When I started writing fiction in 2020, I found some AuthorTubers (didn't even know that was the name for them) like Jenna Moreci, iWriterly (Meg LaTorre), Abbie Emmons, Bethany Atazadeh. When I saw the reviews for Meg and Jenna's books, I dropped those channels, namely because I felt cheated. It seemed more like they were doing those channels to get fans who would praise their books(I notice Meg stopped all videos a short while after her book came out). I published my first fantasy book last month and am working on the sequel. I'm still looking for channels about writing, and I still like Abbie and Bethany, but I am much more wary now.
It's ok when you're doing a review to stop reading (or listening, or watching, etc) and say in the review "and at this point I quit because I hated it" and then go through all the reasons why.
Oh yes, I relate so much to this feeling. I stopped reading the big AuthorTuber books long ago, I also stopped watching their videos. I disconnected completely, but I see how making reviews of their books gets a ton of views so more and more new UA-camrs do that just to grow their channels. Blah... I just wanna read books that make me happy, and I also love a good prose. This was so relatable. Thank you!
@@GreenerSideOfSam Right?? Life's too short! Nothing wrong with trying to dissect how the big channels grew, but don't let it ruin your own reading life! 💕
I discover more channels because of those reviews, but I am looking for youtubers who are reviewing MORE indie books, not just the big names. Those hidden gems are out there and need to be promoted more. My friend and I started a small group with that specifically in mind. I have moved away from star-ratings and am still trying to find ways to review without seeming negative or overly critical. It's rough, but I'm glad that you have found out what works for you!
It's important to remember there are LOTS of authortubers, and "The Saviors Champion" and "The Cyborg Tinkerer" are not the only two authortube books. I'm currently reading "Blood Like Magic" by authortuber Liselle Sambury and it's really good, the writing is very well done and the story is engaging. Maybe looking at smaller authortubers and you might prefer their books? Just a suggestion. But yeah is good to make the content you want to make rather than feel pressured to make stuff you don't want to.
Here's the thing, art is subjective to a point. It's important for not only the creator but for the creative community as a whole to be honest when art is objectively bad. A series of random lines is not the same as a well constructed and rendered portrait painting. There's a reason there are creative principles associated with every discipline and it's because over the course of a several hundreds of years we've worked out there are certain structures and ideas that work better than others, and it's important that creators are informed when their ideas don't work. Why do this? Because if no-one says when something is bad then standards begin to drop. Any good creative person will listen to this because it show's they are wanting to better their craft. You shouldn't be afraid to be honest because staying silent hurts creators in the long run.
I can't read the books by authortubers with huge channels. I think they rely on their fan base to sell the book, and not the writing itself. From what I can tell, anyway. I am sure that doesn't go for all, as you say, there are hidden gems.
I've read both books. I have also followed each of their authors' AuthorTube channels. I had mixed feelings about both. I liked them-ish. Each would have benefited if the authors had watched a few of their own videos. And followed their own advice. Minimal world building, low immersion, static character archs and overworked plots. I also saw your reviews of each book and you were spot on. Don't give up on your reviews, you do a great job.
Sometimes knowing what not to do does not mean you recognize when you are doing them. Sometimes knowing is a curse. I know nothing about writing and I've started writing an epic fantasy and am not doing created tropes because I never learned about them. My mindset on these things only came from how I interpreted these things that I've learned through reading a plethora of works. I am unable to do school but with that I've also not limited myself because someone told me what I should or should not do not that I'd listen anyway lol I find innovation is not something the system can teach. The system is the system and it works but if you do what is outside the system then just do it to the best of your ability and let it exist. If the system thinks it's good it will get added and people might copy you. One way is never the only way, just the path most traveled.
I saw it because I had watched her channel. I subbed because you gave such detailed criticism. One day when I finish my first book I'd love to send you one to hear what you have to say. Being honest is a great trait that people sometimes forgo because they don't want to Hurt the other person. You never were hurtful to be hurtful. You gave explanations as to what made you feel a specific way and why and you pulled zero punches. Outside of the videos still being a bit quiet on my phone I hope you continue to review books.
Thank you for the kind comment. 😊 I think the biggest thing is that I want to choose the books that I really want to read now to talk about. It has helped me so much more creatively 😊
I resonate with this so much. I'm on a very similar journey right now with my own channel, figuring out where my channel needs to go and how to get away from this same little corner of AuthorTube that just says the same generic things over and over and over... Yes, read what you want to read! I haven't been able to do that in so long because I've been booked up with so many novels for my business, I just haven't had time to read for pleasure. Business is great, but I'd like to be able to read for myself too lol. What are your favorite genres to read? I love fantasy, mystery/ horror/thriller, and romance.
