Y'all SPICY about Publishing | Reacting to Your Unpopular Opinions 

Shook @ the part where you're like "you never know who you're reaching" because I watched your videos for advice before I got a book deal and now I'm a #1 NYT bestseller 😂 SO YES, YOU NEVER KNOW

Black writer here! I don’t feel the need to rep my oppression. It’s been done to death and I think most of us are quite sick of it. Why can’t our stories just be stories like those of other backgrounds and nationalities?

Me: "I'm going to write today." *Alexa uploads a new video* Me: "I'm going to write today, in about 40 minutes."

If only 5 people read my book on a cold winters night and find comfort, I will be over the moon. It's not about "making it big" for everyone, just finishing the novel, and putting it out there is enough for me :)

I withdrew my query from an agent who had sub tweeted a query letter from a writer and posted it on twitter making fun of it. They weren't technically wrong about their critique, but it was tasteless to post it on Twitter the way they did and by ridiculing the people they are asking for queries from. I withdrew because it felt like a stab in the back to the entire writing community. It was taken down later that day, but I will never unsee it.

Regarding authortube authors not writing well, I think it really boils down to the fact that it’s easier to give advice than to follow it - which applies to every aspect of life, really. But that doesn’t render the advice any less valid or useful.

With regards to the "too many writers": being realistic isn't about saying "you might not get there" - that's pessimism. Realism is acknowledging the odds, knowing that it's hard, but understanding that you can work hard enough to try and do it. I don't think most people actually know what being a realist looks like, but that takes time and growth.

On the BIPOC one, I also think there’s a lot of misunderstanding (willful?) around “writing diversely” and the pressure for BIPOC writers to write trauma narratives. I think unless you’re purposefully making a commentary/satire about society, it’s extremely unlikely that there’s not some level of diversity in your book world, and that a lot of non-BIPOC writers use a “fear of portraying diverse characters wrong” as a cop-out for not writing them. BUT there’s also a pressure for BIPOC writers to either 1) write a trauma narrative about their #ownvoices character, or 2) talk about the implications of race regardless of the content of the book. I do understand on some level that race has an implicit effect on community/culture etc. that can’t be completely ignored, but I think more often than not people look to BIPOC writers to use their stories to educate non-BIPOC writers about their experience instead of being “allowed” to write stories that feature diverse pov characters doing the same things that non-diverse povs get to.

If we had an actual New Adult category and were able to dedicatedly market that content toward "young adults" and YA toward "teens" it would solve so many of these problems uhhhh

Once I saw someone give a 1 star review (after dnfing) to a YA A Christmas Carol retelling Bc the mc was “too much of a bad person” GIRL THATS THE POINT OF THE BEGINNING OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL 💀💀

Oof, i gotta say as someone who jas worked in the children/teen dept at a library that the take that you shouldnt read books for younger readers because they are "dumbed down" is far from the truth. Most childrens books, esp books aimed at primary grades, have LOTS of vocabulary words in them in order to expose kids to words they might not know. Additionally, most "adult" books, newspaper articles et al are written at a 4th grade level to ensure the widest population of ppl can read them. So not necessarily a bad take, but certainly a misinformed one.

Highkey agree with most of these but the biggest no for me was the idea that you're wasting your time if you wanna be a writer because you have so much competition. Yes, competition can be hard and you should definitely manage your expectations when it comes to trad pub but at the same time you wouldn't be a writer if you didn't enjoy at least some of the aspects of writing and you're never really "wasting your time" if you're doing something you enjoy, that's just called having a hobby. Just because it might not sustain a career one day doesn't mean it isn't valuable to you

BIPOC pressure Absolutely yes! I am not Cornell West, Bell Hooks or any other black thinker. I want to write about spear-wielding amazons who capture princes and upturn continents and not consider what it will mean for whoever.

I work at BN and I have to be honest, the “same cover syndrome” is the LEAST noticeable to me in YA. I can find a book easily in there, but any adult genre, it’s a hunt. I have shelved multiple titles together thinking they are the same one. It’s a PROBLEM. Historical fiction has exactly 3 covers and that is it, I swear.

It gets in a even weirder place when you're biracial or multiracial, because there's always half amount of people who will say you're not x enough to write about your own culture or a specific POC POV (and that you don't really know your culture because you're only half.) At that point, what are you supposed to do? Just write solidly about biracial/multirical POV? Because that's not how the experience goes for a lot of biracial/multiracial people growing up. Usually looks fluctuate as you grow up; like I looked mostly on side until I turned 14, then I started looking wholly like the other side before settling on what everyone seems to call an "exotic" look. Like I understand a lot of people who say you should only write from your POV or culture or race, but it gets really complicated when considering other factors like the whole multiracial thing.

