I'm an author, not a brand.

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The thumbnail is total clickbait, but the topic's real. It might even be authentic! To be honest, it's getting harder and harder to tell.
Vox article: www.vox.com/culture/2024/2/1/...
PBS segment: • Popular new literary g...
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The Vox piece
03:48 Manufactured authenticity
05:00 Sponsorships (and why I don't do them)
07:55 The "organic" problem
10:08 AI and art
13:47 If everyone's an influencer...
19:50 Publicists aren't the problem
21:58 Update on my projects
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Macbook Air. Doesn’t really need my recommendation. amzn.to/3soroc2
iPAPA laptop case: amzn.to/3slflwf
Mind-Reader adjustable/portable laptop desk. I LOVE this thing. Typing with my arms at an angle has drastically reduced elbow/wrist pain. amzn.to/2OYh0tX
Bluelight blocker glasses: amzn.to/2VAG51u
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Acer monitor. I kind of hate the word gamechanger but this really was that kind of purchase. amzn.to/3vH71Kh
Brother laser printer. I won’t lie, this thing is a behemoth. But I’ve had it since 2017 and I think I’ve had maybe one paper jam? It works great, it’s super consistent, A++ for printing manuscripts. amzn.to/3tzIvZE
Alphasmart Neo2. Highly highly recommend. amzn.to/3cStKui
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COFFEE STUFF
Ninja coffee maker. amzn.to/31533Nu
Cold brew pitcher. amzn.to/3cSKVM9
Zulay milk frother. amzn.to/3r7DDJu
VIDEO MAKING STUFF
Canon G7X Mark iii camera. I love the flip up screen (ie, you can see yourself as you film) and the fact that there’s a mic port. amzn.to/3r9BfCb
Savage studio lights. I mostly use these for ‘talking head’ videos. amzn.to/3r7G6Un
Ubeesize 10” ring light. That’s the little guy sitting on my desk. I mostly use it for vlogging. amzn.to/31hqpzD
JJC mini tripod. amzn.to/3feXxjJ
Rode clip mic. amzn.to/2OSaLb2
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14 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 137

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Here's the Vox piece that kicked off this rant... www.vox.com/culture/2024/2/1/24056883/tiktok-self-promotion-artist-career-how-to-build-following

@parquetbouquet 5 месяцев назад

This is exactly where I find myself right now! I'd never written a book before the one I just spent three years on. I've finally edited it to the point I was gaining confidence to start querying and then boom suddenly I realized that everyone in the industry is recommending having a big social media following and author website. I get the point that I should be easy to find so people can see who I am, but I loathe social media. I purposely have very few accounts and most of my followers are actual real life friends. I'm seriously considering self publishing because of that, a route that would ironically force me to self promote, but it is so crazy to me that publishers would be willing to work with someone based solely on the fact that they are one of the cool kids on social media. I feel like there are a lot of voices that will be squashed in that process and most writers are introverts the last thing most of us want to do is become an influencer. 😩

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

It does seem like this is one thing trad pub and self pub have in common....being an author means becoming an influencer. :/

@TXVETJEB 4 месяца назад

I'm 60 years old. I just self published my first book. I did not nor will I "build" an author platform. I don't want readers to get to know me. It sounds creepy to think someone that read my book wants to get to knwo me. Yuck. I'm not doing that, and if that means I won't sell many books. So be it.

@ledafrost 5 месяцев назад

I have been yelling from the rooftops that I am not willing to promote a product that doesn't exist yet! 100% agree that I am not a brand! I tried to make a few reels on Instagram and ended up deleting them because of the time energy and effort required to make like a ten second video. My time can be so much better spent writing. I saw on Twitter a writer who said an agent rejected her on a full because she didn't have a strong author platform and I wanted to rage. Five years, ten years ago, authors weren't expected to do this level of marketing. What's the point of trad pub if they make you do 90% of the work? Anyway, absolutely agree with everything. Glad to know we're not alone.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Absolutely! It boggles my mind that authors get rejected for not having platforms - authors with strong platforms get huge deals and the sales/critical reception is subsequently terrible, and houses obviously have that data. It's such a bizarre strategy.

@Avionne_Parris 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for posting this, Michelle! I have thoughts-so many thoughts! Rant incoming in 3, 2, 1... First, let me say that I agree 100% with everything you said. Regarding social media, I only have Instagram, Pinterest, and RU-vid and I've been contemplating deleting IG as I barely use it compared to the other two platforms. If something doesn't serve me, I cut it loose (deleted Facebook, Twitter, Discord, and LinkedIn and haven't regretted it since). I've noticed quite a few Authortubers who've abandoned their RU-vid channels in favour of slaving away at their TikTok for sales and views. More power to them but that's not for me. It's a trend that's sadly not going away any time soon. I'm with you; I write and wanna publish books for the fun of it, to impact others through my stories and inspire change through fictional scenarios. If money and fame is made along the way, so be it - but it's not my priority nor my main goal. Regarding the sponsorships, whew chile, I was nodding so hard I'm surprised my head didn't fall off. And yes, watching those video setups give me the "ick" and I definitely feel duped. It feels contrived almost like a movie killing off a character and as you grieve the loss, "sike," they resurrect them. Manufactured authenticity is certainly the order of the day especially given the rise in TikTok's influence on consumer interest. Would this make me start a TikTok? No. If anything, it made me scale down my social media presence online. How the heck are writers supposed to keep up? I need to write the books, edit them, publish them, market them, read books, create courses, do social media, go viral, keep outta trouble, etc. Plus I have a 9 to 5 and a family I take care of. Writing is my passion. So that will be my focus. I'll admit, the pressure to be an author brand did stress me out initially. But this video made me realise what matters the most to me. Thanks, Michelle! You always know EXACTLY what topic to post at the right time. I really needed this today. Oh, and hi Rosa - the happiest, most well-travelled dog on the internet :)

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Ohh I've noticed the jumping over to TikTok too...gotta say, bold move for US authors on a platform that (unlike all the others) isn't a US-based company and keeps facing potential bans over here! Another thing I totally forgot to get into is TikTok has a publishing house of its own now...wonder which books the algorithm is going to push?? :/ Thank you for taking the time to comment, Avi!!

