Reading is such a solo sport, but in places like booktube it really does
become a team thing. And it's lovely. Hi and welcome to my channel! My name is Sarah
and I love to talk about books…although today I’m talking less about books and more about
booktube, because today is my one-year anniversary of starting my channel! I did have plans to do
something creative and fun to mark this occasion, but like many things in my life my abilities
didn't quite match up to my aspirations. So instead you just got me sitting here…but I guess
that's pretty true to brand. But I did want to mark hitting the one-year mark, because when I
started this channel last year I had no hopes, no dreams, no expectations, and in return I’ve
gained more than I ever could have imagined. I know in the grand scale of things I probably
have one of the slowest growing channels in the history of booktube, but part of me figures that
if I’m so niche, there must be a reason why some of you have stuck around, and I want to thank
you so much for that. I may never reach the dizzy heights of 200 subscribers, but what has come to
matter to me is that I have found my people. So thank you for being my people. And, as my city,
its saying is People Make Glasgow, I think that's very true for booktube - people make booktube. So
Scott and Nelle from over at Gunpowder Fiction and Plot tagged me a few months ago in the Not So
Newbie tag, and actually I think it's a really great way to wrap up my first year on booktube.
So I’m going to answer those questions, and then I will have a little chat about what I want to do in
my second year. I gather that the original creator of this tag is no longer making booktube videos,
but I will still link her channel down below in case you want to check out the original tag. The
first question is “how old is your channel?” And my channel is bang on one year - I uploaded
my first ever video on the 21st of March 2020, and as I upload this it will be the 20th of March
2021. I actually can't even bear to watch that first video, it is so awkward. I was so nervous,
which is strange because when you're filming you literally don't have an audience, so what is there
to be nervous about?! But I really was nervous. And part of me really thinks that I should maybe
just delete some of those earlier videos, but then another part of me thinks, no - it's
good to see how our channels evolved, and hopefully that will reassure anyone who
is considering starting their own channel, that we all start from pretty much nothing. I
didn't start this channel as a booktube channel, or at least not solely a booktube channel.
I had thought that I would have different content types. And I thought I was going to chart
my divorce journey, my recovery from that divorce and the, you know, the breakdown of the marriage.
I thought there would be stuff on here about me getting fit and losing weight. And I quickly hit
a couple of big problems with that plan. Firstly, divorce is mainly ugly crying - and in my case,
ugly anger as well - and I didn't really want to share that on YouTube…and it probably would have
come back to bite me if I had, so I never really got off the starting blocks with that. And then my
other problem is to chart your journey to fitness, to health, to happiness, you actually have to
make…progress. So my stagnation on pretty much all of those areas wouldn't have been very interesting
or inspiring to watch, so I was left with the bookish content. Actually, I’m so glad that that's
how it turned out. I absolutely love talking about books, watching other people talk about books,
and it's really brought a joy into my life that I can really make a big thing of this hobby
that I’ve always had. Sometimes I do think about, you know, it would be nice to maybe shake it up
a bit and put other content up, but I figure that anyone who subscribes to this channel, you're here
because you want to hear me talk about books, so it never really feels right to kind of then shove
in some other stuff that's totally unrelated. But I’ll get to that when I’m talking about what
my plans are for the channel in the coming year. Question number two is “what are
your favourite types of videos to make?” And although I don't do these very often - it's
kind of the downfall of only posting once a week, is that I don't always have
a lot of space in my schedule (as if I have one) to do a lot of these sorts of
videos - but I really do love a tag video. I think they often give you the opportunity to talk about
books that you maybe haven't mentioned before, books that you read before booktube, and I
think if they are well done they can really make you think. I find myself considering books
and themes and how I read in different ways when I’m answering tag questions. I also quite
like doing vlogs, but they are a bit of a bitch to edit so I tend to just keep them to like when
I’m doing the 24 hour readathon for Dewey’s, or, like, my visit to Hay-on-Wye - a town
in Wales which has, like, a bazillion different bookshops in it, I’ll try and
capture something like that. So I’m hoping once lockdown has lifted again here and things start to
open up, I’ll maybe do a vlog of me going around the charity shops, something like that. Because