On the realism vs discouragement thing, can we talk about the oh so often repeated idea you should just give up writing unless you're the sort of person who can't not write? Like if you don't get up at 4 am to write before sending the kids to school after you get home at 1 am from your second job, then you're just not cut out to be a writer so give up. I can't stand that attitude.

fanfiction has taught me that the talent w/o publication opinion is absolutely true. I have read incredible works that may only ever be seen by a few thousand eyes, but that doesnt take away their value

That first person had their dream shattered when they were little and now they're just a dream shattering machine where they just don't want people to try anymore. Like you never know until you try and if you want something you'll keep trying. Why the hell do you have to tell other people not to do something just because you're scared to do it?!? Augh I've been fighting these people my entire life. Their fears and anxieties are not based on reality at all.

I don't think anyone is doomed to fail if they pursue publishing because most of them simply just give up at some point. Gave up isn't a synonym of didn't win. I wish I remember which author said this, but I saw a link to their blog where they said they'd been writing for over 20-25 (?) years, queried several books, and didn't get an agent until they switched genres. Not everyone's made of the stuff to get rejection year after year, but we all know it's a numbers game already. Most things in life are. If a 20 year old starts writing and querying 2 books a year, the probability of getting the attention of trad publishing skyrockets compared to someone who only writes and queries one book for one year before giving up.

What if I'm writing a story that I just need to get out, even if it doesn't sell? If I don't write the fiction that I'm writing, I feel like I might pop! Even though my stories don't seem very popular, they're popular with me! I love historical fiction, know a lot about the period, and need to write silly stories set in that time. When I finish, I feel like: "Aah! Aah! Now I feel good!" Pretty sure no one else "needs" to read them. But once they're done, I'll be able to forget about it! Otherwise, writing them preys on my mind!

Ok, the "adults should read adult books" got me XD I will say, I would love to read more books suitable for my age, but since I was a teenager it's become increasingly difficult to find books "for my age" that I enjoy. I hate sex in books, I usually struggle with graphic violence in books, I usually dislike romance in books (none of these things are bad, this is personal taste). I love fantasy that is whimsical and not too bogged down in world-building at the prose level (there are exceptions, hello Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell). I have found some absolute gems in YA and then adult fantasy, but I find myself gravitating back to middle grade because it's the only place where I can be guaranteed not to have to deal with graphic sex & violence. I wish, truly, that there had been more teen books which didn't focus on romance for me to move to as I grew up, and that there were more adult fantasy books which didn't make everything 'gritty' and unpleasant to read about. I want to read books that speak to my experience as an adult, without constantly being worried that I'm going to be upset by the subject matter. All this to say, the way that different age groups are catered to in the book market has meant that the number of fiction books I read has steadily declined over my lifetime, and this makes me really sad.

I'm in the process of editing a multi-POV low fantasy thriller for adults, so I guess there is actually a market for me lol. I absolutely adore thrillers and tried very hard to write one.

My unpopular opinion is that I like the similar covers for similar book vibes. The title + cover + summary gives me a lot of info on what I'm getting into if done correctly, and it's nice for when I'm in the mood for a specific vibe.

i self published my book. i did not want to have to wait around for a publisher to take on my novel and honestly i’m fine with owning 100% of my work without having to sell it. thank you for helping me get the balls to actually publish it

Wow, thank you for the compliment about the course!! That means so much to me!!

As someone who is drafting their first novel and loves to deep dive RU-vid, I can definitely agree that the self pub route is super popularize and promoted on authortube 😬 thank you for being real about trad pub, but also encouraging people try it regardless!

I like that you brought up the unpopular opinion of YA that’s not actually being written for teenagers. so why did publishing axe NA when there’s clearly a market?!? Also I am a Heartbreathings Stan and I think she’s legit as far as self pub courses.