@Avionne_Parris 5 месяцев назад

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Didn't know TikTok had a publishing house! Hmm, part 2 lolz :)

@cassie_hart 5 месяцев назад

I love Michelle rants! You always have good things to say. As an introvert author who is awkward AF, I really struggle with the brand thing too.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you much for this, and for watching!! :)

@ramonarobot 5 месяцев назад

I used to be subscribed to many youtubers with writing, author stuff, and book related content such as jenna morecci, christie ann jones, etc. But I’ve unsubscribed to almost all of them after it doesn’t seem like they really want to talk or share about the art of writing and books, but they’re just doing it to help propel them to getting book deals and ready readers they can promote to. I’m only subscribed to a handful of writing / book RU-vid channels now, like Michelle, Shaelinwrites, Hello Future Me. They are the ones (to me) who really seem to care about sharing about writing and books.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

That's a great point, Ramona. Something I meant to touch on but forgot while filming was that I really don't judge any writer who is trying to supplement their income with RU-vid/social, but I'm not willing to put that kind of time into it because it takes too much away from actual writing.

@manestreambeauty 5 месяцев назад

The irony of the BH sponsored videos is I can see them being used as b-roll in future documentaries exploring how social media affected mental health, and how mental health care sold as a product led to ethical issues and healthcare reform...mark my words.

@therealannataylor 5 месяцев назад

Perfect timing. I’ve never felt the drive to overinflated my RU-vid channel, but recently I’ve been contemplating doing more with my channel than my occasional journal-esque updates. But I don’t ever want to make it come off like I’m curating a life for the masses to relate to. I want them to relate because I’m being the truest me I can be, and this just solidified how I’m feeling about all of it and the direction I want to take with it. All that to say, thanks!

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Love that! And thank you for watching, Anna!

@Realma 5 месяцев назад

Such a though-provoking video. Watching this from a musician's perspective, I fully agree with everything you've outlined here. I've been so burnt out from social media for a while now, honestly. More and more, you see all this AI-generated content having such a reach, while anything original you publish is pushed to the side. It's all about quantity and then you feel the need to catch up to that quantity. However, being an independent artist with a niche style, I am involved in all facets of the work - recording, composing, producing, planning live videos, writing sheet music for musicians, including also writing concepts for my animated music videos and also promoting my songs/instrumentals... I am simply not a content farm, it all takes time and I have limited resources, so I don't fit the algorithm. Yet, as someone who spent years honing my craft and having invested that much into the project, you get discouraged that there is barely anyone watching/listening, so you have to push ads/paid promotion. And that leads you to focus on the number of streams/views, and you start seeing your audience as simply numbers. But as you said, numbers are meaningless. I want to create music/music videos that move people and not only feed the algorithm and eat up views... I'm still learning to separate myself from all this social media noise and I'm so glad you talked about this. Have been following your channel for writing tips, but this was especially poignant for me. Also, love that analogy with The Incredibles, it's so true.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I have nothing to add to this but a slow clap. Spot on, every word!

@judithrussell9162 5 месяцев назад

Oh Michelle, I greatly appreciate this. There seems to be a desperation now about selling books by any means possible. I don't write YA or fantasy or whatever the hell Hoover writes, I'm also older, so I feel that tiktok wouldn't work for me anyway, and that's a relief. I don't think I will ever make even a tiny fortune writing but I do love the practice.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Desperation is the word, for sure! :/

@reginaduke7451 5 месяцев назад

Brilliant video. Calming, reassuring, common sense. You always stand up for those of us slogging along with our creative efforts. I told me editor yesterday that I am really writing for an audience of one: her. And if she likes what I'm doing, I keep going. Crazy, but true.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Well said!! And thank you for watching, Regina!!

@dueling_spectra7270 5 месяцев назад

Here's my take on branding: When we distill marketing down to it's simplest definition it means to communicate our offerings and objectives with society; I think of branding's relation to para-social relationships as being the same as personal boundaries to interpersonal relationships. It's what we will do, or not do, share or not share. I feel that they should be focused as much towards protecting our mental health, as to protecting our reputation and future career. Everything should be built around what will be sustainable for you. When I first heard what constitutes a good query letter, which was after I had researched self publishing, I was taken aback. A query letter is basically a draft of a marketing plan for a book. For publishers to offload social marketing activities to authors, who won't have real time sales stats to improve make that sort of promotion work, while shrinking advances so the authors need day jobs to afford live? None of this is passing the logic test.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Very well said! And what we're seeing is that maintaining art and a platform isn't sustainable for most.