Good luck on your journey! I love romance, horror, suspense, philosophy, but honestly i will read anything if it is interesting, even if its a cookbook! :)
I actually get the cyborg tinkerer popping up as a recommendation review to watch from you on my homepage 😂 Clearly I need to go watch it now. To be fair we all cringe at our earliest videos… even if we’re not any better 😂 Hate reviews can be really entertaining. I’m really curious to watch these now. Numbers don’t really convey much useful information when it comes to whether I want to read a book.
What you're saying makes sense. People in general don't like talking about things they have negative feelings towards and when they do it doesn't tend to make them feel happy.
Great discussion!! I watched some of Meg's videos but wan't interested in reading her book. I do really like Abbie's channel, but haven't read her book either.
Yeah, I imagine not taking trashy recommendations from the public would help improve your state of mind. However, I disagree that a novel can’t be judged objectively. How well the author uses sentence structure, the tone they give off with the words they use, things like that can be critiqued.
As fun as it watching you roast authortube books, I appreciate you taking a stance and being the booktuber you want to be! Reading requires a ton of energy and time so I understand avoiding bad books at all costs 😂
I think we all need to focus on reading what we want. It's very easy on booktube or booktok to get roped into reading what is popular, but how authentic are our reviews at that point? This is something I'm working on this year as well. Great conversation about this.
This was great Sam, and I really resonated with what you said. I completely agree on reading what you want to read, and I applaud your wide-range of interests. It's wonderful!
I read books for the exact same reason. I want to enjoy them and talk about content that I don't usually see. I never had interest in the authortube community though, especially after DNFing The Savior's Champion. I love your honesty too :)
The star rating supports subjective opinions of books rather than balanced reviewing. I pretty much stopped reading them after reading some astonishing reviews of a book I loved, 'Beauty' by Sheri S Tepper. I was struck by how completely the 'reviewers' failed to engage with the themes, didn't understand the points being made and insisted on (mis)interpreting the whole thing through a very narrow and immature viewpoint. Sounds like you might really enjoy 'Beauty' though! As for authortube books... when I first starting watching Jenna Moreci, I was deeply impressed, especiallly on the points she raised about self-puiblishing. But it's pretty clear that 'self-publishing' really isn't any different from traditional 'vanity publishing'. I remember reading a piece by a publisher, who'd worked mid-late 20th century, and he mentioned on how much you could tell about the quality of a manuscript by the way it was presented by the author. Generally, the more beautifully presented, the worse the content. QED The Cyborb Tinkerer and everything by Moreci.
I can totally relate to the evolution of a channel. My channel isn't even a year old, but when I started I was sure I was going to give writing advice but... as an unpublished writer, I really didn't have a lot of "advice" as much as I had "here is how I F'ed up. Maybe you can avoid that crap."
I think the “here’s how I F’ed up” is great To listen to because it takes a humble approach and it actually gives original advice that may resonate with someone in one way or another. 😊
Hi, thank you for the video, just want to ask, could you please advise some useful links/books for someone totally new to writing. I want to start writing some tech related blogs, but honestly when I thought about writing them, it scares me off.
Sometimes good writers offer not so good advice. As the saying goes, Less info dumps, more meat and potatoes, draw one's readers to the story. I got a little confused when Ian read the cyborg tinkerer and Marc Foxx's book even though that book feels like its a collection of micro-fiction.
Try Sarra Cannon's channel called Heart Breathings. Also, Barbara Vance is excellent too. She has a UA-cam channel and many in-depth courses, mainly on character development. I LOVE Sarra's books. The Shadow Demons Saga is fantastic and I'm waiting with bated breath for Book 12, the final book in the series. She also has other great books with witches and magic and even zombies.
I know you don’t like taking suggestions, but there is a book called Lovely War by Julie Berry. It’s historical fiction, Greek mythology, a war story, and a romance. This is the premise: It's 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She's a shy and talented pianist; he's a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's immediate and deep--and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields. Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans. Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love. If this sounds interesting to you, I suggest this for everyone! Julie Berry has an incredible prose and is great at wring characters who feel like real people.
I love this video. You have such a funny attitude and a really smart way of breaking everything down. I'm a writer and follow both of these authortubers; I think they give good advice but it's nice to see them get come constructive criticism in return. You're a great book reviewer, keep it up!
I don't get why people would waste their precious time on such unpleasant experiences. I have ADHD and I can't imagine myself finishing something that I don't enjoy. But I guess that pays. It's fine to review those "bad books" once in a while but making an entire channel dedicated to trashing the authors is no different than spreading hate and building something out of it. I wish people would promote more good books instead of spotlighting the bad ones, like "the hidden gems in the self-publishing industry" as you mentioned.
Yes! I absolutely didn’t want to become one of those channels that bashes books. Not only do I think it would be unethical, but it just takes all of my creativity away.
@@GreenerSideOfSam Please do, IMO at some point it becomes bullying hiding under "constructive criticism." I indeed stopped watching those authortube videos but that's it.
I stopped buying books until after I read a sample because sometimes the writing is so yikes. I read a book that other people were head over heels for and i was just lost the entire time.
