Hello and welcome to episode 10 of The Rebel Author Podcast, I can’t believe we made it to 10 episodes! Double figures baby. And what an episode we have with amazing tips and tricks to help you start your very own YouTube channel as an author.
How to Be an Author on YouTube With Jenna Moreci
Learn how to market your books on YouTube with a masterclass from YouTube sensation @jennamoreci #selfpublishing #IARTG #ASMRG #amwriting #writingcommunity #writetip Share on XIn the Introduction
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Book recommendation of the week is You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero I read this book last year and absolutely loved it. It’s 50% motivating and 50% ass kick which I’m sure you’ll all appreciate.
Grab a copy from Kobo.
Listener rebel of the week is Aime Sund
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To find out more about Jenna:
website: http://jennamoreci.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jennamoreci
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jennamoreci
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jennamoreci
Get her books:
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/ebook/the-savior-s-champion
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2ZTb4Dz
Amazon USA https://amzn.to/2sRWRdY
Get The Saviours Champion audiobook on audible:
Episode Transcript – How to Be an Author on YouTube With Jenna Moreci
Sacha Black
Hello and welcome back to the rebel author podcast. Today I am with Jenna Moreci. Jenna is a Silicon Valley native and YouTube sensation, dominating the author tube community with her straightforward and hilarious writing channel. A lifelong storyteller Jenna specializes in crafting thrilling adventures with heaping doses of bloodshed and romance. When she’s not writing or tubing. Jenna enjoys angry music, potent wine and laughing until her face hurts with her beautiful fiance. Welcome, Jenna.
Jenna Moreci
Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited.
Sacha Black
Honestly, the honor is all mine. For anybody who has not heard of Jenna, what are you actually doing with your life? I have been watching Jenna’s YouTube videos for ever and she is absolutely hilarious. So I really, really implore you to go and watch her video. However I do it with headphones and not near more children.
Jenna Moreci
Yes, I agree.
Sacha Black
Which is why you’re here because you know, you’re a perfect match.
Jenna Moreci
Exactly.
Sacha Black
So tell everybody a little bit more about yourself and your writing journey. How did you get from first book idea to where you are now?
Jenna Moreci
Well, in terms of my writing journey, I’ve wanted to be an author pretty much my entire life. Basically, when I was six years old, I was like, Oh, this is what I’m going to do. The End. I figured it out. But like a lot of authors, especially, you know, 20 or so years ago, I received a lot of you know, flack, you know, from family and friends. Everyone said, it’s not really a career, you’re going to, you know, be destitute, you won’t be able to make it into anything.
Sacha Black
Who’s laughing now?
Jenna Moreci
Exactly. Well, they were wrong. But basically, after, a couple of decades of that kind of talk, I was like, okay, fine, fine. I will pursue a quote unquote, normal job. And I went to college I majored in finance, I got a very good respectable job in finance. And I think like, a year or two into that job, I just remember coming home one day and thinking, I hate this so much, and everything like there was this. I knew I hated it. But there was this epiphany of, I don’t know if I can do this for the rest of my life. Just spend every day going to a job that I hate, and coming home, and then having like, 12 million glasses of wine. Just like I need to, like I need to get rid of the feeling of being there. And I just, I just thought to myself, you know what, I don’t think that I can do this, especially when there are other things that I’m good at and passionate about that I would rather be spending my time doing. And I knew that writing was a long shot, but I figured you know what, I’m an adult. I’m just going to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. That least I can say, I tried. So I started writing my first novel, Eve The Awakening while I was off of work, so I would go to work, come home, start writing. And I did that for several years.
And again, a lot of people were like, Oh, that’s cute. Jenna. We she’s got hopes and dreams. You know, they were very condescending. Very embarrassed for me. I would say a lot of people were embarrassed on my behalf like you think that I told them I became a drug mule. They’re gonna you can’t tell people this. You know, it was it was not a proud moment for a lot of people. And, but I just kept trucking along and I figured I’m just going to try and the more I learned about the publishing industry, the more I realized a lot had changed since I was a kid. Indie publishing, self publishing was now a thing. And it had become exactly a lot more possible to make it so I was like, Okay, I’m on the right path, I’m just gonna keep at it.
Um, then we had a little bit of a wrench in the throat in the situation. My fiance suffered a major accident and broke his spine. And I had to quit my job, my you know, respectable job in finance and stop stop writing for a while so I could sign on to be as caregiver and while I was going through that, um, you know, when someone very close to you almost dies. And when you’re put into that kind of situation, it sort of changes your outlook on life, and it kind of reminds you that we could die at any moment. We don’t have a lot of time on this earth. So I got to make use of the time that I have now. And it made me less risk averse. So I, once he was well enough where I could start writing again and start working on my platform again, I started my YouTube channel just to give it a shot. I have no expectations.