@pietruszkapietruszkowa9713 5 месяцев назад

Preach it, sister! :) But seriously, thanks for this video, all of it is becoming the bigger and bigger problem. For now I worldbuild and write for the pure joy and don't even think about publishing but there is a part of me that thinks "maybe someday?" and I immediately feel tired when thinking about AI, promotion etc. I do feel like we can and should find some middle ground. For example, I tried AI recently and it's amazing as an assistant, it can help with so many things but the creative part of writing should stay creative. It's what art is for imo. The feeling of joy I feel when worldbuilding, connecting dotts, playing with words, finding right words for what I'm trying to do, for me, that's irreplaceable. I would feel robbed because this feeling comes up ONLY when I'm writing. (And I'm really sad and mad for every visual artist that was litteraly robbed of their years of work, their passion and their joy of creativity when suddenly everyone can "generate art", even art that is made in specific artist style) And I know, whole publishing is a bussiness and people want to make money and that's ok in general but right now I feel like it's blinding them to the consequences because if artists are replecable, almost everyone in publishing bussiness are and they don't yet see that they are cutting off the branch they are sitting on. And the promotion part? Maaan, the grown up part of me understand this logic: more followers -> more money. But I do feel like many authors and books try to be the right thing? In sense that they will trim themselves and what they say and write what currently is thought as the right thing. I feel there is so many books with the same protagonist, the same plot, the same side charracters and the same theme. And at the beginning I thought that maybe some issues needs worked through, like in therapy? But I just don't know now. Anyway, I'm really curious what stories we would tell if there was no so much pressure to fit into the trend. (sorry, I'm not native english speaker and I do feel like sometimes it's hard for me to follow the topic when I write in english but I hope you can understand :))

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I think you said it all perfectly! I think these houses are definitely being short-sighted - the result of the fact that they've always had a business model that's essentially a gamble, so instead of having the time and resources to come up with solid long term strategies, they're just spending year after year desperately trying to find a few breakout books that will make the majority of the annual bank.

@authorj.l.slipak9526 5 месяцев назад

It's somewhat ironic or even a vicious circle that doesn't make sense. We are expected to create a brand, make videos, and sell ourselves so that publishers will think of us as a beneficial commodity and invest in us. Yet, what do we do? We write books. If we are so busy creating a brand, then when are we supposed to write? I too just want to write. Great video!

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

It's supposed to be about the books, not the author. I think that's the issue in a nutshell!

@AuthorMorganLee 5 месяцев назад

I feel everything in this video 100%. I'm slowly realizing that I honestly do not want to make content to self promote and sell myself or be a brand. I just want to write. I want someone to read and like my books. Which may be extra hard since I chose the self publishing route lol, but creating content is not that fun for me. I do like RU-vid, but I will never make these aethetic writing vlogs or give top notch writing advice and I'm okay with that. It's sad that even with trad pub authors are expected to sell themselves and have these huge platforms.

@5Gburn 5 месяцев назад

Agree 1000%. I have zero plans to create a social media platform for myself. I might for my pen names, though--just for fun. Maybe X accounts where I have an AI-generated (though lifelike) avatar that looks completely unlike myself. But for me and my real name? My plan is to generate buzz locally (I already have people at work hounding me to finish the book), and take the Kindle Unlimited route (more exposure right off the bat). Come to think of it, when I was on X, I saw a lot of authors express frustration over sales--and we're talking accounts with 10k+ followers. Ridiculous!

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I'm glad you're okay with that - because it's totally okay! :) I honestly think the writing vlogs that are heavy on the aesthetic and not so much on reality are contributing more harm than anything else.

@thebookcorner1072 5 месяцев назад

I'm an indie author and I agree with everything that you've said. I don't care about getting a huge following on Tiktok. What I care about is if someone likes my book. All I care about is if someone hates my book. Beyond that, I just don't care. And if I make a couple of sales, then I"m fine with that. All I really want, beyond the likes and hates, is my books in the library. That's it! That will be a mark that I'm a success.

@edubs9828 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching!

@nikkismith2858 5 месяцев назад

There was a backlash against a beauty influencer who used the Michigan State University shooting in February 2023 for an advert with biore nose strips & mental health. Better help is notorious for having lots of problems-unqualified therapists amongst others it’s also been speculated that influencers who try it out are getting a more attentive experience than the general public. I like your idea of AI replacing executives from the top down when everyone is worried about down up ie authors artists getting shafted. Unfortunately they have more power.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Oh god that's awful. And yeah, I've heard some of the rumors about BH - not great.

@byronlopezellington8839 5 месяцев назад

Important note about BetterHelp from the son of an actual therapist: BH is not real therapy. I don't know if they have any actual, licensed therapists working for them, but in any case that is not their focus. Any good, real, highly trained, and licensed therapist would never work for BH.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I've heard that before - thanks for pointing it out! I'm honestly bummed at how many creators I really like are constantly taking sponsorships from BH.

@byronlopezellington8839 5 месяцев назад

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthorSame. Like one of my longtime favs, WheezyWaiter, has done multiple ads for them and it really peeves me.

@5Gburn 5 месяцев назад

What *is* their focus, then?

@byronlopezellington8839 4 месяца назад

@@5Gburn Money.

@kitkatneko 5 месяцев назад

Agree with so much of what you said, specially how we're supposed to make a brand for a book we haven't even written yet. I hate social media and have no ides what to do with it, soecially when I don't care to show myself. But what stuck with me more was your comment on a whole sad video sharing about mental helath just to be sponsored by betterhealth. Because a long while ago I was watching the videos of a couple I followed at the time- I already knew they were sort of a 'sell-out' to sponsorships, but it really hit me the wrong way when, after the wife got cancer (which I was already iffy about the way they were handling it in their videos), during one of the vids the husband was waiting for her chemo to end, was talking about how sad and tired he had been, and then immediately happy-segweyed into a sponsorship for ridiculous green juices and how thankful he was those gave him energy to keep going. And I just couldn't deal anymore. It all felt very fake and gross.