As a black woman and writer, I write whatever I feel like I want to write. Because of woke culture, it’s marginalized people more than show it’s “inclusivity” and that’s sad. I don’t describe my characters. I’ll give small hints of maybe the texture of their hair or a small detail like that but I let my readers imagine what the characters look like because in my world, race isn’t an issue or a concern that people need to have. Enjoy the story and the writing. I brought some made up people to life 😊 if people think I’m betraying the cause cause I ain’t talking about black stuff, then don’t read my book :)

I'm in the trenches right now. I've only queried about 25 agents. The rejections are just as painful. I looked up what makes something classify as horror and the only common theme that people could agree on was that horror should incite fear of some kind in some way. With a vague description like that it isn't surprising everything gets lumped into thriller. To me, horror should be almost painful to read. It's the kind of fear that crawls under your skin and turns your stomach. Thriller should be the kind of fear that makes you anxious and paranoid. Thoughts?

I agree, you really should do more writing vlogs. I think you're good at them, and I always find them inspiring and encouraging as someone who wants to be traditionally published in the future!

DYING that you added the Lindsay Puckett comment LOOOOOOL

So, I think YA should realistically be for teens, but the problem I see with it is that we have a huge generation gap between the popular authors in adult and the YA authors. So you have millennials and gen z who are adults now or becoming so- and they want to read books with the same flare and drama the YA books they had growing up.

I will say, I think reading books meant for all ages at any age is a good thing. Children are allowed and encouraged to read classics, often characterized as ‘adult’ and adults can appreciate good literature for any age group. I read The Giver and Laura Ruby’s York series as an adult and the books are transcendent in their enjoyment and lessons. Yes, some books are written ‘down’ to young adults, and bashing a book in your reviews because you are not the intended audience is silly, but I find the ones that assume the intelligence of their audience are more enjoyable.

I think another point regarding the opinion about the query trenches and someone "not really having been in them" also comes down to, not just number of agents queried, but authors researching PROPER agents for their books. A person who got an agent fast and with fewer queries may have gotten lucky, but they might have also been more selective in choice of agents. Some people query 100 agents who happen to rep fantasy, for instance, but don't necessarily check the nuances of the kinds of fantasy they rep (contemp but not high, etc). I do think that should be considered as well in regards to some people's success in gaining representation.

Fake reviews have made me lost faith at this point. I wish people were honest when leaving reviews. Oh and Alexa, for whatever reason, I find your voice soothing! Love your contents.

For the working on sequel books/series books before publishing...here's how I think about it. As a reader, I can't tell you how many times I've read a book series where book 1 was really good and hyped me up for the rest of the series, and then the rest of the series was poorly thought out, went back and forth on plot points seemingly based on reader reactions, or was overall a let down and a bit of a mess. I don't work on sequels because I'm under the delusion that future editors won't want to make big changes, I'm writing them so that I have considered many aspects of where the story will go so that I don't find myself caught unawares with publishing deadlines and no solid plans for a satisfying ending. Plus, if I don't have to change everything, I can leave a satisfying trail of clues for the reader spread out throughout the series pointing them to how the story will resolve. Finally, it can really help me realize problems with and come up with fresh ideas for the first book. Just my two cents, I am sure when I am hopefully a published author someday with years of professional experience my opinion may be different but for now I'm enjoying the ride.

x) Regarding 'catering the adults for YA': I was irritated about teenager characters acting as teenagers when I was teenager myself. It tended to be far too over the top.

I think the problem with adults reading YA and then complaining about them exists because there is some obvious need for some kind of genre for adults that existing "adult" books don't fulfill at all and existing YA books kinda scratch really well, so unless we divorce that something from the actual YA and give it a name and start publishing that sort of books the problem will not go away.

18:03-- They call everything a thriller... YES! I've seen some YA horror books (I write horror... mostly YA) come out originally as horror, then change to thriller bc thriller was selling better at that moment which I GET (heck, I've even thought about changing my categories to thriller... but it wouldn't work for my books... but I've thought it lol). Also, yes, everyone should follow Lindsay Puckett. She's amazing.

Ugh, yessss to the "morale" section!!! The villain in my book says and does evil things because she's evil 😭😭😭!!! Not because I'M EVIL!!!!!!

I watch quiet a few channels here on RU-vid about authoring. And I am an aspiring author. I have no idea how I want to publish, because books are art, and people are mean. But we are all human right? Thank you for the vids! I love your channel!

I 100% agree with the writer who said that no one should feel "pressure to put racial commentary in a story where racial commentary doesn't fit." I find this aspect of today's publishing climate really wearying. Some excellent opinions expressed throughout this video in general, as well as great responses from you, Alexa. :) I enjoyed thinking about these issues.