My goal was 100 subscribers. I know it’s shocking, but it’s true. And then when I hit 100, I was like, I’m going to be very audacious and overzealous and go for 1000 like that, to me was just like the pinnacle of YouTube success. But, long story a little bit less long, the channel took off, and by the time I released my first book, I was able to make YouTube and writing my full time job, which I had never seen being a possibility. My best case scenario was it would be a lucrative part time gig. But the channel did really, really well. My first book did really well my second book did even better. And now I am actually making almost double what I made at that respectable finance job that everyone was so proud of me for. So now, I mean, I guess I am living proof that you can definitely make writing a career and not be destitute.
Sacha Black
So I’m just I’m all of the fuck yeahs right now because, you know, it’s such a story of empowerment and also of persistence and just not giving up and so many writers when it when the going gets tough, lots of writers don’t even finish that but let alone continue in the face of adversity and loved ones giving them the patronizing opinions and the I can’t think of the words and that kind of skepticism and actually, if you just continue, you can get there.
Jenna Moreci
Exactly. And now I mean, it’s totally everyone’s changed their tune all the quote unquote friends that I had back then suddenly popping back up. Oh my gosh, Jenna, look at you go, you know, and they’re like, Hey, we should go out and you know, get brunch? And it’s like, No, I don’t think so.
Yeah. And my family, they were, you know, the first ones. My first novel came out and performed well, they were the first to be like, wow, you totally proved us wrong. Like, we’re really, really proud of you. And now it went from being like, Oh my gosh, Jenna, like, don’t tell people you’re writing a book to my daughter’s writing a book. You should buy it here. It is like they become my little, you know, fan club, and it’s really, really sweet. And you know, I appreciate it. I honestly never thought that day would come. And a lot of people asked me, they’re like, what do you do if your family doesn’t support you? And I’m like, you’re not writing the books for them. You’re reading for you. So if your family doesn’t support you, that sucks, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. You just do the thing because it’s not for them. It’s not about them. It’s about you. So just say, I’m sorry, Mom, I’m sorry, dad. The politest fuck you for now. And then just continue writing your book, you know, I mean, like, at the end, that’s kind of how I looked at it. I mean, I didn’t say fuck you to my parents, I love my parents. But I was the way I looked at it was, you know, I’m sorry, but I’m an adult. And this is the decision I’m making. And if you don’t like it, that’s, that’s something you can deal with it.
Sacha Black
I hope that there are some people listening who hear the message that you don’t have to get to a pain point in order to make this decision because obviously you have very horrible life circumstance happen which although you’d already made the decision to start writing, it obviously tipped you over the edge in it to another level of determination. And for me, I, you know, I think I’d gone probably six or eight weeks of crying every single day at work. And my real low point was I was in a tree basically having a nervous breakdown when it was writing. So like everybody, most of the authors that I know that got to the point where they then decided to leave got to this pain point. But if there’s somebody listening who’s in pain, just fucking quit, just quit. Just do it because you will find a way to make the money.
Jenna Moreci
Exactly
Sacha Black
So YouTube is an odd one for an alpha. So not every author isn’t it is an introvert but obviously, lots of authors are introverts. So why YouTube which is such an extroverted social media platform?
Jenna Moreci
Yeah, I’m definitely an introvert. And the funny thing was, was that for years before I started my channel, people had been telling me like lots of people, It’d become a thing had been telling me you should do YouTube, you have the personality for it. And I’m like, that’s funny because I’m an introvert who hates people and hates talking to people. Very weird that you think I have a personality for this, but they were like, well, you’re funny and you’re blunt and you’re sarcastic. And this was during the time when, like, Shane Dawson was really big and jennamarbles and they’re like, You’re, you’re just as funny as them. You should do YouTube. And so I just said not i’m not going to do it. For obvious reasons, that is terrifying. But, but then, what had happened was, while I was trying to promote my first book, I created a blog, like so many authors do. And it was doing okay, I had like 200 loyal followers, but I had had 200 loyal followers for over a year, and nothing was growing. I wasn’t really reaching new a new audience. And on top of that, I really fucking hate blogging. It is just not for me. I love write fiction and stories I don’t like to blog about like, real world shit or my writing journey that’s just wasn’t interesting to me at all. I have no problem talking about my writing journey. But you know, writing it and proofreading it for me is is dull.
So around the time that cliff broke his spine, I had to quit blogging as well. And obviously this this is a horrible time in my life. But at the same time I was I did not miss blogging, I’ll just put it that way. I was like, Okay, this is this was, a convenient, convenient way to not have to blog anymore. And when it came time to start my platform up again, I was just dreading going back into blogging. I was like, I really don’t want to do this. And so all those voices in the back of my head about how you’d be so good at YouTube, they were just kind of shouting at me and and that’s when I was like, you know what, fuck it. I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to try it out. It’ll probably fail. And at least I can say I’ve tried because my time on this planet is short.