I do enjoy it, it's just a bit more creative, it's a bit more fun to do and it probably gives
you something a bit different to watch as well. But yeah, they are a pain in the butt to
edit. Editing takes me quite long anyway, but it's not helped by the fact that I have a
geriatric laptop which I can't afford to replace. It crashes, it freezes, it gives me, like -
it used to be an egg timer…what do we call that now? Like, the circle of doom - with
basically every command that I give it. So I have to spread out the editing for all of
my videos over a number of different evenings, just to find the time and also to try and stop
myself from chucking the damn laptop out the window in sheer frustration. So, like, a 30-minute
finished video will take me about 40 to 50 minutes to film, and then another three to four hours to
edit. Booktube is a true labour of love! I figure, if I can get my laptop to speed up - I need to
majorly declutter it, probably format it, all that sort of stuff - that could maybe get my editing
time down to like two to three hours. But actually doing that to my laptop also takes time…which
I don't have. Question number three – “what one piece of advice would you give someone who is
considering starting a booktube channel?” And when I was thinking of my answer to this question, I
didn't realise it said “one piece” of information or advice, so you're about to get an unsolicited
advice tsunamI coming your way. I think mainly, if I do wrap it down to one it's just - don't think,
just do. Just sit down and start filming yourself. Although do keep in mind that A) you will not be
a natural at first, and that is absolutely fine; and B) you will not make it big straight off
the bat - no one does. But also, put it this way - what have you got to lose? Definitely
far less than you can gain by having your own booktube channel. And this is coming from someone
who really hasn't got off those starting blocks in my first year - I have gained so much from
having this channel: the joy this hobby gives me, the added element its given to my reading, the
amazing people I have met. That's more than worth the hours I sit watching Filmora crash my edits.
But some practical advice. So number one - you do not need fancy equipment. I'm phoning…phoning? I'm
filming this on my phone. I do have some lights set up, which I think it's blatantly obvious
I don't really know what I’m doing with them, because I’ve still never…you can see my hand
there, I’ve still never quite got the positioning right to try and get rid of the shadows behind
me when I film in this location. I did…the most expensive thing I ever bought was a microphone,
which I’ve never used because I think I bought the wrong type and I just don't know how to work
it. But yeah, literally my lights are super cheap, they are from Amazon. And I have a tripod that I
already had for my proper camera (I do have…it's been that long since I’ve used it, I can't even
remember what it is…I think it's a Nikon. I have a Nikon camera, and I never use that for filming
because it's got some stupid cut-off that only films in 10-minute blocks, and I just lost the rag
with that). So yeah, you can absolutely film on your phone. You don't even really need a tripod,
if you can prop your phone up properly - I’ve got a little, sort of, like, ring on the back of
my phone that can work as a prop stand. So you don't even need a tripod. I think as long as your
picture is clear enough and people can hear you, you do not need all the fancy pants shenanigans.
The number two I will say, it's worth getting a decent bit of video editing software. I've
always used a bought program, but I know, like, there's probably free things that
you can use as well. I use Filmora by Wondershare, I’ll link it below. I pay for a
yearly subscription for it, it's not expensive and it does everything I need it to do. And I would
encourage people to at least do a little bit of editing in your videos. You can cut out bits where
you waffle, you can cut out vocal tics – like, I am a big “ummmm-er” and I will sit looking off
into space quite blankly while I try and remember how words work. I don't think anyone needs to see
that, so I will cut that out. And also it does help to do things like little text overlays, or
if you want to use music in vlogs and things like that. It does just help your videos look that
little bit more polished. Number three is just get comfortable. Sit comfortably and talk to the
camera as if you're just talking to your friend. It took me a while to get into that, I thought I
had to be presenting. But I think the more I’ve relaxed into it the better my videos have
got, and certainly I’ve seen that in the responses I’ve got in comments and things like
that as well. Number four is just be yourself. Don't put on an act, don't read things that
you wouldn't normally read, just be your authentic self - that is always what draws me to a
booktuber, is if I can see that they are genuine, that they genuinely enjoy the books that they
read and we are seeing the true person. It's really easy to spot when someone is putting on an
act, and it's just not nice to watch. And number five is a bit of advice I’m giving not only to a
someone who wants to start a channel, but also to myself - and that is try not to worry about the