@5Gburn 5 месяцев назад

That's because it *is* very fake and gross. The only channels I can stand having sponsorships are those where you expect that there will be sponsorships, like The Comments Section with Brett Cooper or SciShow. Totally fine. But yeah, when it's just average Joe content creators weaving sponsorships in with their tragedy, it's just "Yech".

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Whoa....that's an extreme example for sure. Definitely gross and fake and also just makes me worry about the creators' mental health. I mean, monetizing your stress and trauma like that? Yikes.

@kitkatneko 5 месяцев назад

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Yeah. I just couldn't understand how he was capable of doing that. I can understand taking the sponsorship if he needed more money ro help with the treatment, but the way he presented it... Ugh. Really made me question a lot of things about youtube in general.

@susanreimer9317 5 месяцев назад

Excellent video and article. I loved this: “ It’s also a world where that art is “more familiar, formulaic, user-friendly, eager to please - more like entertainment, less like art.”” More like entertainment, less like art. I write children’s fiction and that really spoke to me. Thanks for this. Write on!

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

GREAT quote right there!! And thanks for watching :)

@theredmushroomproductions8967 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for this video. Anything I get from TikTok has a YT filter. I refused to get the app. The only reason I have IG is because of my family. I will say that anyone who got a boost from TikTok also opens themself for a plethora of ridicule and criticism. It looks like a tidal wave to me. First you get all the love and then you get all the hate. I have to think more about what I want my authenticity to be. I want to write honest stories but I also want to quit my day job. On my website I mention in various posts that I have a private life that stays private.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

That's a really good point. I've seen some examples of how the rise and fall plays out in days (even hours) on TikTok - it's like social media/influencer life in fast forward.

@reginapetty2042 5 месяцев назад

“Personal brand” is a phrase I’ve despised since I first heard it 15+ years ago in the tech profession of all places. I blame reality tv. It has insinuated itself into our economy and politics. Like that emotionally manipulative sponsored video you described, this faux authenticity is money-grubbingly shallow. Thank you for keeping it real.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Yeah, I've always found it off-putting - it touches that "corporations aren't people" nerve with me, because the reverse is also true.

@reginapetty2042 5 месяцев назад

Yes. Similar to the phrases “human resources” and “human capital” which turns people into widgets.

@kathrynnielson5689 5 месяцев назад

Oh man. I so agree with all of this. I've pretty much given up the idea of being an author that can do it as a career vs. as a hobby b/c I can't stand the idea of having to create a brand. I just want to write. Why isn't that enough? Why isn't my talent enough? Other jobs don't require this building a brand crap. And now with AI, forget it. It's so incredibly frustrating.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I think "why isn't that enough" is a question all artists are asking. Why isn't creating art enough?

@beatriceanobah6388 3 месяца назад

Hey Michelle, you are deeply authentic and ironically enough (even though I totally get what you are saying about brand and I agree!) I think that authenticity is effectively your "brand" in the sense that that is the essential thing that is consistent in all your videos, makes you stand out to me from other vloggers and keeps me coming back to your videos. I think when content creators do brand right, they are being deeply authentic.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 3 месяца назад

Wow, thank you so much, Beatrice! I really appreciate this :)

@christina.fictionality 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for this! Manufactured authenticity is so frustrating. I appreciate your videos so much!

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching, Christina!!

@alwaysapirateroninace443 5 месяцев назад

Jane Friesman has a great post about this topic & how authors shouldn't & don't need an existing audience in order to get published.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I'll have to check that out!

@Sue-pn7mq 5 месяцев назад

Great video topic. I love your honesty and hope your books will be published as they sound really great. I love the passion you have for writing. I think a lot of us have similar feelings or experiences. My sample material was only read when I mentioned how many followers I had on twitter and which famous authors I’d interviewed and I didn’t want to do that. It doesn’t feel right for me, so I stopped after a handful letters. I then discovered that if I used a more commercial genre for my book (which I could, but it wouldn’t do it justice), I had a better response, but that also felt wrong, which is why after a few test queries for each book, I already decided to stop writing queries for it again. Eventually, I stopped writing queries altogether. I’m now taking steps to get my own publishing house up and running. I’m also no longer posting book content. Instead, I started a makeup account just for fun with no goals other than enjoying myself. I’m conflicted sometimes because I don’t know how much it’ll hurt me that I’ve decided not to be part of a process that doesn’t feel good for me personally. I guess time will tell.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you so much! And wow, that's amazing - best of luck with your house!

@fallabeaufaebelle 5 месяцев назад

I'm starting as a freelance writer this year and wanting to do a RU-vid channel for fun and honestly you are so real for this. I'm in Gen Z, and a lot of advice I see on both those topics are very much centered around branding and business-centered and it's not that it's not helpful but it is overwhelming. Knowing there are "other ways to freelance" and my channel doesn't have to be this huge channel in order for me to enjoy it- it seems like it should be obvious but sometimes common sense gets lost in the noise so I super appreciate this video. Sharing your insights and experiences with us was super helpful. Thank you :))

@katgreer6113 5 месяцев назад

So glad you're talking about this...this whole "advertising a perfect self/brand on social media." It’s annoying, dumb, and dissapointing.