It takes time to read reviews. Taking away the star rating system would 1. take more time to find what you really want to know about the book 2. drive traffic to another site that does have a star rating system.
I haven't read their books yet, but I plan to. Well, I was gonna read Jenna's and Shadiversity's (he's a writer too, but doesn't make writing videos often). I never bought the Tinkerer, because it's not my jam. But what I wanna say is, there's plenty of terrible, published books by "real" authors that suck a lot too (Like that Look to Windward by Iain Banks, big, famous sci-fi writer. Terrible, boring book). lol. And just because some are bad, doesn't mean all have to be. Neither does it mean all their advice is bad either. I've learned a ton from them, and frankly, if their books are bad, I still learned from their tips, so it doesn't matter. They're good for beginners, I'd say. And three years ago I was a beginner. :P Now their tips are beginning to go stale, but that's just how it is. I still love their (iWriterly's and others) review videos. That said. Reading something one doesn't enjoy is really hard. No need to do that. :)
I noticed that you called the plot of "The Cyborg Tinkerer" "meh." What do you believe makes an interesting plot? I've been wondering this myself, but I could never figure out the answer.
I think it all just depends, of course there are books that follow a formula, but there are lots of books that don’t that are still fantastic. I think it’s hard to tell until the words are actually put in the page. 😊
Yeah. I avoid reviewing books in general. If it's less than 4 stars, I'm more likely to not rank it at all. I've heard too much about bitter recipients of bad reviews (and follower mobs) giving unhonest retribution reviews.
We need to stop it with the art is subjective, it is mostly not. Good art is the result of talent,hard work, years of practice, and so on. People saying Mistborn is good cause some people like it, it is not; its terrible.
I used to watch videos by Jenna Moreci and Abbie Emmons. After watching so many reviews of the "Savior's Champion/Sister", I stopped watching Jenna Moreci videos.
I feel like a lot of people suggest those particular authortube books, because they are notoriously bad, and people really like watching someone rip apart bad books. And the blood in the water is sweeter when the author made a name for themselves giving writing advice. When I first found booktube, I loved those videos. They were hilarious, but after a while, I just started to find it depressing. Read what you want.
I’m also a UA-cam book reviewer, and I started by reading and reviewing self published books by anyone who would follow me and comment with their books. Didn’t take long to get sick of the self publishing world real quick. Life’s too short to read unpolished, unedited crap.
Yes absolutely, at the end of the day people have to read what they want and not feel the pressure to review. I also feel like it I do it for one person then I have to do it for everyone and that’s a ton of work!
They dont get it edited?! 😱 golly... 😖 I'm planning on self publishing down the line, but I'd never dream of publishing a book without at least 3-4 personal edit, beta reads, then a pro edit 0///0 that's crazy!
@@kreepykittycreations I’m sure they’re edited some, maybe even several times, but Jeeze, the plot holes and rushed writing. It’s too much. I just go to the book store now
Abbie is the only author tuber that i love and respect. she uses psychology and brain science to teach writers and she's actually a very wise person and a great writer sooo. Abbie solosss
I watched your videos and I felt they were fair. I hated TSS - it ruined the character she created and make her sister, who we’re supposed to despise actually very relatable and quite understandable. TSC was not great, but I thought it was perfectly fine. TSS had no redeeming qualities.
Uuhm no, writing a good book has subjective and objective elements. Subjective is wether you like or dislike the subject and or genre. Objective is the technical details. Does the author have these? Does the author know how to structure a story (like the hero's journey) or is the book meandering leading to everywhere and nowhere, confusing the sh* out of everybody. Is there a good balance between description, dialogue, action, etc. Are the paragraphs roughly a size that's appropriate for the chapter and story, does the story make sense, are people actually reacting/having emotions that are realistic given the story's circumstances etc. etc. The problem with these author tubers is that the vast majority were editors at some firm and know maybe some of the technical details, but being a writer is something different entirely. Coming up with an engaging story and being able to structure it properly, taking into account not just your own enthusiasm, but also the reader's experience is something different then going with a red marker through someone else's story.