So I tried YouTube at the time, I could only find like four other youtubers on YouTube who were talking about writing. And they all had like 1000 to 6000 subscribers so like a small amount, but more than I ever dreamed that I could achieve. So I was like, okay, well, there’s not a lot of writers on here. I wonder why. That’s shocking news. You know, like, no one wants to be here because we’re all introverts, but I was terrified. And I just gave it a shot because people said that I’d be good at it and it ended up exploding beyond all of my comprehension. Now I’m at 186,000 subscribers, I still can’t get over it. But that was my journey to go into YouTube but for why I would recommend it to other people, if they’re, you know, suited for it. If they’re comfortable. You’re never going to be comfortable with it at first. throwing that out there. So if you’re if you think you can become comfortable with it. The great thing about YouTube is that it’s not oversaturated, like blogs and author websites. And like those blog swaps and things like that mailing lists all those things, every single author has one, and it makes it a lot harder to stand out with YouTube. I can only think of maybe at this point like 30 or so, writers on YouTube who are regularly talking about writing, it’s a much more, it’s a much smaller community. And so it’s a lot easier to stand out and get attention that way. So if it is something that you think you have, you know, the balls to do to go for, it’ll be a lot easier for you to stand out as opposed to blogging or something like that.
Sacha Black
This is a completely tangential question. So I know you said you hated blogging, but did So you must script your video. Yes, right, okay, so you must have a metric fuckload of scripts? Why would you not turn them into a nonfiction book?
Jenna Moreci
It’s funny because the way I write my scripts, I write my scripts the way I talk. Yeah, so we’re all grammatically incorrect, and they’re all filled with fucks and shits, like, on another level. For me, it’s just as it is, it’s so much easier to write a script than it is to write a blog post because you have to clean it and make sure it trim it down and things like that. Whereas when I write a script, it can be rough and messy. And then I go to film my video and I can kind of decide what I want to say and what I don’t want to say while I film. So it eliminates the whole need of the editing and the polishing and the the part of writing blogs that I hated. I didn’t mind creating the content it was trying to make it all pretty and perfect afterward. And so the thought of transitioning that into a nonfiction book, it is something that’s on my mind something that’s kind of like okay for the future. But it’s just not something that I have any interest in doing right now because of just the thought of having to comb through something that’s already not particularly engaging for me like again, and again, oh my gosh, I would need a lot of wine for that.
Sacha Black
I know I completely understand. Excuse me, we all have the things that we don’t want to do. And yes, I know, I definitely understand that. It is definitely one to think about that because nonfiction is a fantastic perennial seller. So
Jenna Moreci
Oh, it totally. That’s why it’s on my radar, but it’s also kind of like I’ve got so many projects going on right now. It’s like it’s on my radar in the distance. For when things calm down.
Sacha Black
Yeah at half past never
Jenna Moreci
No, no I’ll get to it one day.
Sacha Black
And so you’ve talked about the fact that YouTube isn’t saturated at the moment. But is YouTube a good platform for authors to find readers? And what, what does it really take to create? And, you know, a viable platform as an author?
Jenna Moreci
I’ll start with the first question. I definitely think it’s a good platform to find readers, I think something. I forgot the exact number, but something like well, over 80% of my readers come from my channel. So clearly, they’re there. They’re on YouTube, you know, and the thing is, is that YouTube appeals to anyone and appeals to most if not all age categories. And a lot of people read so there are going to be people on YouTube who are just digging around trying to find something entertaining to watch or something to learn, who are going to be, you know, reader, and they’re going to be potentially interested in your book. So I definitely think it’s a good way to reach readers especially if you’re talking about something that’s reading related. My channel is all writing advice. I give writing advice. I make fun of tropes I don’t like I talk about my favorite tropes.
And so most of the people who watch my channel are writers, most writers are readers. And then the sub category of people who watch my channel who aren’t writers are readers. So that’s where my whole audience is all about books. So it is a really great way to meet readers. In terms of what goes into a channel. I think the the number one piece of advice I give to people is to be genuine and authentic to yourself, because that is, to me the most obvious thing to do. But at the same time is the thing that most people don’t do. They think they have to put on a mask or a particular personality or emulate someone else in order to be popular. You’ll see a lot of people who will join a community and try to duplicate whoever’s popular that community, people can see that immediately. And then they don’t like you because you seem like a phony. So be genuine to yourself. If you’re, if you’re an awkward person, lots of writers are awkward. So that could be cute. That could be your schtick. You know, like, if you just, you don’t want to put on a front, that isn’t who you are, because people are going to be able to tell and they’re not going to like it.
Sacha Black
I would also say, just to come in on that point, I think that’s even more true of audio and visual and visual format. Because you are on screen or people are listening to your voice. You cannot hide who you are. Because it’s it’s just obvious, and it’s a deeper connection than just words on a page. So yeah, I completely completely agree.
