AuthorTube Newbie Tag 2.0

Have you ever wanted to know more about an author, but all you could find was the author bio in the back of the book? Jenna Streety created a tag – a challenge, if you will, for authors to answer a series of questions about their platform online.

Here’s the link to her original video if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktlAQu9eAX4

And here are my answers! (and the link to the video: https://youtu.be/Y6E0hA-DoxY )

1. What’s your book’s pitch? If you have multiple works, choose your favorite!

For my current WIP, Gravely Mistaken: In a world of magic and swords, a teenage boy desperately wants any kind of magic at all in order to have a better life, only to find himself becoming the wielder of dark magic, the owner of a familiar known to be a harbinger of death, and the target of a kingdom wide manhunt.

2. If you were a book, how would you pitch yourself?

Professional daydreamer and dawdler, Julianne Turner (aka Jules the Dawdling Writer) is a fantasy adventure and mystery writer from Georgia who loves trying to guess the end of stories before she finishes them, and then pretends to be ok when the story doesn’t go the way she thought it would.

3. What do you usually write?

I usually write young adult fantasy novels.  I love the adventure, the potential of new magic and therefore new ways of approaching problems, and the escapism to a new world.

I tend to like writing the high and dark fantasy elements.  I find that the high and dark fantasy stories allows me to integrate the clash of powers (political, religious, and personal) that often mimics the conflict that goes on in real life, but I can give it a happier ending than most of what real life can devolve into.

Additionally, I love being able to interweave archetypes and myths into stories because they are often the bones of storytelling.  Utilizing archetypes in stories allows me to create characters that feel familiar and understandable while facing situations that might seem out of this world.

4. What’s something you’ll NEVER write?

I am not a fan of writing biographies.  There is too much research into the minutia of a person’s life.  I always feel like I’m prying into someone’s personal life.  And in addition, there are bound to be family members and friends who will be upset in the way that you portray the subject of the biography.  I have a deeply seeded wish to avoid confrontational family members. While I would love to tell some of the stories that I have heard from my grandparents, I know that I never will due to how other family members would react.

5. What’s your goal for starting an AuthorTube channel?

I want to become more comfortable talking about and sharing my writing, build a community with which I can talk to and share with, as well as document my learning process as I work towards getting published.  I also think that by building my channel, I will get better at efficient editing and posting consistently.  I also would like to find an audience that is interested in my books (I hope.)

6. What made you want to start writing?

I wrote my first story in 3^rd grade, but I used to concoct long and convoluted stories (lies) to tell my parents about why it wasn’t my fault whenever I did something naughty.  I also have the habit of telling myself bedtime stories in order to fall asleep every night.  I started doing that when my parents kept catching me reading by the night light or by flashlight.

7. What’s your publishing path? (Self-publish, traditional publish, hybrid, haven’t decided yet, or just write for fun?)

I am starting out self-publishing, but I would eventually like to also publish traditionally, so I suppose I will eventually become a hybrid author.  I’ve done some research on successful self-publishing authors, and quite a few of them wind up taking deals with a traditional publishing house in order to take some of the workload (editing, cover design, etc.) off of the author’s shoulders.

8. What content do you bring to the AuthorTube table?

I will be posting videos on tips and tricks that I try out as I try to stop procrastinating.  I also would love to do videos on character and plot archetypes, how to get new ideas based on archetypes alone, and documenting the process that it takes to get a book from draft to published.  I may do some book reviews on books about publishing as I get further into the process and have a better perspective about the information provided in those books.

9. What’s your biggest writing struggle?

My biggest struggle is finding a writing process and schedule that works for me that I can stick to consistently.  I have been horrible my whole life with sticking to deadlines that I set for myself.  I always seem to hit deadlines that other people give me, but I tend to make excuses for delaying and procrastinating the work that I assign myself.  Therefore, my biggest writing struggle is finding a way to make myself consistently sit down to write.

10. What’s your best writing skill? Choose between questions 11 and 12!

My best writing skill is probably describing the landscape and the world around the characters, so world building, and specifically the setting.  I know that that flows much better than the dialogue and action.  I often need to edit my dialogue to make it more natural, and the action to vary the verbs to make it sound less repetitive.

11. If you’ve been on YouTube for a while, what’s your best AuthorTube tip?

I’m a newbie, so I have no tips for you yet.

12. If you’re new to AuthorTube, what is your biggest AuthorTube question?

How do you manage to edit your videos so quickly?! (Half-joking)

No, in all seriousness, how do you find the balance between sharing too much of your personal life and your book’s twist/climax and not sharing enough?

13. Are you looking for any new channels to follow, betas, CPs, or other types of writer buddies? If so, tell us who you’re looking for and connect with them in the comments!

I would love to have all of them! I have followed quite a few channels, but every time I watch one, they mention someone else’s channel that I haven’t discovered yet.  So please, do send me some more recommendations for channels. Since we are all stuck inside for the quarantine, I have plenty of time to watch videos. As for Betas, Critique Partners, and Writer Buddies: YES, I would love them all. 

14. What are you most excited for during this new, fresh start on AuthorTube?

I am most excited to be able to talk about writing and stories with others and then be more excited and motivated to work on my own stories. I’m happy to have a place to nerd out about my writing and the writing of others.