Unoriginal advice? LOL I understand completely. I may not be a published writer yet, but I've been doing it, practicing it, learning it, for a very long time, and re-packaging common tips is tricky. Philosophy reads? Cool, who's your favourite? "It's all very subjective..." & "...there's really no objective way to say whether a book is good or bad. It's all based on people's opinions." Kinda disagree. There is a reason books will irritate you, or seem less well written, or where the characters don't seem fully fleshed out. People may love those books, but that doesn't mean those books are not horribly written. There are many people who love bad quality who recognize it for what it is, and people who love bad quality because they don't know what separates it from good quality and don't particularly care about that. What I'm basically saying is: there's admitted insanity (enjoying something even though one knows it's poor quality) and then there's blind and deaf obsession (fully committing to loving something in ignorance). I'm not saying those books *are* horribly written, I have not read them, and may never do that, so I cannot verify for myself. But you recognized a flaw, and that flaw is not subjective in its effect, since it actually disturbed you and many people agree on the same point. So, calling it a result of subjective choice is a bit superfluous. There's more to it than that. The latest two generations, in general, (no offense) have no idea how to recognize good quality and what separates it from bad quality. I think it has a lot to do with spectacle and sensationalization. As in, throw in some grandiose situations and purple prose and it seems to dazzle the masses into believing it's good, even though there are a thousand and one plot holes, paper-thin characters, and dead in the eyes storyboards. I'm rambling. Sorry about that, but this is one area of entertainment I feel quite strongly that writers and readers should really put more effort into understanding. The word subjective is thrown around far too often in conversations involving badly written material. "I think I enjoyed them because I wanted to read them." This is another case of misunderstanding the difference between being subjective and enjoying something you *want* to enjoy. You just finished saying that you read two other authortuber's books that you actually fully enjoyed. Surely there have been books you've wanted to enjoy that you didn't. That's been the case with me at least a few times. Pointing out specific flaws in an author's book should not frighten you so much. If your intent is to enlighten as to the reasons, no one can fault you for it. A good writer is not going to take too much offense to constructive criticism. I could understand if it was destructive criticism for the sake of it, but in my experience, the intent behind it is more valuable.
I would love to do something where I analyze the booking and the meaning I found from it, but I don’t want to do a formal review anymore. I would love to help elevate the story and help it sell more. 😊
It 'seems like a lot of these authortube books are by people who are marketing majors but only read crappy YA romances that are written for teenage girls with little taste.
"I wish there weren't star reviews so I wouldn't have to feel like the bad guy." Reviews aren't for the author. They're for the other readers. Basically what you're saying (my interpretation of your words) is that you want to be sneaky with your hatred of a book and at the same time be uninformative to other potential readers your personal thoughts. Because yes, reviews are subjective. That's why it's your review. Not someone else's. This idea is so baffling to me.
I've been writing and publishing short fiction stories since my late teens, over 30 years now. When I embarked on my first novel (about three years ago) I became curious about the BookTube/AuthorTube community. Thusly, I began watching videos posted by writers like Ms. Moreci and Ms. LaTorre, they being among the most prominent. The writing tips and advice on offer in their videos was the same old saws, tired and cliched pointers that one learns on your first day in Creative Writing 101. Now, admittedly, I've been writing fiction longer than either of they have been alive, so there wasn't much of anything new to be learned. Save for this, perhaps: AuthorTube seems to be little more than a marketing platform to build a ready-made audience for one's work. Now, that's not an inherently bad or particularly underhanded promotional technique. Whether Trad or Indie published, advertising and promotion of one's work is, these days, either largely or entirely left in the hands of the author (a bitter truth I'm learning now that my own novel is available for sale). However, I believe it goes without saying that if one is having to divide one's time and energy between building and administering a UA-cam channel, and writing a novel, the novel is unlikely to be of high quality.
When I started writing fiction in 2020, I found some AuthorTubers (didn't even know that was the name for them) like Jenna Moreci, iWriterly (Meg LaTorre), Abbie Emmons, Bethany Atazadeh. When I saw the reviews for Meg and Jenna's books, I dropped those channels, namely because I felt cheated. It seemed more like they were doing those channels to get fans who would praise their books(I notice Meg stopped all videos a short while after her book came out).
I published my first fantasy book last month and am working on the sequel. I'm still looking for channels about writing, and I still like Abbie and Bethany, but I am much more wary now.
Congratulations on publishing!!! What's the book called??
@@bitchboy834 First book is "Into the Undercastle" by Alexander Dawnrider. The sequel, "The Monster's Army" comes out in August.
YESSS ABBIE IS AN AMAZING WRITER AND UA-camR
It's ok when you're doing a review to stop reading (or listening, or watching, etc) and say in the review "and at this point I quit because I hated it" and then go through all the reasons why.
That would’ve been a good thing to do in my review maybe, especially if I was doing read a long. Thanks for the comment! 😊
Oh yes, I relate so much to this feeling. I stopped reading the big AuthorTuber books long ago, I also stopped watching their videos. I disconnected completely, but I see how making reviews of their books gets a ton of views so more and more new UA-camrs do that just to grow their channels.
Blah...
I just wanna read books that make me happy, and I also love a good prose. This was so relatable. Thank you!
Thank you for this fantastic comment! Yes! Me too, I don’t watch any of that stuff anymore. It just not for me and I am so much happier now. 😊
@@GreenerSideOfSam Right?? Life's too short! Nothing wrong with trying to dissect how the big channels grew, but don't let it ruin your own reading life! 💕
I discover more channels because of those reviews, but I am looking for youtubers who are reviewing MORE indie books, not just the big names. Those hidden gems are out there and need to be promoted more. My friend and I started a small group with that specifically in mind. I have moved away from star-ratings and am still trying to find ways to review without seeming negative or overly critical. It's rough, but I'm glad that you have found out what works for you!