I have been reading books for 8-10 year olds in French, so I'm still expanding my vocabulary 😜. But actually, it has reminded me of why I used to read so much as a kid. I find it very difficult to find books to get into as an adult. I think I want more novellas with properly marked chapters and a quick hook from the start. And 'bookish' dialogue.

If I had 50 rejections on a manuscript without any requests for a partial, I would query with a different manuscript... or at least redo the query letter. That amount is more than the number of good, non-sucky agents in my country per genre that work in that genre.

The comment about reading books your age to "expand your vocabulary" rubbed me the wrong way so bad. I spent YEARS in college studying classics and adult books written ages ago that I absolutely hated, and the way I talk still has yet to change (if anything, all the essays forced me to write so proper, not those books). You can read whatever you want, so I will continue to read my Percy Jackson books despite being 26 now :) Reading certain age books also helps writers to write within that age group and genre. If you want to expand your vocabulary, then read a dictionary and utilize the thesaurus regularly when your writing journey is underway.

The main character comment of being a particular decent is very interesting. I think a diverse cast of characters work well for specific books is great. I can imagine the pressure the pressure is always there.

While reading Stars We Steal as an adult- Me- ugh, this lead character is such a whiny teen, 😩 Also me- this lead character is literally me 20 years ago 🙄 Also also me- this lead character is literally my teen daughter right now, too, ugh!

Re: the realism versus optimism comments, I truly believe that any writer can be successful in a publishing sphere in that they have the potential, but there will be a gap between people who are willing to do the work and people who are not. And I don't mean people doing the work by swapping their writing time for sleeping, but people who believe that their books need multiple drafts, read their work aloud, use the feedback they get, and above all keep going and improving. Which are the kind of norms that I see Authortube people setting, for the most part - they are all working really hard, really thinking about their work, and seeking out feedback to improve. So I don't think they're selling a fantasy at all. They're showing a pathway, if anything. Talent and luck do exist, but they are always going to be overtaken in the end by hard work and especially people who take feedback as part of that hard work. I think that being "realistic" in an overly negative way is another way of selling a fairytale, basically, by trying to insinuate that the people who broke through did so by talent and/or luck so the rest of the peasants shouldn't even try. When I look at successful writers, 95% of the time I see a mixture of humility in their ability to take feedback as well as acceptance of writing as a grind. Since I'm going to try to emulate those two characteristics, I'm NOT going to waste my time getting depressed about statistics. I'm just going to try to write MY books and make them the best that they can possibly be.

I'm self publishing because I want complete creative control over my work. Especially because I want to turn it into a graphic novel when I'm finished. I write grimdark fantasy novels. My books come with art and maps. It cost a bit of money. I work a day job and spend a lot of money on paying beta readers, professional developmental editors, and already have my copy editor and book cover artist picked out. I really hate the selfpub stigma. Not all of us throw out books full of grammatical errors and typos.

Why gate-keep rejection? Weird flex.

For the first one, I really think it depends on what someone's goals and motivations are for writing. It can be fulfilling for its own sake, even if it's just a hobby or a small source of income. While I do hope to publish and earn money from my work, I also enjoy the writing process itself (usually!) and am willing to view projects that didn't work out as a learning process. I do think it's important to understand the realities of trying to make a living as a writer, but that doesn't have to mean being totally cynical about it. It can still be worthwhile even while not being traditionally published, not a bestseller, not earning a full-time income, etc.

You manage to talk about spicy opinions and not be offensive and I love it!

Okay, I just have to say . . . I ADORE YOU! Your videos are always so fun. You are always so spunky. And you always, always pack your videos with super-informative content-and lots 'n lots of cats in your vlog b-rolls! My first book was trad published with a company in the U.K., but I knew nothing about marketing at the time, so it did not do well. At all. I'm not saying that's the only reason, but it was a big part of it. Then my publisher changed the way they did business and became a hybrid-publisher. Since I couldn't afford to go with them again, I chose to self pub my second book and will be doing the same with my third. 🙂 Unrelated to this particular video but something I thought you might find interesting: (fun fact) there are a total of 30 literary agents in Canada. 30! I shake my head every time I think about it. And based on my own personal research, literary management in Canada simply does not exist.

The sprint one made me laugh so hard! I did one over the weekend, and there wasn’t chatting out loud, but the live chat was HOPPING. I was the one who turned the chat off and just worked 😂. My friend had to recommend a study live stream so I can actually get work done.