numbers. And if you figure out how to do that, please do let me know. I remember how excited and
overjoyed I was with my first few subscribers, and actually I think I was more excited about
them than I was for even hitting my 100, because I honestly didn't think that anyone would watch
this channel. And every sub means a lot to me, because you are taking a chance on me. There's
obviously something I’ve done that has caught your eye, and when you're watching my videos
you are spending your time on me, so I think that is a real honour when someone has chosen to
follow you and hopefully watch your videos when they go up. However I would be lying if I said
I wasn't a little bit deflated by how slow my growth has been compared to others that I follow
that started at roughly the same time as me. I'm really proud of what I’ve done
on this channel, and I know logically part of my slow growth is because I don't put
myself about enough - and I’ll get into that in a little while - but I am a deeply
insecure person, so I do take it personally. And I know that, you know, comparison is the thief
of joy and blah blah blah blah blah. So do not be like me, get your head away from the numbers and
just do what you enjoy. Question number four is “since joining have you run into any unforeseen
challenges?” And, like - like I’ve just kind of touched on - it's the putting myself out there,
both in terms of how frequently I post and in engaging in the booktube community. It probably
sounds a bit like crap, and even people who know me or work with me probably won't believe me
when I say this, but I am painfully shy. I am really insecure and I have a major imposter
complex in pretty much everything I do. Social anxiety is a huge hurdle that I have yet to
jump cleanly over since joining booktube. And that shouldn't have been an unforeseen challenge
because it's something that I have in everything that I do, but I don't know - some part of me
had thought that I would be different when it came to booktube. I've made some amazing friends
in this first year on booktube, but I can't expect to build on those or elevate those - and I really,
really want to - unless I overcome this hurdle. This is the booktube community - emphasis on that
last word - and I can't expect to be part of that or to grow my channel until I can get over that
particular problem. Question number five which is “what is a favourite book or series you've read
because of booktube?” So, by this I’m guessing it doesn't mean, like, just books you've read
while you've been on booktube, but books you've picked up specifically because of booktube.
I think if I answer this question next year, there'll be a lot more to pick from,
because really my first year on booktube I was still reading the books I picked for myself
before I joined booktube. But there have been some definite ones that were…they only came onto my
radar because of booktube, and I only read them because of booktube. So the first one, it has to
be The Death Of Vivek Oji. I loved this. I had already bought an Akweke Emezi…oh, there is there
- this one had been on my Goodreads tbr for a long time, and I bought that, kind of, April/May. But I
haven't read Freshwater yet, so this was the first EmezI book that I read. And it was picked by
Scott and Nelle. This is a phenomenal story of, not surprisingly, the death of Vivek Oji,
but also his life and how he is trying to build his sense of gender identity, sexual
identity and try and express those in quite a homophobic society. I thought this book was
fabulous. Another one that I read last year that I don't think I would have picked up without
booktube, is a graphic novel - of which I think this is only the second one I’ve ever read - and
I absolutely love this. This is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and this is, yeah, like I said,
it's a graphic autobiography, of her experience of growing up in Iran and then also emigrating from
Iran, and that difference of culture and viewing things that were happening in her country from
outside of it. This book has totally turned my head on graphic novels. I haven't read any since
and I haven't bought any yet, but I’m definitely far more open to reading that genre, and again I
wouldn't have picked that up if I hadn't heard so many people loving on it on booktube. The next few
I want to talk about were ones I read as eBooks. The first one was Summer Water by Sarah Moss,
which was one of my favourite books last year. It's a very short book about one day in the lives
of people who are staying on a holiday lodge park in Scotland. The weather's rubbish, we see the day
from everyone else's perspectives, and they're all kind of stuck in their lodges and they're watching
other people. And there's a building sense of tension interspersed with these really lovely
vignettes about the nature that's around them. But this tension is building and building, and the
ending actually left me pretty winded, and I just thought it was phenomenal. I also finally picked
up Normal People by Sally Rooney due to booktube, I absolutely loved that as well. And then a
non-fiction that I picked up due to booktube was The Five by Hallie Rubenhold…Rubenfold?