It's important to remember there are LOTS of authortubers, and "The Saviors Champion" and "The Cyborg Tinkerer" are not the only two authortube books. I'm currently reading "Blood Like Magic" by authortuber Liselle Sambury and it's really good, the writing is very well done and the story is engaging. Maybe looking at smaller authortubers and you might prefer their books? Just a suggestion. But yeah is good to make the content you want to make rather than feel pressured to make stuff you don't want to.
Thank you for this suggestion, I just followed her now!
@@HowlBunny no problem!
Here's the thing, art is subjective to a point. It's important for not only the creator but for the creative community as a whole to be honest when art is objectively bad. A series of random lines is not the same as a well constructed and rendered portrait painting. There's a reason there are creative principles associated with every discipline and it's because over the course of a several hundreds of years we've worked out there are certain structures and ideas that work better than others, and it's important that creators are informed when their ideas don't work. Why do this? Because if no-one says when something is bad then standards begin to drop. Any good creative person will listen to this because it show's they are wanting to better their craft. You shouldn't be afraid to be honest because staying silent hurts creators in the long run.
I can't read the books by authortubers with huge channels. I think they rely on their fan base to sell the book, and not the writing itself. From what I can tell, anyway. I am sure that doesn't go for all, as you say, there are hidden gems.
I agree! I think fan base is definitely a factor. There are lots of hidden gems! 😊
I've read both books. I have also followed each of their authors' AuthorTube channels. I had mixed feelings about both. I liked them-ish. Each would have benefited if the authors had watched a few of their own videos. And followed their own advice. Minimal world building, low immersion, static character archs and overworked plots.
I also saw your reviews of each book and you were spot on. Don't give up on your reviews, you do a great job.
Thank you! You are so kind 😊 I would love to continue analyzing books, just books that I love 😊
Sometimes knowing what not to do does not mean you recognize when you are doing them. Sometimes knowing is a curse. I know nothing about writing and I've started writing an epic fantasy and am not doing created tropes because I never learned about them. My mindset on these things only came from how I interpreted these things that I've learned through reading a plethora of works. I am unable to do school but with that I've also not limited myself because someone told me what I should or should not do not that I'd listen anyway lol I find innovation is not something the system can teach. The system is the system and it works but if you do what is outside the system then just do it to the best of your ability and let it exist. If the system thinks it's good it will get added and people might copy you. One way is never the only way, just the path most traveled.
I saw it because I had watched her channel. I subbed because you gave such detailed criticism. One day when I finish my first book I'd love to send you one to hear what you have to say. Being honest is a great trait that people sometimes forgo because they don't want to Hurt the other person. You never were hurtful to be hurtful. You gave explanations as to what made you feel a specific way and why and you pulled zero punches. Outside of the videos still being a bit quiet on my phone I hope you continue to review books.
Thank you for the kind comment. 😊 I think the biggest thing is that I want to choose the books that I really want to read now to talk about. It has helped me so much more creatively 😊
I'm not the only one with UA-cam pushing their Jenna stuff! Weird. I wonder why it's happening. Has she done something new recently?
I have no idea! I haven’t paid attention to her stuff for a year. 😅😂
I am a big believer in reading what you want. Great discussion points, Sam! 🌸
Thanks Jane! 😊💕
I resonate with this so much. I'm on a very similar journey right now with my own channel, figuring out where my channel needs to go and how to get away from this same little corner of AuthorTube that just says the same generic things over and over and over...
Yes, read what you want to read! I haven't been able to do that in so long because I've been booked up with so many novels for my business, I just haven't had time to read for pleasure. Business is great, but I'd like to be able to read for myself too lol.
What are your favorite genres to read? I love fantasy, mystery/ horror/thriller, and romance.
Good luck on your journey! I love romance, horror, suspense, philosophy, but honestly i will read anything if it is interesting, even if its a cookbook! :)
Julian Greystroke and Brandon Sanderson are awesome!
I use the star system to know how the reviewers I follow liked it. It gives me a better sense of if I’m likely to enjoy this book.
I actually get the cyborg tinkerer popping up as a recommendation review to watch from you on my homepage 😂 Clearly I need to go watch it now. To be fair we all cringe at our earliest videos… even if we’re not any better 😂
Hate reviews can be really entertaining. I’m really curious to watch these now.
Numbers don’t really convey much useful information when it comes to whether I want to read a book.
Oh no! I ripped that book apart! 😂😅 and I agree! Reading the actual content of reviews has helped me!
Also, thanks for the book shout out!
Of course! I thought it was great and I wanted to get the word out 😊
What you're saying makes sense. People in general don't like talking about things they have negative feelings towards and when they do it doesn't tend to make them feel happy.
Great discussion!! I watched some of Meg's videos but wan't interested in reading her book. I do really like Abbie's channel, but haven't read her book either.