@reginapetty2042 5 месяцев назад

Your idea to replace the C suite with AI is fabulous. At first I laughed with the joke. But you might be onto something! For what they do, the C suite is inequitably overcompensated.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Right???

@waykeeperfarmandnerdery 5 месяцев назад

Thank you for making this video and sharing your perspective. It's both comforting and helps put social media and self-promotion in their proper place.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for watching!

@jackiemorrison2706 4 месяца назад

Thank you for this. You articulated it better than I could. I've noticed so many clickbaity mental health/trauma/drama that leads on to some kind of product that "helps". It is soooo annoying and takes us for fools. I have a strong unfollow button these days - I refuse to be pulled into it any more. No more.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 4 месяца назад

YES exactly - the BH sponsorships in particular are really frustrating.

@fadedpages 5 месяцев назад

I was nodding empathically when you suggested we replace publishing execs with AI 😅 obviously this is a joke, but it IS infuriating how the people who do the most important work in publishing are treated the most disposable. If execs were gone tomorrow, writers, agents, editors, publicists, graphic designers, finance/accounting teams, etc could figure out how to keep the publishing industry running just fine...can execs say the same in return?

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

EXACTLY!

@spacewhales2118 5 месяцев назад

Very important to be talking about and thinking about. Thank you.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching!

@thegeekylibrarian360 4 месяца назад

To be honest I got the advise to start marketing before my books were ready, and I did so at the expence of my writing and the fun I had with it! I got a little following, but I don't think it would help me that much when my first book comes out (Maybe next year, I am slow) :) I see, at least for Norwegian indie authors, that what helps their marketing the most is publishing their first book, and then publishing the next book, and the next book! Actually doing the work, not just talking about it! I can post pictures of books I like that resemble what I am writing, pictures of my cats and writing life, but why market something that is not even a thing yet? xD I learned that the hard way! I am not a brand, expecially when I don't even have something to make my brand around yet!

@katendress6142 5 месяцев назад

It's not just throwing spaghetti at the wall, the wall is coated with Teflon.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

LOL!!

@shante3 5 месяцев назад

As someone who indie publishes under an anonymous pen name, I’ve actually had far more success on Instagram! I create videos without my face and they’re actually not very time consuming. I completely understand that social media isn’t for everyone, though! I post a video once a day to both platforms (that I’ve batched ahead of time) and I have far better growth, views, sales, etc from Instagram Reels than TikTok. So if anyone out there doesn’t want TikTok but still wants to promote their books on social media, there’s still some hope! 😂❤

@kanashiiookami6537 5 месяцев назад

Was hoping to go the same route (or, well, a hybrid one since I wanna try trad pub with some of my work. But if that doesn't pan out I'd rather go fully self pubbed) and didn't know if something like this (anonymous and faceless) would work. Thank you for posting! It gives me hope!💜

@shante3 5 месяцев назад

@@kanashiiookami6537 I’m hoping to be hybrid as well! Currently on sub. 🥰 I’m so glad! It’s definitely possible! I know quite a few authors who are totally anonymous/never show their faces. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

@wplants9793 5 месяцев назад

I’m not an author but blog and take pretty pics and I’ve been approached by publishers for contributing to their books because of my “presence” on Pinterest. Pinterest is an evergreen machine, post a pic on their once and it drives traffic to my site for years to come. Highly recommend!!! However it takes a good 6-9 months before Pinterest knows how to categorize your content, so it’s best for someone who blogs around 2+ times a month, for a few months in a row

@AdaraWrites 5 месяцев назад

This! I created my Twitter account 5 years ago to talk to other writers when I first started writing. My debut novel comes out 1st March this year. So my audience on Twitter, naturally, is writers. Should I have been expected to run essentially a 5 year pre-sale campaign for a product that didn't yet exist? Ultimately I used it to talk about my day, writing update included. If people buy my book, bonus, but I have a lot of followers who write in completely different genres. I'm not going to abandon those 9k people to find a teenage audience for my book. They're the people who checked in on me and made connections with me every day. Me. Not my product. When did the word 'social' turn into 'sales'?

@Laura_DiNunno 5 месяцев назад

Whoa! If I could like this a million times I would. YES!! to all of this.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thanks Laura!!!

@aok1951 5 месяцев назад

Anyone believing a traditional publisher is the best way to go, as they’ll provide endless publicity promotion just isn’t correct. From my experience, garnered over the past three years, is that none of the publishers I approached were willing to take my book unless I developed a Platform. A Brand, if you will. Being of ‘a certain age’, the only platform I knew was a train station platform! And, the brands I was personally familiar with were clothing or food brands. So, with that beginning I knew whether I went with traditional publishing or self-publishing I was facing the same need - DIY promotion. And that’s not for the fainthearted. That is one steep learning curve. Not so much a steep learning curve, it being more like standing at the foot of Mount Everest with sandwiches in a backpack and wearing a pair of comfy shoes before ascending!! LOL I’m self-published now and proud of that but still at the foot of Mount Everest. This video was a joy to watch, echoing my own thoughts.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you so much - and you should be proud!!! That’s awesome. You’re right, both ways are a slog. It’s a Choose Your Slog situation.