Jenna Moreci
Exactly. Another thing I would say is be sure to edit your footage, because that’s one of the big determinant of whether or not people will will continue to watch your channel is if someone has videos of them where there’s lots of lulls and lots of them clearing their throat or lots errr so anyway, yeah, I’m really nervous sorry, like, cut that crap out one because they don’t have time they’re on YouTube because they want some instant gratification and two because it’s uncomfortable to watch. And if anything, it’ll give them like secondhand embarrassment for you like, Oh, they look so nervous and you know, like, trending the stuff make it more compact so it’s easier to watch. It gets the point, and it’s more entertaining that way. Okay, I had one more point editing, oh, sound quality, make sure you have good sound quality. You could get away with a lot of, I guess amateur practices on YouTube. So long as the sound quality is good. So I would say be genuine have good sound quality, edit your content and make sure that you are providing something that people actually want. There are a lot of people who will start their YouTube channel and their first videos and introduction to me and Hi, this is me, this is what I’m about. My favorite color is green. And it’s like no one knows who you are. No one is going to be like, Who is this stranger on the internet, I want to know more about her, you know, like, provide something that people are interested in. For me, it was writing advice, something that you feel you could give an interesting and new outlook on. And as your audience grows, and as you provide more content for them, they will become interested in you and they will become interested in what you have to offer. And that’s the point when you say, Okay, here’s a video about me. I’m awesome. And here’s why you’re on my books. But first, you gotta you gotta appeal to what they want in their needs. Yeah, absolutely.
Sacha Black
Excuse me, that I’ll have to edit that one out. So how can you use YouTube then to market your books?
Unknown Speaker
You YouTube for me is my primary source of marketing for my books and it’s awesome because not only is it free marketing, its marketing I’m getting paid for because I get ads on my video so I’m essentially getting paid to make a video about like, here’s my book, the Savior’s champion, here’s why you should buy it. But like I said, I started on my channel making, giving, writing advice, you know, appealing to what my audience is looking for. And then as things rolled on, and my audience grew and asked more questions about me and what I’m working on, that’s when I can make videos where I talked about, you know, this is my upcoming release and this is what it’s about, and this is my favorite characters and so I’ve been able to make a ton of videos I’ve made, you know, the book trailer for the Savior’s champion. I had videos where I introduce, Oh, thank you. I have videos where I introduce all the characters I described. There’s, you know, a gladiatorial tournament and the Savior’s champion and I described the tournament, the rules of the tournament and stuff like that. And it got people super hyped and amped for the release. And at the same time, it’s like I’m getting ads on these videos and I’m getting paid to market my books. So Oh, and then of course, at the end of every single video, I remind people to save your champion is available in ebook, paperback, hardback, sign hardback, as well as audio book and I give everyone the links at the bottom or in the description of the videos. So for me, it’s basically not only am I appealing to my audience, and, you know, providing a service, I’m also you know, easily marketing my work alongside of it, and That’s pretty much the reason that I am able to do what I love for a living is because I have this constant stream of marketing going.
Sacha Black
I mean, it is literally a win win on YouTube in terms of marketing your book. You’re proper laughing, that is fantastic. And maybe I should do a YouTube channel.
Jenna Moreci
You’d be great at it.
Sacha Black
Oh staaaap. I know we’ve talked a little bit before about this, but I think it’s a really important question. And I think it’s one that lots of indies coming into the industry don’t necessarily think about from the start, they just want to get that book out and don’t really think about the writing as a business. And so I’ll get to the point. Multiple streams of income are essential for authors. So how can you use YouTube to create multiple streams of income or what are the different types of income streams that you can get from from YouTube.
Jenna Moreci
Well first and foremost, obviously releasing a book that’ll be your first stream of income I recommend depending on your genre and depending on your reach, having as many versions of the book as possible ebook, hardback paperback audio book, diversify those streams if you can, and if it makes sense for the genre. In terms of YouTube, the first and most obvious one is AdSense, having ads on your videos once you are at a level where your videos can be monetized. That’s just kind of an obvious easy stream of income right there because you’re getting paid to release your videos. It’s not as much as I think a lot of people assume a lot of people assume that all YouTubers are like multi millionaires and I mean, there definitely are some, but it’s it’s not. It’s probably not going to be as much as a lot of people are predicting. So that’s something to keep in mind. Which brings me My next point sponsorships, you can get a company to sponsor your video where basically, for a minute at the beginning of the video, you’re sort of providing a brief commercial for them. You’re just saying, hey, this video was sponsored by x, y, z. This is what the company’s about, I really liked them. And this is why, and they’re offering a discount for you guys. That’s usually how it goes. Sponsorships In my opinion, or at least from my experience are typically more a higher income stream than the ads on the videos, which is why they’re very desirable to have, however, be aware that you don’t become one of those people who’s just snapping up every sponsor you can get because once you become like that, where it’s just you, you will take any sponsorship, they throw your way, your audience is going to know it and they’re not going to appreciate it. For example, with me I received at least one sponsorship offer a day like this they come in constantly and a lot of them have absolutely nothing to do with my platform I’ve gotten sponsorship opportunities for like perfume and dog food and I’ve got I got one for vagina vitamin
I was just mad that they didn’t call them vagitamins like that’s an opportunity.