Yeah, I imagine not taking trashy recommendations from the public would help improve your state of mind. However, I disagree that a novel can’t be judged objectively. How well the author uses sentence structure, the tone they give off with the words they use, things like that can be critiqued.
As fun as it watching you roast authortube books, I appreciate you taking a stance and being the booktuber you want to be! Reading requires a ton of energy and time so I understand avoiding bad books at all costs 😂
I think we all need to focus on reading what we want. It's very easy on booktube or booktok to get roped into reading what is popular, but how authentic are our reviews at that point? This is something I'm working on this year as well. Great conversation about this.
Yeah! It also makes it so there are many more books to discover 😊
This was great Sam, and I really resonated with what you said. I completely agree on reading what you want to read, and I applaud your wide-range of interests. It's wonderful!
Life has been much better now that my bookshelf is filled with Kierkegaard and Heidegger!
@@GreenerSideOfSam They have that magical effect!
I read books for the exact same reason. I want to enjoy them and talk about content that I don't usually see. I never had interest in the authortube community though, especially after DNFing The Savior's Champion.
I love your honesty too :)
Thanks for the great comment! Yes! I want to see more content on books and content I don’t usually see too 😊
Such a genuine personality. Thank you for the video!
The star rating supports subjective opinions of books rather than balanced reviewing. I pretty much stopped reading them after reading some astonishing reviews of a book I loved, 'Beauty' by Sheri S Tepper. I was struck by how completely the 'reviewers' failed to engage with the themes, didn't understand the points being made and insisted on (mis)interpreting the whole thing through a very narrow and immature viewpoint. Sounds like you might really enjoy 'Beauty' though!
As for authortube books... when I first starting watching Jenna Moreci, I was deeply impressed, especiallly on the points she raised about self-puiblishing. But it's pretty clear that 'self-publishing' really isn't any different from traditional 'vanity publishing'. I remember reading a piece by a publisher, who'd worked mid-late 20th century, and he mentioned on how much you could tell about the quality of a manuscript by the way it was presented by the author. Generally, the more beautifully presented, the worse the content. QED The Cyborb Tinkerer and everything by Moreci.
I can totally relate to the evolution of a channel. My channel isn't even a year old, but when I started I was sure I was going to give writing advice but... as an unpublished writer, I really didn't have a lot of "advice" as much as I had "here is how I F'ed up. Maybe you can avoid that crap."
I think the “here’s how I F’ed up” is great
To listen to because it takes a humble approach and it actually gives original advice that may resonate with someone in one way or another. 😊
Hi, thank you for the video, just want to ask, could you please advise some useful links/books for someone totally new to writing. I want to start writing some tech related blogs, but honestly when I thought about writing them, it scares me off.
Sometimes good writers offer not so good advice. As the saying goes, Less info dumps, more meat and potatoes, draw one's readers to the story. I got a little confused when Ian read the cyborg tinkerer and Marc Foxx's book even though that book feels like its a collection of micro-fiction.
And another thing about advice is that it’s all subjective. What works for someone may not work for someone else.
Indeed as the saying goes on size doesn't fit all
The old truism, 'Those who can do, and those who can't talk about it' applies very much, I think.
Try Sarra Cannon's channel called Heart Breathings. Also, Barbara Vance is excellent too. She has a UA-cam channel and many in-depth courses, mainly on character development.
I LOVE Sarra's books. The Shadow Demons Saga is fantastic and I'm waiting with bated breath for Book 12, the final book in the series. She also has other great books with witches and magic and even zombies.
I know you don’t like taking suggestions, but there is a book called Lovely War by Julie Berry. It’s historical fiction, Greek mythology, a war story, and a romance. This is the premise:
It's 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She's a shy and talented pianist; he's a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's immediate and deep--and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.
Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.
Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.
If this sounds interesting to you, I suggest this for everyone! Julie Berry has an incredible prose and is great at wring characters who feel like real people.
I think that's such a great decision. Doing what's best for yourself is wonderful! And I am definitely someone who loves your parody videos!!
Oh! I’m so glad!! 😊 There will be lots of those!!
@@GreenerSideOfSam I'm looking forward to seeing them! 😁
Life is too short to do things you do not enjoy. You go Girl!
Who was the author for Wolf and the Hawk? :)
Julian Greystoke! It was a fun story 😊
@@GreenerSideOfSam Julian's channel is a lot of fun too. Really enjoying her readalongs :D
This is so refreshing.
I love this video. You have such a funny attitude and a really smart way of breaking everything down. I'm a writer and follow both of these authortubers; I think they give good advice but it's nice to see them get come constructive criticism in return. You're a great book reviewer, keep it up!
Hi dear I Was not online often time but hey im back and good to see you my friend.