It'll be on the screen [Rubenhold]. Which is the life stories of the five women who were killed
by Jack the Ripper. And I don't know if I would necessarily have wanted, like, been that
interested in reading about anything to do with Jack the Ripper now - although I had been quite
interested when I was younger - but the really feminist slant on this and how fresh it was in
that it doesn't really talk about jack the ripper at all (this is all about the victims), and I
think in this time and place that the world is in, that is so healthy. And it really honours those
women as well and, yeah, definitely that was a pick because of booktube. And I’m just looking at
the books that I’ve got here, and so many of these are booktube purchases. I haven't read these, this
is my TBR trolley, but we have Girl Women Other, we have I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell,
there's Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, there's The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, there's another
Sarah Moss - Night Waking, there's Patsy by Nicole Dennis Benn…like, there are so many books I have
bought in the last year and also other ones I’ve added to my TBR that I haven't yet picked up
copies of, and it's all due to booktube. And I think my reading is just growing and getting
better because I have your voices recommending books to me, which is just, well, actually, again
that brings me on to the next question, which is number six – “overall what is your favourite
aspect about booktube?” And it is that, it is the talking about books. In terms of making my videos,
it's that process of formulating my thoughts about the books that I’ve read, and then seeing how
you guys respond to it when you leave comments. But then it's also watching other booktubers talk
about books and then having that conversation in their comments as well. And I just I just think
that's so magical - reading is such a solo sport, but in places like booktube it really does become
a team thing. And it's lovely. And I am a booktube watcher first and foremost, and I’m always blown
away. Like, booktubers are so intelligent. They're so creative, they're funny, and really I think
that the book community is the best of humanity. Because when we talk about books we aren't
just talking about books - we're talking about life and society and relationships. And I have
come across very, very few booktubers who have hate at the core of their opinions on any of these
things. I think on the whole we are a really open, welcoming, loving and open-minded group
of people. And I think, I honestly think, that that is books that do that to a person.
Books open your mind. It's really hard to remain homophobic or racist or misogynistic
if you read the right sorts of books. I know there are those out there who desperately try,
but it's because they aren't reading the right sorts of books. But I think on the whole, when
you learn about people, you learn about humanity, you learn about society, you cannot help but have
your mind opened. And I see that reflected time and time and time again in the booktubers that
I follow. Number seven is “want to spread the booktube love? Give at least one newbie a shout
out.” So I went through my subscriptions list and I actually don't have anyone…well I wasn't
looking at when they started their channel, I was looking specifically for people whose
channels had less subscribers than me. And yeah, I don't really have anyone.
Literally the smallest. Apart from - and this blew my brains out, because I cannot understand
this - but Booktube With Simon and Amy have, like, 10 less subscribers than me. What
is going on people?! They are a far better channel than me. They're funny, they are
super creative, and I cannot understand why more people haven't subscribed to Simon and Amy’s
channel. They are newer than me, so I assume it's probably just that. But if you haven't checked
them out, you absolutely have to now. They are fellow Scottish booktubers - of course I am
waving that flag - but they could be from mars and I would still absolutely love their channel.
So you definitely need to go and check out them. I've also recently started following Sam over at
Paper Knot Books. She had taken a bit of a break, I think, but now she is back, and I met her
through the Read Under the Bed Book Club chat and she is lovely. So please go and boost her
subscriber count as well. And question number eight is just to tag some other booktubers. So,
I am using this more of a shout out than a tag. I mean, obviously - if you want to do it and I
tag you, then please do go ahead because I would love to know what your answers to these questions
are. And also if I don't tag you and you like the sound of this tag, just go ahead and let me know
that you've done it, because I would really like to see your videos. But yeah, I’m using this more
as an opportunity to shout out the people who I consider friends, the ones who have supported me
on my booktube journey, and who’ve probably driven some of you subscribers my way due to tagging me
and things and giving me shout outs. So I would like to repay the love. The first is obviously
Scott and Nelle at Gunpowder Fiction and Plot - they tagged me in this, and they are really
just the most fabulous people. They've been really supportive of me and I’ve really loved watching
their channel just grow and grow. Because they are so funny, they are super intelligent, I love
the way that they examine their reading and the themes and things that they read, and they, you
know, they dare to say things that other people wouldn't, and they dare to push discussions into