10:37 regarding the BIPOC writer pressure, and im gonna broaden this into minority writer pressure i both agree and disagree, as a queer poc ive run into this alot and ima try to put it down in a way thats cohesive. There definitely is a pressure to 'rep the struggle', and we shouldnt feel pressure to put racial or any other social commentary in a story if it doesnt need it, *however* i think that pressure fails to makes us remember that poc, queer, disabled, and any other minority can sometimes just exist. you dont *need* to write "black struggle' stories, i dont *need* to write more coming out stories. we can just make stories, and have the MC be black, or latine, or gay, or in a wheelchair, sure that would impact the character differently but its "A Gay Story", its a story thats also gay you know? To speak on the 'some ppl dont want white writers to write black characters if theyre not to a T" I saw this tumblr post a while ago abt how the difference is that, i for example, am not black and thus should not try to write about a black kid in school and their feelings abt their own identity and navigating their community and how their community interacts with them, basically, The Black Experience, bc i wouldnt know what its like. But if im writing a book, abt like this murder mystery, i can make the MC black without the story revolving around their blackness. Now im speaking abt being black alot but thats because thats the topic of the opinion but it can work in any way, Rick Riordan did it with Nico, Blitz, Alex, Samirah etc as side characters, but Apollo is bisexual and as far as we know rick is straight, Apollo being bi was definitely apart of his character in ToA but the books didnt revolve around apollos bi experience, or realizing hes bi or his trying to come out to zeus or anything like that. That being said i think i should mention that writing books in a post racial society or with no social commentary is fine, but writing something with no BIPOC characters or other minorities is a separate problem, unless there is a specific reason for having an all white book from a poc author (which would seem like some social commentary in itself), there is no reason to devoid the book of diversity, even from just a creative stand point.

I just wanted to say I definitely feel you on putting young back into YA I really think there needs to be another genre to represent the stuff between Narnia and Nudedity. I'm writing a book now and am getting it to a point of considering how I want to publish it, I feel Trad has a lot of benefits that I would choose, but my book feels like it falls between two markets which I like, but I don't know that a publisher/marketing team would.

As for charging for courses- I'm literally a certified teacher for the State I live in. I scored the highest in ELA and Writing licensure tests. Ive taught writing improvement interventions for years. I would still feel like a super imposter if I offered a paid service to help writers become better writers.

I went the NYT bestseller list and compared it to Amazon's bestseller list. The NYT #2 book was listed at #70ish on Amazon. And it only became worse after that. Anyway, good vid Alexa. Super funny, as always!

This was a pretty great video. Lighthearted and genuine 🤗 it’s nice to see something that isn’t saturated with addressing sensitivity-just a nice free discussion 👌🏽

One of the things I love about you and your channel is you are realistic but also encouraging. You're also humble and never come off as an end all be all to writing. While some of these were opinions you didn't agree with, you handled all of this with grace and humor. I have been enjoying your channel for over a year now, and I've learned quite a lot from you. Keep up the great work!

YIKES! That first one! I would counter point that, yea, trying to make it your full time paying career as an author, and getting rich and famous, pretty lofty goal, but I'd NEVER discourage someone from writing if that's what they love to do and are passionate about it. I see writing as like art, subjective, people enjoy it, but I suggest getting a full time career as a copywriter/journalist and write as a hobby on your free time, or work a simple job to supplement your income while you write. For me, I have a career that pays well and writing is my hobby and whether people want to read it or not? eh, as long as it's something I'd want to read.

There is an authortuber i love who i also think writes badly, lol. (I read the beginning of her book on amazon. Shes self published) But i dont care. Its not all about writing, its about how to set up a story and stuff like that, and this authortuber has taught me so much and i love her videos x)

I am SUCH a writing-first reader. I've DNF'ed books before the 50-page mark because the prose was stilted or just plain bad.

I wish more aspiring writers would see writing as a lifetime career. It's about reading constantly, writing as often as possible and getting better with each project, whether it's novels, short stories or poetry. I know of a few self-published writers who literally self-publish the minute they are finished writing what is best described as a first draft. I've struggled to read these "books." I have also seen several respectable agents say not to include self-published works when supplying writing credits. I know many will disagree with me, but I don't consider trad publishing and self-publishing to be the same level of accomplishment. For trad publishing, your work is curated and carefully edited. Your manuscript has been selected from thousands of others. Yes, there are trad pubbed books that disappoint, but when a publisher is placing it's insignia on a book, they are usually putting out something they believe is worthy of a reading audience. Unfortunately, some self-pubbed writers are resistant, even resentful, at the implication that trad and self-publishing are not the same thing, and anyone who says otherwise is being elitist.