Hi Tamim! Good to see you! 😊
I don't get why people would waste their precious time on such unpleasant experiences. I have ADHD and I can't imagine myself finishing something that I don't enjoy. But I guess that pays. It's fine to review those "bad books" once in a while but making an entire channel dedicated to trashing the authors is no different than spreading hate and building something out of it. I wish people would promote more good books instead of spotlighting the bad ones, like "the hidden gems in the self-publishing industry" as you mentioned.
Yes! I absolutely didn’t want to become one of those channels that bashes books. Not only do I think it would be unethical, but it just takes all of my creativity away.
@@GreenerSideOfSam Please do, IMO at some point it becomes bullying hiding under "constructive criticism." I indeed stopped watching those authortube videos but that's it.
I stopped buying books until after I read a sample because sometimes the writing is so yikes. I read a book that other people were head over heels for and i was just lost the entire time.
that "I'm not basic, like my therapist says" line killed me lol
It takes time to read reviews. Taking away the star rating system would 1. take more time to find what you really want to know about the book 2. drive traffic to another site that does have a star rating system.
I respect your opinion and understand your decision. Keep doing what you 'want' to do. :-)
Thanks! That means a lot 😊
I haven't read their books yet, but I plan to. Well, I was gonna read Jenna's and Shadiversity's (he's a writer too, but doesn't make writing videos often). I never bought the Tinkerer, because it's not my jam. But what I wanna say is, there's plenty of terrible, published books by "real" authors that suck a lot too (Like that Look to Windward by Iain Banks, big, famous sci-fi writer. Terrible, boring book). lol. And just because some are bad, doesn't mean all have to be. Neither does it mean all their advice is bad either. I've learned a ton from them, and frankly, if their books are bad, I still learned from their tips, so it doesn't matter. They're good for beginners, I'd say. And three years ago I was a beginner. :P Now their tips are beginning to go stale, but that's just how it is. I still love their (iWriterly's and others) review videos. That said. Reading something one doesn't enjoy is really hard. No need to do that. :)
I noticed that you called the plot of "The Cyborg Tinkerer" "meh." What do you believe makes an interesting plot? I've been wondering this myself, but I could never figure out the answer.
I think it all just depends, of course there are books that follow a formula, but there are lots of books that don’t that are still fantastic. I think it’s hard to tell until the words are actually put in the page. 😊
@@GreenerSideOfSam I see!
You like philosophy too? What book is your favorite?
Yes! I do :) I’ve gotten very much into Kierkegaard the last few months!
Ps. I miss Sharon, ngl
She needs to make a come back!! 😁
Yeah. I avoid reviewing books in general. If it's less than 4 stars, I'm more likely to not rank it at all.
I've heard too much about bitter recipients of bad reviews (and follower mobs) giving unhonest retribution reviews.
Besides. My to-read pile is like 4 years old.
Ah yes! Usually if a book is so bad, I put it down and just don’t think about it hahaha
We need to stop it with the art is subjective, it is mostly not. Good art is the result of talent,hard work, years of practice, and so on. People saying Mistborn is good cause some people like it, it is not; its terrible.
I used to watch videos by Jenna Moreci and Abbie Emmons. After watching so many reviews of the "Savior's Champion/Sister", I stopped watching Jenna Moreci videos.
*cries in waiting for the review that will never come*
Hahaha my reviews were never that fantastic anyway! I like my parodies and poetry! 😂
@@GreenerSideOfSam but you said i would get oooooonnnneeee😭😭😭😭😭
I feel like a lot of people suggest those particular authortube books, because they are notoriously bad, and people really like watching someone rip apart bad books. And the blood in the water is sweeter when the author made a name for themselves giving writing advice. When I first found booktube, I loved those videos. They were hilarious, but after a while, I just started to find it depressing. Read what you want.
I’m also a UA-cam book reviewer, and I started by reading and reviewing self published books by anyone who would follow me and comment with their books. Didn’t take long to get sick of the self publishing world real quick. Life’s too short to read unpolished, unedited crap.
Yes absolutely, at the end of the day people have to read what they want and not feel the pressure to review. I also feel like it I do it for one person then I have to do it for everyone and that’s a ton of work!
@@GreenerSideOfSam a ton! And people forget we are doing this for free, spending time, and in some cases money, to review these books for them.
They dont get it edited?! 😱 golly... 😖 I'm planning on self publishing down the line, but I'd never dream of publishing a book without at least 3-4 personal edit, beta reads, then a pro edit 0///0 that's crazy!
@@kreepykittycreations I’m sure they’re edited some, maybe even several times, but Jeeze, the plot holes and rushed writing. It’s too much. I just go to the book store now
Abbie is the only author tuber that i love and respect. she uses psychology and brain science to teach writers and she's actually a very wise person and a great writer sooo. Abbie solosss
I watched your videos and I felt they were fair. I hated TSS - it ruined the character she created and make her sister, who we’re supposed to despise actually very relatable and quite understandable. TSC was not great, but I thought it was perfectly fine. TSS had no redeeming qualities.