@TheEccentricRaven 4 месяца назад

Whenever I see a post by some aspiring writer saying or asking if they need to have a strong social media presence or brand to be a successful, I ask, "How do you think writers of the past became successful before the internet or branding was even a thing?" I am having a dilemma now where I want to start vlogging my writing journey because it would be fun and I'd like to connect with other aspiring writers. However, I worry about it eating away time from my writing. Filming the first video has been sidetracking my writing. I also worry that I might seem like one of those types of writers who believe that this personal branding is necessary when I know it's not. Not an easy decision when I like to have fun on RU-vid but I am an author first.

@AuthorJCCarpenter 5 месяцев назад

Another amazing and perfectly timed video Michelle! I do struggle with the whole Author as a brand thing because first and foremost I just want to write what I love but I also want to make a full time living at doing so (and I mean comfortable living, not barely getting by kind of living lol) and I hear constantly that I should be on this platform or that platform and there are just some things I'm not willing to do (like join TikTok) and I wonder constantly if that is hurting me as an author. I do remember hearing you say a long time ago on one of Lisa's live streams that you should stick to the platforms you love doing because if you don't love it then it's not going to work well for you anyway (or something to that affect) and that statement has stuck with me. I only really do Facebook and Twitter and of course RU-vid and those are the one's I prefer to stick to. But I do constantly wonder should I just jump on the train with what everyone else is doing but if I did that then I think I would lose a little bit of the passion for writing and that I am not willing to do. Thank you for this video. You always have really good timing. Love seeing all the traveling you're doing! Take care! (and sorry for the novel of a comment lol) ❤

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thanks so much, JC!! I absolutely believe that - if you don't love it, don't do it. And TikTok is a soul-suck, imo. As a viewer, I can see how the way it presents content is addictive but I hate the auto-play and the fact that it chooses what to show me rather than me choosing what to watch. Just...blech. I hope you're doing well!

@authorj.l.slipak9526 5 месяцев назад

Next, they'll expect you to always one-up your competitor spending so much time that once upon a time, publishing and industry did this for authors. It never ends.

@5Gburn 5 месяцев назад

Here's a little exploratory jaunt you (we) can take as authors (published or unpublished): enter "writing" in the RU-vid search bar and find ONE extremely popular channel where the creator is on camera who is not young, or at least attractive in some way. I'm talking 35 or younger--or who at least *looks* 35 or younger. This person ALSO has to have gained their noteworthiness AFTER 2015. I'll wait.

@ran_loona 5 месяцев назад

Oh wow anyone still sponsored by betterhelo is already disgusting enough after everything they did but that aside, I respect youtubers who film their regular content and add a segment with the sponsorships while not hiding that they're doing it for the money. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's better than anyone who tried to hide the sponsorship in a relevant video (aka making a whole video related to a certain topic just to post the sponsorship). That vs someone who is just posting their regular content + a sponsorship they're not hiding

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Yeah, the sponsorship thing truly depends - I watch some film critics, and when they have a video sponsored by Surfshark, I don't care because I know it has nothing to do with the opinion they're giving on the film, you know? It's the attempt to build 'organic' personal content around a sponsorship that puts me off.

@Hxarh 5 месяцев назад

Michelle, I absolutely love the way you think and talk about the industry. Not to knock on the Jenna Morreci's of the world who are like "Marketing, marketing, marketing." Their content has been very helpful for me in it's own right. But you are the sanity check. Thank you for that. ❤ May I ask why MG Fantasy is hard to get into right now? I'm on sub with a 55k word upper MG Epic Fantasy

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you so much! As for MG fantasy - it's always going to be a super popular genre, but the reason I believe it's more challenging now is things like how B&N is no longer stocking hardcover MGs save for the biggest franchises (HP, Wimpy Kid, etc). Fantasies tend to be hardcover deals, but if the pub knows you won't get into B&N...it's not impossible, just more challenging. But don't lose hope! New MG fantasies are acquired every week!

@Hxarh 5 месяцев назад

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Thank you very much ❤️

@kanashiiookami6537 5 месяцев назад

I've written and deleted attempts to comment on this so many times since watching the video, simply because this topic has so much to unpack. Just the author brand alone has been a topic on Threads and Insta for a while, and info for and against self promotion regardless of an author being self pubbed or trad has countless fights and "hot takes" filling author threads any given day. So much so just trying to list half the info has ended my comment here in a massive ramble. (Hence being deleted several times) All this to say that I think I'm gonna be one of the authors doing bare minimum at best on brand/promotion, because I want to spend my time writing stories and enjoying life rather than stressing about my "brand" and book promotion. Sure, it won't sell much regardless of how I publish. But like you said/say, follows and likes don't guarantee sales. So why stress about getting them when word of mouth from readers (who likely just stumbled onto your book at the library or while scrolling through their fave genre online [whether the library/Libby, Kobo, or Indigo], etc) is the only promo that can help boost sales. (Like, I heard about Legends and Lattes from the readers, I never saw any promotion from Travis Baldree, nor did I know who he was until I tried his book. And had I never heard about him from readers promoting him, I likely wouldn't see his book in the library for years to come because that's how in demand his books are now) Anyway, I hope you're having fun working on all you've got going, and that you have an amazing weekend. Thank you for taking time to make another video. ❤ Stay safe.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I think that's a really good call, and it's the way I'm leaning, too. Making sure I still enjoy writing is priority #1 - if I don't have that, it's over!

@nocturnus009 5 месяцев назад

Before I enjoy this video [and because the algorithm NEEDS A COMMENT to be placated] this strikes me differently following my read of Yellowface & that D’Angelo Wallace video about Argyle (2024). As we enter the next phase of the streaming wars I think writing is about to enter the Freakanomics phase (see Disney backing up the Money Truck to Epic Games the 1st weekend of its presence on VisionOS’ virtual world).