places that some people are clearly uncomfortable with but which are really, really important. And
they do it all with this sort of snark that I bloody love. So yes Scott and Nelle at Gunpowder
Fiction and Plot…thank you for being a friend. I can't believe I just said that. And then of course
I have to mention Dani Over at Spenelli Speaks, she was probably one of the first booktube
friends I made and she was so supportive right from the very beginning. She has helped
build up my confidence, build up my channel, because she really was so encouraging and
would tag me and shout me out a lot when I was in my really early days. I've met a lot of
my other booktube friends and other channels that I subscribed to through Dani. She is a powerhouse
- she is so effervescent and so fun to watch, she talks about a really wide range of books, she's
super funny and she is just so full of energy, and she is definitely a channel that you need to
follow. She is perfection. And speaking of which, I have to shout out Ange With An E. She is also
perfection in my eyes. I think much like Scott and Nelle, she's got a really sharp wit. But you
have to pay attention with Ange, because she's so sneaky with it. But again she reads great books,
she's been super friendly, super supportive of me. I really enjoy her videos and you should
definitely check out Shuggate, the feud she had with Simon from Booktube With Simon and Amy
over Shuggie Bain, which was probably one of the highlights of my first booktube year. And then
I just want to end with some shout outs for some newer booktubers and friendships that I’ve started
to make. They're really phenomenal booktubers, but they're also the loveliest of people. I have to
mention Emily at Novelle Novels - we're just still getting to know each other, but she is such a warm
and kind and lovely person. And she again reads a really wide range of books, she is a voracious
reader, she has some really interesting videos on different themes - like her favourite female
characters and things like that - but also she is the epitome of someone who chats to the
camera like she's talking to a friend. It really does make you feel like you're sitting having a
coffee with her, it's lovely. And then huge shout out to Barb at The Front*. Barb is so clever, her
videos are always really thought out, her opinions are really good, and she is wickedly funny. I
absolutely adore her. She's done some really interesting videos, particularly, like, mental
health in booktube - that was a standout for me. And she's just a really lovely woman to chat
to in the comments as well. She does have one of the smaller channels, and I cannot
understand that either. She really does deserve far more subscribers than she has,
so go and get clicking. And then finally, so that's all the questions from the not so newbie
tag and I just thought I would end this video…I mean, none of this is definite - I’m just musing
over things at the moment - but what I would hope to do with my channel in the coming year. I
definitely want to build it up more, so that means working on coming out of my shell making those
connections with other booktubers, and really trying to return the friendship and the warmth
I’ve received. I also would like to start posting twice a week. I'm tentative with this one, because
I literally have no idea how I will fit this in, but I’ve seen and I really, really enjoy watching
people's, kind of, weekly check-in videos, their Friday Reads, whatever they've termed as. I
was thinking of doing a kind of mid-week check-in, where I talk about a book that maybe that I’ve
just finished or what I’m currently reading, but also just letting a bit more of life
into my channel. So just talking about things that aren't books. Maybe I will talk
about what I’ve been watching on telly, or adding a little vlog of somewhere that I’ve maybe
been for a walk, and things like that, just to add a little bit more flavour to the
content that I’m putting out there. And then if I maybe use that to do tbrs and
things, that will free up a bit more time for me to do other content - more tags and other
bookish chat as well. Because I do feel like my channel is becoming a bit formulaic. I do a TBR,
I wrap up the last month, I’ll maybe do a tag and I’ll maybe do a video with some sort of other
content, and then it's back around to the TBR, the wrap-up. And it, yeah…I just want to
shake things up a little bit, I think. So it would be really great to hear what sort of
content you want to see, because I’m not making this channel for myself! I'm making it for you
guys, so what do you want to hear me talk about? What sort of content do you really enjoy? Is there
anything that you don't like about my channel? I'm fully open to criticism, as long as you're not
an arsehole about it. And yeah, just tell me what you as a viewer are looking for, and within
my limited skill set and time I will try and bring those things into my videos as well. So to finish
on I just want to say thank you to anyone who's ever hit that subscribe button. If you ever take
the time to watch my videos, if you hit subscribe, I cannot thank you enough. I’ve really
had the best first year on booktube, and I am excited to see where the next one takes
me. But I think I’ve been quite indulgent in this video today - it's all about me…but then that's
what birthday should be. But I think there is a limit to that sort of behaviour, so I’m gonna
wrap it up here. And so until next time *kiss* Bye! Number seven is do you want to
spread… number seven is do you want…