I've tried sprints and they never worked for me, but the quiet ones specifically are the worst. Interactive sprints are much more productive because it gets me excited and inspired to see other people so noticeably excited.

BTW, in my country some popular Author/Booktubers DO get a book deal because of their channels. It demands some growth, ofc, and it's not like a smooth raod to fame, rarely authors decide to take this path, it's better to be a tik-tocker, lol, or publish on wattpad (there is a kind of a trend in my country with so-called wattpad stars series in which books with the highest wattpad rates a published so publishers could make money and so-called authors (sorry not sorry) could brag even more). But anyway! It truly happens. Agree with the last one.)))

On the YA being too juvenile discourse: New Adult is an emerging genre for a reason

Love these juicy writing drama vids. Your very diplomatic haha

Yeah... Pegging the marketing genre sucks. The lowest reviews on my debut seem to not have understood the expectations I set out there, despite the synopsis/blurb. And romantic fantasy and fantasy romance are NOT synonymous.

What I will say about the first one is that (1) you never actually know if you're never going to published. You cannot read someone's writing and know whether or not they'll ever get published definitively. (2) "their writing just isn't good enough" - getting published isn't always about good writing. I think that mentality is extremely flawed and as other have said pessimistic. Getting published traditionally is just as much about being marketable as it is about being at least somewhat decent at writing. You can be an amazing writer and not get published (traditionally) because this amazing book is just not what people want to publish at the time for whatever reason.

Seriously, the serotonin hit when I saw how long this video was 🥰

Alexa, I love your personal opinion videos. You are a busy person with a successful and ever-developing writing career, so I find it interesting to hear how your mindset is at any time. I'm not a writer, but I'm a very judgemental reader. It is difficult for me to find books that are worth reading beyond the Kindle sample amount 😅 All this to say, I respect you a lot and truly appreciate how you show yourself as you are on RU-vid, candidly but with respect.

My next NaNo distraction, wooo! :) love these vids

I'm not going to lie, I saw Lindsay Puckett on the list and was like "NOBODY HAD BETTER SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT HER. SHE IS A PURE SUNSHINE FILLED WITCHY WOO ANGEL AND SHE MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS" and then I listened and was much relieved and in agreement that more people should watch her

I did self publishing first - I'm 63... my nailbiting waiting for a publisher time bank is rather restricked due to my age. I will likely attempt queries as well - I mean, ya gotta walk the path in tandum, if you have that interest.

On the first two points (too many writers & sequels)... I know that mine is itself an unpopular way of thinking but while I would love to get published, I know that I can't *expect* it. So, I write the books I want to write, that I enjoy writing, and make that the whole point. If they ever get me agented, or published, I'll lose my mind with excitement! But again, I don't *expect* it. This saves me a lot of heartache when it comes to rejections, and always makes positive feedback super pleasant because I wasn't expecting it. So, yes, you might never make it, but it's also important to remember that (if it's really something you love doing) the writing process is a reward in itself. Write whatever you want (even those sequels) if that's what's going to make you most happy in the moment, because if you're not happy writing, and then you also don't succeed in getting an agent.. what's the point? In a fairer world being strategic would always pay off, and we would all get fairly compensated for our work. But it's not fair.

I love your writing vlogs! I sometimes listen to them over and over while writing, because they encourage me. But I personally wouldn't say you should do MORE of them, because I've tried and failed multiple times to do writing vlogs, and I think they can be kinda difficult, especially when you feel pressure to update them multiple times a day to get enough content. I like the way you do yours, because you're okay with going a few days without updating. I wouldn't want vlogging to get in the way of your actual writing process, if that makes sense. I think it would be counterproductive to feel like you HAVE to film every single time you're about to write; that is a self-own. Sometimes, I just want to write and am not camera-ready; I doubt I'm the only person who ever has that situation. But I know there are people who vlog every day or almost every day of NaNoWriMo. So I guess vlogging is about balance, and you have to find whatever balance works for YOU.

I'm literally so happy I've found your channel. I could write a book here ;) but I won't. Thank you for your content.