@tobeytruestory 24 дня назад

It's because publishers don't want to take risks anymore. That's why so many authors choose to self-publish.

@JuliaDibbern 5 месяцев назад

Love this video, and once more I wholeheartedly agree. Know the funniest thing ever? Before Penguin and Randomhouse Germany merged, all the RH publishers used to have their own Instagram accounts. Now that they have merged they shut almost all of them down and use only two or three accounts for all the hundreds upon hundreds of new books that are coming out. Can't be all THAT powerful then, this Instagram, eh?

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

FANTASTIC point. If they can't break through the noise, how can we?!

@JoeyPaulOnline 5 месяцев назад

Oh I feel this in a deep way 😅 I'm indie so it's different but the same because I have to do things like Instagram and such to get the word out but yeah, selling books and writing them are different things! I am an author first not a brand.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thanks Joey!! I think a lot of creators feel this way but we're also kind of stuck in this machine at the moment.

@StingyGeek 4 месяца назад

A lot of would-be authors watch other would-be authors. For how to be an author. Not to buy their book. The content on being an author has no relationship to making a book sale. It's like expecting a youtube on car repair to translate to buying a car.

@starklingspars8956 5 месяцев назад

The surgeons on Tik Tok vids that I see in Facebook ...it's so weird and feels wrong to me, ethically. Just my instinct . Ok will watch rest now

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Yeah, I feel really iffy about that. I don't want to get wheeled into the operation room and see my surgeon doing some goofy dance in front of her phone...

@bicho6313 5 месяцев назад

Sadly the whole entertainment industry is suffering from higher ups who are out of touch and refusing to listen to the people who are. It's in all industries. People who aren't good at their jobs can't be fired because they're too high up and that messes up everything for everyone else.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

They’re only interested in the money. The irony is that this is a terrible business model!

@Teckno72 5 месяцев назад

Wow, so you mean we can’t just write, send out but loads of queries, and let the magic happen? I remember those books that sold well as self-published & then made even more with one of the big publishers. Well, I started writing a third book, because I hate selfing myself that much. Am I green or arrogant or tired? All of these? Michelle, when does the fun start? 0:06 I liked the writing part, but someone will have to disappear if I ever get published (self-publishing was pretty lame, I must admit) 0:06 someone will have to disappear. Maybe. Love your channel…

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

The fun starts when we decide it does :)

@Teckno72 5 месяцев назад

Yeah, I believe you. I’m on page 4 of a new book & I’m having more fun already. I ‘m going to have to do some research about how to get a lit agent…

@eustacetuberson4375 5 месяцев назад

What is your filming/lighting setup (your camera etc.)? Because I really like how your videos look.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Thank you!! I think my camera stuff is linked in all the video descriptions, but for this one I'm in front of the van's windshield so it's natural light.

@lam_pions 5 месяцев назад

For me, when a book has a sticker on it, which says number one on tik tok etc. I won't buy it. I did in the past, and it was never a good experience.

@storydtechtiverobertjones464 5 месяцев назад

People who get paid more than creators, but do not create is the core of the entire entertainment world’s problems. And as sales slip, they blame the creators because they have been blaming us for so long they’ve become ingrained by the notion that the entire idea of producing a human generated product is a giant crap shoot. Quite the irony when you consider the biggest pat on the back they can give one another is when they take something utterly worthless and disposable and get consumers to lap it up with a spoon. Then they’re genius marketers. The problem with Guerrilla marketing is that it fits such a small percentage of human creators because it wasn’t designed to be flexible or diverse. So the solution is to adjust the way entertainment is created, not to adjust the way they treat human beings. That’s simply because those people aren’t built to relate. They just can’t.

@monsterclass 5 месяцев назад

Its all entertainment.

@starklingspars8956 5 месяцев назад

I see what you're saying about the Tik Tok numbers being meaningless if everyone is getting big numbers. It's sort of like self publishing in the beginning like with Amada Hocking. She self pubbed at just the right time then boom millionaire. But these days there's millions of self pubbed authors, so it's hard to be seen Also I think making content all the time would suck the life out of me. Like you said, we want to be writers, and write, not spend all our time maintaining a presence at the expense of writing new books

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Great point! And yeah, we can't all be publicists first...someone's actually got to create the stuff that gets publicity.

@Goldie-mu1we 5 месяцев назад

But we don't want authenticity though. We say we want it, but we don't. What we want is: - Pretty shiny people telling us everything will be okay - To believe we can eventually become shiny happy people No one goes out there and follows someone who is actually "real" because real is boring, real has mood swings, real is repetative. Real gets boring real fast. What people don't want is someone who is "selling themselves" but that's how you make money, and money is increasingly important in the world we live in. So, I think people have this "hatred" for the machine, and put it on people trying to just make a living.

@starklingspars8956 5 месяцев назад

I think she was more pointing out how it feels wrong to mislead people by appearing to be sharing something authentic, when it really was an orchestrated, scripted advertisement. There's making a living making content, then there's ...whatever this is. ( Example Michelle gave about the better Health promo time after wiping away a tear) Lying, pretty much

@annieontheroad 5 месяцев назад

This push to "creating a brand" for any kind of creator I feel is a consequence of the rise of AI. Artificial intelligence is so utterly inauthentic that now people are craving that human connection even more strongly.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Totally agree!