Sacha Black
See this this right here is why you need to watch Jenna’s YouTube channel.
Jenna Moreci
But yeah, like I’m just looking at actually got that one a lot so but I just kept looking at it like what does this have to do with writing like this is not applicable to my platform at all. So I’ll only accept sponsorships. My personal criteria is only accept sponsorships. If I use the product personally, I like the product personally, and I think it’ll benefit my audience. Because there are some companies that have talked to me that I actually like what they’re selling, but it has nothing to do with what my audience is interested in. So I’m like, Okay, I’m sorry, I have to decline. So that would be my advice is once you get to a level where you can have sponsors, be picky because you don’t want to make this money. And as a result, you lose your following, because they’re now seeing you as greedy.
Sacha Black
And I think that advice is applicable to affiliate marketing as well. So I definitely do affiliate marketing, there are certain, but I apply that exact same criteria. So if I have taken a course, for example, and I have loved it and implemented everything that I’ve learned, why the hell wouldn’t I promote it, you know? So, and the thing is, I would promote that regardless of whether or not I was being paid as an affiliate. And that’s kind of the way that I look at it. Would I promote this still, even if I wasn’t, you know, going to get a an affiliate payout? If the answer is yes, well, then I’ll promote it. And I’ll also be an affiliate, obviously, obviously,
Jenna Moreci
Exactly. And some people, no matter what they’ll just say, You’re greedy if you take any sponsor affiliate, even if it’s the situation you described, but the fact is, is all a lot of the sponsors who have contacted me or actually all the sponsors that have sponsored me, these are companies that I would promote anyway. And if you’re going to pay me to do the thing that I was going to do, anyway, yeah, I think I think literally every person would be like, okay, there was literally one. I’m not gonna say who because I want to watch this. But it’s a good thing. But uh, but um, there was one company that I was literally already scripting a video about that topic and I was going to name drop the company like, this is a company that I use for this particular situation. And they emailed me literally like, the week I was scripting that video and they were like, we would like to sponsor a video and I’m like, well have I got a pitch for you? This video and talk about I’m literally already making the video but I mean, it just works out perfectly and, you know, then you get paid to promote a company that you already really like. And we’re going to do anyway.
But I was actually going to mention affiliates, it’s the same deal. If you’re on YouTube, you will make more money from a sponsor than an affiliate. However, both options are totally worthwhile and worth looking into. If you are a writer on YouTube, another stream of income, that’s a lot easier. This is another thing you can do whether you’re on YouTube or not, but it’s much easier on YouTube and that’s merch. If you’ve got t shirts, phone cases, laptop cases, mugs, those are big sellers. The reason it’s easier on YouTube is because YouTube recently well maybe not that recent, but within the last year I think they released the YouTube merch shelf, which basically beneath all your videos, there will be a line featuring all of your March that’s available and so people will watch your video scroll down a little bit and oh, now they see that you have mugs and T shirts and things like that. And they can click directly on the on the line of merch and it will take them to your merch store. So it makes it a lot easier to sell merch if you have that capability. And then that’s an additional line of income.
Sacha Black
Yeah, and I excuse me, oh, I am sorry, I’m a little bit under the weather for everybody listening. That’s why I’m covering and sniffing. No worries. I love much because it’s an area that writers don’t capitalize on. And, you know, if you don’t want to do all the setup yourself, even though it’s really easy, and there are companies and websites where you can import your own designs and create your own merch and sell those rights if you are a self-published author, and because you own the rights this is the amazing and wonderful world of being an indie author, you can slice up your book pie, you could sell gaming rights or t-shirt rights or whatever and and over and over again if you limit the license as well, so definitely something to to think about.
Jenna Moreci
And also, like you had mentioned, it is really easy to set it up yourself. I created my merch store in one day, like I just carved out an afternoon and created the merch store in terms of making the designs I do have a bit of design background so that made it a little bit easier. However, I know plenty of people who hire designers on Fiverr you know there you have a lots of avenues that you can choose from. And so it’s one of those things where a lot of people think it sounds like too good to be true and overwhelming or like oh, that’s only something that the big you know creators do but it’s it’s a lot easier to handle than I think a lot of people assume.