Uuhm no, writing a good book has subjective and objective elements. Subjective is wether you like or dislike the subject and or genre. Objective is the technical details. Does the author have these? Does the author know how to structure a story (like the hero's journey) or is the book meandering leading to everywhere and nowhere, confusing the sh* out of everybody. Is there a good balance between description, dialogue, action, etc. Are the paragraphs roughly a size that's appropriate for the chapter and story, does the story make sense, are people actually reacting/having emotions that are realistic given the story's circumstances etc. etc.
The problem with these author tubers is that the vast majority were editors at some firm and know maybe some of the technical details, but being a writer is something different entirely. Coming up with an engaging story and being able to structure it properly, taking into account not just your own enthusiasm, but also the reader's experience is something different then going with a red marker through someone else's story.
Unoriginal advice? LOL I understand completely. I may not be a published writer yet, but I've been doing it, practicing it, learning it, for a very long time, and re-packaging common tips is tricky.
Philosophy reads? Cool, who's your favourite?
"It's all very subjective..." & "...there's really no objective way to say whether a book is good or bad. It's all based on people's opinions."
Kinda disagree.
There is a reason books will irritate you, or seem less well written, or where the characters don't seem fully fleshed out. People may love those books, but that doesn't mean those books are not horribly written. There are many people who love bad quality who recognize it for what it is, and people who love bad quality because they don't know what separates it from good quality and don't particularly care about that. What I'm basically saying is: there's admitted insanity (enjoying something even though one knows it's poor quality) and then there's blind and deaf obsession (fully committing to loving something in ignorance). I'm not saying those books *are* horribly written, I have not read them, and may never do that, so I cannot verify for myself. But you recognized a flaw, and that flaw is not subjective in its effect, since it actually disturbed you and many people agree on the same point. So, calling it a result of subjective choice is a bit superfluous. There's more to it than that. The latest two generations, in general, (no offense) have no idea how to recognize good quality and what separates it from bad quality. I think it has a lot to do with spectacle and sensationalization. As in, throw in some grandiose situations and purple prose and it seems to dazzle the masses into believing it's good, even though there are a thousand and one plot holes, paper-thin characters, and dead in the eyes storyboards. I'm rambling. Sorry about that, but this is one area of entertainment I feel quite strongly that writers and readers should really put more effort into understanding. The word subjective is thrown around far too often in conversations involving badly written material.
"I think I enjoyed them because I wanted to read them." This is another case of misunderstanding the difference between being subjective and enjoying something you *want* to enjoy. You just finished saying that you read two other authortuber's books that you actually fully enjoyed. Surely there have been books you've wanted to enjoy that you didn't. That's been the case with me at least a few times.
Pointing out specific flaws in an author's book should not frighten you so much. If your intent is to enlighten as to the reasons, no one can fault you for it. A good writer is not going to take too much offense to constructive criticism. I could understand if it was destructive criticism for the sake of it, but in my experience, the intent behind it is more valuable.
For the love of flowing ink - Please check your emails..... 🙂
I hear you. Why don't you just make author reviews of books you loved?
I would love to do something where I analyze the booking and the meaning I found from it, but I don’t want to do a formal review anymore. I would love to help elevate the story and help it sell more. 😊
It 'seems like a lot of these authortube books are by people who are marketing majors but only read crappy YA romances that are written for teenage girls with little taste.
One star reviews save readers a lot of time.
Yo soy un hombre
"I wish there weren't star reviews so I wouldn't have to feel like the bad guy."
Reviews aren't for the author. They're for the other readers. Basically what you're saying (my interpretation of your words) is that you want to be sneaky with your hatred of a book and at the same time be uninformative to other potential readers your personal thoughts. Because yes, reviews are subjective. That's why it's your review. Not someone else's. This idea is so baffling to me.
Oh! I actually do book analysis’s now! So very different. I like to get the core meaning of what the book is saying
I've been writing and publishing short fiction stories since my late teens, over 30 years now. When I embarked on my first novel (about three years ago) I became curious about the BookTube/AuthorTube community. Thusly, I began watching videos posted by writers like Ms. Moreci and Ms. LaTorre, they being among the most prominent. The writing tips and advice on offer in their videos was the same old saws, tired and cliched pointers that one learns on your first day in Creative Writing 101.
Now, admittedly, I've been writing fiction longer than either of they have been alive, so there wasn't much of anything new to be learned. Save for this, perhaps: AuthorTube seems to be little more than a marketing platform to build a ready-made audience for one's work. Now, that's not an inherently bad or particularly underhanded promotional technique. Whether Trad or Indie published, advertising and promotion of one's work is, these days, either largely or entirely left in the hands of the author (a bitter truth I'm learning now that my own novel is available for sale). However, I believe it goes without saying that if one is having to divide one's time and energy between building and administering a UA-cam channel, and writing a novel, the novel is unlikely to be of high quality.