@momo_genX 5 месяцев назад

Way too much to expand on with this topic. We are also expected to sell out to certain ideals or positions now or get cancelled, censored, shadowbanned and deplatformed. How did we allow it to get like this, we have bits in our mouths and the corporate and social media interests have the reigns.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Yup, that's another topic that would've extended this rant a LOT haha

@kevindenelsbeck7444 5 месяцев назад

Does RU-vid as a platform not count because it's for longer-form content, not bite-sized like a lot of TikTok? I was at first wondering if an attention-span mismatch (i.e., aiming for MG readers requires short-form content) but if bodice-ripping devotees also have impatience then... okay, bad example, otherwise they'd be bodice-careful-undoers, but apparently reading groups of all ages need their content snappity-snap. I think it's weird that story consumption has gotten so wrapped up in knowing everyday details of the story-tellers' lives. There's always been literary gossip but it's disheartening to realize that it would've been way worse if John Keats or Kate Chopin had had a smartphone and some sort of vlog they were expected to be performative for. It's certainly true that all content we ourselves put on social media is culled, curated, commodified, and we become known as willful caricatures of ourselves, but maybe the answer is to realize that we ourselves are characters in a metastory for the readers, and to treat ourselves as mostly but not fully reliable narrators of our story-weaving process. And there's a lot of grindwork but also a lot of the best kinds of joy in solving story problems or finding that one twist that ties the whole story up with a beautifully efficient bow. You don't need to be fabulous to be a fabulist.

@quixotiq 4 месяца назад

Almost every industry is poisoned this way now.. 😢😢😢

@michaelhunter2136 5 месяцев назад

You sort of hit on this but not so much... To be a brand means that you have an identifiable product that return customers can yearn for. That's all about marketing. There is another way to frame this. If you only write middle-grade you'll get really good at it. If you write that plus adult thrillers, and romance, and sci-fi then we're into jack-of-all-trades territory. Sure, 90% of writing well is genera independent but you want to stay focused if you want to get really, really good at anything. As soon as you decide that you are going to write middle-school stories for the blind that leave readers feeling optimistic about their futures, you become a brand. What is the difference between being a brand and being focused on a mission?

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

I definitely get your point. I guess for me in particular, I'm already established in MG with over 20 published novels. I want to write other stuff in addition to that, yes. But (imo) I've been focused on, and published in, middle grade for over a decade and I'd like to explore other areas.

@michaelhunter2136 5 месяцев назад

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Sure, you mastered that. It's completely reasonable to want to expand. I was thinking of less accomplished authors, like me. It takes a good long time to read all the books in your genre and learn the rules of the game. I can't tell the difference between being focused and being a sell-out. If you write a book that no publisher would touch that later goes on to win awards I guess you're not a sell-out. If your publisher says you have to make the character an aboriginal to pull in that market segment it feels like a change for the sake of marketing. But if the editor said readers are looking for dynamic characters and yours aren't. Is that writing advice or marketing advice or both? The chances of me getting published are just slightly lower than me learning to levitate. It's just an academic question for me. Being unsuccessful comes with the privilege to do whatever I damn well feel like. I'll have you know, I'm not unliked by every person, save about a dozen, on the whole planet. Why mess that up? But I would like to write better for my own enjoyment. That's all I yearn for.

@tropistan7735 4 месяца назад

The "authentic" branding trend i hate the most is the "I'm lonely and dont have any friends...so i joined ***tube*. 90% of this one is so fake it enrages me. There are real lonely people out there. Like truly lonely but now you have a ton of parasites on RU-vid with the $5000 nose jobs, capped teeth, plastic model good looks and $8,000 cameras and studio lighting crying in Hollywood level of videos about how they're lonely and pretty much capitalizing on a very real epidemic. If you pay attention, you will glean that a lot of them in fact have close families and friends. But because the original and mostly authentic videos about being lonely got some virality, now its bandwagon time. Even if it's true imagine the effort of setting up lights and camera, dealing with trolls in the comments and thousands of people judging you. It takes less than 10% of that effort to smile at stranger and tell them you like their shoes. Honestly, making friends now is no more difficult than it was back in the day. Smiling at a stranger and starting a conversation was never easy. It's a skill that takes practice like everything else. Sorry...rant over lol❤ Edit: I wrote this before you got to the clickbait let's talk/better help sponsor so I'm howling at how we're all seeing through this ish.

@samantaluna3870 4 месяца назад

I don't mind making titktok videos about me and my writing. But I care more that people like my books than me.

@claricesmyth 5 месяцев назад

If I start reading or watching a video and realize, usually quickly, that it is a I - I stop. Typically the images aren’t cohesive with what is being said. The poor grammar & english is very noticeable. Also, AI produced content tends to be repetitive within the same video. It’s garbage and a waste of my time.

@PaulRWorthington 5 месяцев назад

"If everyone is a *novelist* -- no one is." - Syndrome v2 And that's where AI is leading. Right now we see a novel as a significant accomplishment. A single person spent a lot of time and effort to communicate something personal and human. None of that will be true when most novels are "written" with the push of a button on an AI. No one will think a novel means anything, any more than we are impressed by an AI illustration. And no writer will earn money or self esteem, whether they use an AI or not, as the artform, the finished 'product' is completely devalued. I despise generative AI and anyone who would use it.

@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 5 месяцев назад

Yup. But I also think readers will tire of the novelty of AI books pretty fast. We respond to authenticity, and AI can't deliver that.