Sacha Black
Yeah, and also, you if you ever want to do in-person things say you go to a con or a festival or or if you know for me it would be young adult literature conference. And you can then bulk order your own products and have your match on your stools which pumps up your stall it makes everything look pretty. Why would you not do that? right? *note to self*
Jenna Moreci
Exactly that’s that’s totally how it is. Especially for in-person events. People are just gonna smash that stuff up. You know, it’s right there. It’s very enticing and it’s so cute and pretty, you know, everyone loves good bookish merch.
Sacha Black
Exactly. And also Oh, we forgot one Patreon. Hmm, the you have a Patreon you have an amazing Patreon. So talk to me about how you ended up with Patreon and how you’ve grown it and how you use that to into I suppose interacting with your YouTube but just Just tell me everything about that.
Jenna Moreci
I think Patreon is a really, really great option for writers, there are a ton of writers on Patreon, it becomes, again easier if you’re a YouTuber because you’re a lot more visible. And it usually you can create reward rewards that are YouTube related, but I’ll get get to that in a little bit. Um, basically, I’m sure everyone’s already aware, but just in case Patreon is a platform where creators like artists, writers, content creators, etc. can create a little platform where they accept donations from their fans, they accept you know, cash, usually on a monthly basis from their fans and in return, those fans receive some kind of reward or prize as a thank you. Um, I didn’t have an interest in setting up a Patreon account at first because one I assumed oh, no one wants to be my patron like I thought I was too small and two and I think a lot of people can relate to this. It feels a little uncomfortable putting up a page to be like, give me money. You know, like it just felt a little weird. And what tipped me over the edge to trying it was that I started receiving messages from people saying, where’s your Patreon page? I want to become a patron. And I was like, really? For me?
Like it was it was unexpected and I didn’t realize that a lot of people like there, it’s not a pressure thing, no one is forced to become a patron. People set up these pages because their fans or readers or us subscribers, they want to help they want access to the rewards. So I created a Patreon page. Right now I change them every once in a while, but usually not dramatically right now. There’s a $1 $5 $10 $20 and $50 tier, and sometimes you will get overwhelmed in terms of how to set those up. What I’ve learned is to just look at other Patreon pages, especially people who are have a similar platform to you. So for me, I would look at writers and YouTubers, especially popular ones who are known for being you know, ethical and things like that look at what they’re doing. And it gives you an idea of what your audience would expect. For my $1 tier, I have a exclusive access to a private discord writing group called Cyborg Central. And that is the main reason people become patrons. It’s $1 a month to join a private writing group. I
t’s very… we… I’m trying to think of the word. We have lots of moderators and things like that. So I at least from my experience, I’ve joined a lot of writing groups where you go in there and you’re like, yikes, everyone’s an asshole. I’m out, you know if it’s uncomfortable, but we’ve got moderators in this group, and it’s kind of like a big, happy family and people get along really, really well and people are super supportive and it’s just really, really fun to be a part of it. And we’ve got writers at all levels in the group so there are people who are writing fanfiction there are people who are writing their very first book, there are people who are multi published, there are bestsellers, you know, we’ve got a ton of people in the group. So you’ve got a wealth of knowledge and different experiences and things like that. So that’s the biggest draw people have to becoming my patron. There’s also like the $5 tier, you get early access to my videos for the $10 tier, you can request a video topics and I’ll dedicate a video to you things like that $20 tier is the monthly livestream, where we’ll chat face to face, you know, via the computer, and I’ll answer everyone’s questions. But yeah, it it’s actually been so much fun for me, I thought I would like I said, I was uncomfortable with it at first, but I actually really really enjoy it and you get to tell your patrons what you’re using the funds towards. Some writers say hey, this pays my bills, you gonna pay the mortgage. That’s why I have a Patreon. For me, all of my patreon funds get reinvested into my platform. So and I’ll ask my patrons what they want out of my platform. So I asked them what they were interested in coming up when the Savior’s champion was releasing, and he said they wanted character art. So I got character art. And I was able to upgrade my platform, get new lighting equipment, get a new backdrop, get a new camera, get a new microphone, everything because of my patrons, and they’re totally aware of where the money goes to. And it’s just a very transparent relationship. And I definitely recommend setting one up, but be ethical about it.
Sacha Black
No, absolutely. And I think the magical thing about Patreon is that one of an author’s, I guess, dreams is to be able to connect with their readers. And that this is the prime opportunity for you to be able to do that and you can give the the people who want more from you more. It is literally Yeah, I love it. And speaking of which, if you would like to get early access to the rebel order because then you can do so by visiting www.patreon.com forward slash Sacha Black that is Sacha
Jenna Moreci
Yes.
Sacha Black
Yeah, great segue there. So if Okay, let’s say somebody wants to set up a brand spanking new author tube platform, what what kit and equipment what they really what they can basic stuff that they need to be able to start their channel?
