing craft book, Shut Up and Write the Book, she has been asked to speak for many literary communities and affiliations about the writing process and romantasy genre, including Robinson College at the University of Cambridge, the University of Groningen, and the London Screenwriters’ Festival.

🔗 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/JennaMoreci 🔗 Website: https://www.jennamoreci.com

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