Jenna Moreci
Well, I started my channel with natural lighting and my FaceTime camera, and I did pretty well. So a lot of people they start their channel and they go all out they just get all the expensive lighting equipment to get a diva ring. They get just Everything expensive expensive backdrop and then their channel doesn’t do well and they’ve been doing it for years and they still only have you know, 100 subscribers and they realize I just spent a lot of money on something that didn’t end up working for me. So I don’t personally recommend that other people will say differently, but I am aware that a lot of writers are on a budget so don’t spend the money if you don’t have to spend it, yet. I think the most important things to have are one editing software you cannot just put together a YouTube video and then throw it on the internet you have to be able to edit it you need to be able to add well cut the clips and cut out all the crappy stuff. You need to be able to add sound effects and things like that. This will increase your watch time by a lot so get editing software, a lot of times you can get it for free iMovie just came on my map like it was already there and totally free to use. So That shouldn’t be a big expense. You don’t need to get something like Final Cut Pro right at the beginning, which is more expensive. Obviously, that’s something where once it once you’ve seen that the juice is worth the squeeze, then you can start shelling out the money. The other thing that I would recommend is a microphone, just get a good microphone so you have good sound quality because that is the one thing that a subscribers are not going to forgive, they will forgive if your lighting sucks, they will forgive if your camera quality isn’t that great. They will not forgive if your voice is annoying to listen to, they’re not going to be able to tolerate the video and they’re going to click out. So get a good microphone. And that’s pretty much what I would recommend for the basics. You can film on your phone, you can film on your laptop, you don’t need to get the camera, park yourself in front of a window with good lighting and use that at the start. Once you get further along and it’s proving fruitful to your endeavors. You can invest in a, you know, a low cost, diva ring, ring light and then once you get to a much bigger position that’s when you can probably get a nicer camera or additional lights. I have got three lights in front of me one behind me it’s just a big light collection, but I wasn’t I didn’t even look into that until I was past 100,000 subscribers.
Sacha Black
I’m number one. I absolutely love that you call it a diva ring.
Jenna Moreci
Oh, yeah, that’s I think it’s because of beauty influencers. It’s very popular for beauty influencers. One of the brands is called diva ring, and I was reading that before.
Sacha Black
Yeah, I’m the other thing to say is that I mean, the maker is not hard to learn to use. I if I managed to teach myself to edit some film videos, using ironically YouTube tutorials. Anybody can do that. But so don’t think that you have to invest in a really complicated expensive course to teach yourself how to edit. Just go to YouTube and and find the fruit free videos because I found a plethora of things on there, which helped me to edit very basic but still.
Jenna Moreci
It is super easy to use, I was able to teach it to myself at least the basics of it without even checking the YouTube tutorials yet though I did that later for the sound effects and things like that. But for just like trimming and clipping video content, I just dicked around with it and figured it out in like 15 minutes. Okay, so it’s really, really easy. You don’t need to, like you said you don’t need to invest in Final Cut Pro until you’re at a position where you need the bells and whistles.
Sacha Black
So the other thing that I thought was interesting kind of leads into the next question and when you spoke about having good quality audio, I completely agree I think the interesting thing is, and this may, I don’t know if you can do this on YouTube, but I know that you definitely can on audiobooks and podcasting, but people, I certainly listen to all of my podcasts and audiobooks on double speed. So the voice no longer makes a difference to me because I’m just trying to absorb the content. I don’t know if you can watch YouTube on double speed. But I just I think that’s I think it’s an interesting behavioral change that’s happening. And it means that the things that you might have been concentrating on, like, for example, getting the top quality audio is for me as a consumer less important than what you’re saying, and and the information that I’m gaining for it. But I’ll get to the point. And I would love to know what you think is going to happen for the future of YouTube with things like artificial intelligence and the voices being able to create they can replicate your voice and with VR what Where do you think it’s where do you think it’s gonna go?
Jenna Moreci
I just want to say that my fiance loves you for this question. He is a total tech nerd and he is obsessed with AI and VR. And just when he saw that this was going to be the interview, he was like, Oh, yeah. Um, but yeah, I think it’s only like a lot of people one approach to this topic, they kind of like brush it off, like, oh, whatever, you know, that’s days away. But the fact is, is that this happens all the time. You know, I mean, YouTube completely disrupted media and entertainment and learning. I mean, it’s, there are people alive who don’t remember a time before YouTube. I remember a time before YouTube, and I know that I saw the transition. Okay, we’re in it together.
I saw the transition and it totally changed the game. I mean, now there are people on TV who have to make sure their programs are also on YouTube or else they’re not going to get, you know, the rate of, you know, activity that they once did. Um, I don’t know, AI is like one of the realms of thought that is a little like, scary to me. Yeah.
Anyone say the matrix?
Right, exactly. I don’t know. But I know, with VR, especially, I think that’s going to have a big impact on YouTube, especially in a specific niche markets, especially with entertainment. And I think with learning channels, like my channel is kind of half learning half entertainment. I think it’ll make things a lot more hands on, literally, you know, a lot more accessible. And so I’m kind of excited about that. At the same time. There’s a part of me that’s like, oh, that’ll this will be something new. I have to learn. I’ve learned so much, but it’s kind of it’ll be interesting to see how things change?
Sacha Black
Um Okay, this is my favorite question is The Rebel Author Podcast and I think you’ve already told me many many times already on this, but not on this show but tell me about a time you unleash your inner rebel.
Jenna Moreci
Well I think kind of my entire becoming a writer experience and starting my YouTube platform was rebellious. I think I feel like the whole path toward it was rebellious because the only person in my life who supported that decision was Cliff. Cliff was like you’re very talented writer, you have, you know, a funny, upbeat personality. We both have a background in business, we can make this we can make this work. Whereas everyone else around me was like, you know, continue down the expected path, you know, the straight and narrow all that, you know, be the good girl working in finance, and I didn’t have support from anyone except cliff. I mean, which was the most important. But yeah, I just did it anyway because it’s what I wanted. And the way I saw it was what’s my life and I’m going to be the one line on my deathbed with regret not you. Mom, dad, all my friends, they’re not going to have any regrets. If I don’t pursue this is about me, this is not their problem. So I feel like the entire purpose of setting up my platform was rebellious in that way. And, and also my platform itself is a little rebellious people sometimes get offended, because I am a woman who has opinions and I’m not shy about it, and I enjoy some colorful language. And I like writing that way too. I like writing a lot of people expect women to write certain kinds of books and I write what I write. And I like violence. I like action. I love me some good romance, and I like sprinkle in so some colorful language amid at all so I feel like my whole writer journey has been rebellious to a certain degree. That said, it’s funny because people assume that I’m like, a natural rebel in real life but I’m such a square. I, I mean, like I I really I have no interesting like younger day stories where it’s like, oh yeah, we did this and it was crazy. I like never got invited to parties. I was you know, the nerd who graduated high school with a 4.35 GPA. Like I was just not, I’m not rebellious in that way, but I’ll make rebellious business decisions.
Sacha Black
Also, I’m totally with you. On the people being offended. I’ve genuinely had one star reviews because my writing books are filled with naughty swear words. And I’m you know, you can take your one star review and
Jenna Moreci
Shove it up your ass…
Sacha Black
Yeah. Pretty much yeah. Also, though. That’s fine. That’s great. You are just not one of my readers, you know, I’m fine.
Jenna Moreci
What? What’s funny to me is when people are like, Oh my gosh, jenice books have swear words and it’s like, have you seen one of my videos? tone down, like I go through my books, and I literally will like look for the fucks. And I will be like, do I need the fuck? nd if it stays it’s because I felt like I needed that. So I don’t do that with my videos but I do that with my book so it’s like this is the tone down Jenna you watch my videos you see that? I make dick jokes of plenty then my book wouldn’t be the same like that sounds like a personal problem.
Sacha Black
And that right there is a reason I’m moving into adult fantasy.
Jenna Moreci
oooh are you?
Sacha Black
Yeah it’s just all the swear words and this that you know, sex and violence and all of the media issues. I just can’t be dealing with non non non…
oh my gosh, you just got me so excited.
Jenna Moreci
Adult fantasy is my favorite. So I’m like
Sacha Black
Okay, tell everyone where they can find out more about you your books and where to find your YouTube channel.
Jenna Moreci
Well, my channel is probably the easiest to find it’s youtube.com/Jennamoreci or you can search for writing with Jenna Moreci on YouTube. I’m pretty much under the name Jenna Moreci everywhere so you can find my website at jennamoreci.com. I’m on Twitter as Jenna Moreci Instagram as Jenna Moreci and that’s m o r e ci. It’s a weird one I know. And you can find my books pretty much all over the place. The Savior’s champion is available on Amazon. It’s at Barnes and Noble. I mean I’ve even seen target Walmart, it’s crazy find it anywhere. And I also have signed copies available on my website that you can purchase and we have the audio book out. If you are new to audible you can listen to the Savior’s champion for free which is awesome. I love that. So yeah, you can’t avoid it. Get the book.
Sacha Black
Amazing. Well, thank you very much to all the patrons supporting the show. Thank you very much to listeners. And thank you very much to Jenna. I’m Sacha Black. You are listening to Jenna Moreci and this was The Rebel Author Podcast.
Fantastic podcast. Loved this as I know You Tube is another way to go and have been thinking about it for a long time. Thank you so much for this. xxx
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it, Jenna is a superstar and knows her stuff 💜
Awesome episode!!!
Though I wouldn’t know what to talk about on YouTube!
ha! I think most of us feel that way 😀
You know me.. shy and retiring… quiet as a mouse…
hahaha!
😀