You are very fun to watch and listen to. I loved laughing at/with your silly moments. Thank you again for sharing awesome comments. I appreciate knowing what other people's opinions are on publishing! I felt very similar to some of them.

totally agree with the thriller one! and i agree with you that it happens in adult books. it's very annoying, bc I enjoy thrillers a lot, but I'm not crazy about murder mysteries

Hopefully someday I can also obtain a sad cookie.

Excellent video Alexa, as per usual! As a soon-to-be published author, my journey has been circutuous. I was agented, left my agent b/c I felt like I was losing all creative control and don't work well with ultimatums, but am now being published sans agent with a great indie publisher - don't discount the value of indies! I don't have any intention of querying an agent but nor am I ditching the trad pub route. Point being, everyone has their own journey and there are so many ways to achieve your goals, but you need to be flexible, learn from mistakes, read read read, and yes, listen to advice, but at the end of the day, go with your gut and what feels good to you.

I bought your book because of this channel! Haha. I have The Ivies on my list too, just need to get through some other reads first

In response to the first question: It’s so so tough, the competition. So we need to get tough, tougher than the next person. We need to write more, train harder, read more, and persist longer. Every single person that goes on this journey will get their day, but only if they are willing to put in the time an effort. There is no question of will you or will you not make it. You try until death takes you over, and if death takes you over first, that is still honourable. For everyone else who was not met first with death, they will experience their desired success. The world has a way of giving everyone what they deserve no matter how many people strive for it at the same time. How is such a thing possible? The same way rainbows, and full moons, and stars at night and other magical things are. It just happens. But you need to believe. If you’re wasting energy on doubts, then someone who isn’t will surpass you in this competition. Leave realism behind for those who don’t believe in magic, but for those who know that people who are deserving will reap their rewards, the rewards will come. At least that’s what I believe.

Every field is competitive. I'm a photographer and I struggle to find work because there are so many good photographers. I am also a content creator and have had a variety of success with it through my life but it's an incredibly competitive field. Unless you are looking for a standard entry level 9-5 the competition is going to be stiff. You should not discourage someone just because the competition is tough, definitely let them know the reality, but not in a discouraging way. ❤

Why I, an adult, read children's books (middle grade & YA): A good one is written with careful thought about what they are feeding the brains of their readers. Like a nourishing meal with balanced food groups, lovingly prepared for me and arranged into a fun shape like a bear's face. So many adult books are like "Hey, let's just have 4 glasses of wine for dinner because it's fun" or "Let me feed you rotten food so you can experience throwing up." No thank you! If they were written with the same care, I'd be happy to read a story with more complexity.

lollll that one about reading books for your own age i partially agree because i think if you are a grown adult and you only read kids/ya i find that a little strange but at the same time I don't want to yuck anyone's yum. On the flip side I recently decided to re-read a kids book i still have my childhood copy of (i think it must have been aimed at 8-12yr olds?) and honestly it stood up as really funny and smart. Good books are good regardless i guess?

Damn... You kinda made me tear up here at the beginning. I've been searching and searching for something to keep going. I think i just niw realized, I will write poems and submit until the day I die, whether I am published or not.

Wow this was particularly great. Thanks so much!

Immediately checked out Lindsay Puckett and I'm so glad I did. Many, many new hours of author world content. Hurrah!

This video was amazing. Subscribe and cannot wait to watch more!

Can I confess that I’ve never read your books? Like your books have been in my TBR pile for like the 2-3 years or whatever that I’ve been watching your videos. But I just seem to fall into this awful cycle of reading one from my TBR pile and then my brain is like “okay, cool, but let’s reread all the Percy Jackson series” and cascades into if you give a mouse a cookie, and then I read all of his books and then I’m burnt out.. and books just keep getting released.. and the pile keeps growing and my brain is like “this makes us anxious.. let’s just ignore the teetering pile and read Percy Jackson again. Percy Jackson is safe.”

I read one book by a youtubewriter recently and it had high ratings on goodreads, a few of my favorite booktobers gave it sort of high rates... so I was SHOOKETH when I actually read this trainwreck of an unfinished script. And I was sad for weeks! Like I cannot watch that writers channel anymore because I feel so scammed. And YES, this author gives "advice" on a regular basis. And they are popular! But it goes further, I lost my trust in the booktubers that would not tell me the truth about this script. And afterward, when I watch their reviews, I feel a tension there. As if they know they are... pushing it... but they are.... what? Afraid to give a famous youtubewriter a bad review? Even if it is true? - I scanned my booktube channels after this and I discovered which ones was honest and which ones simply would not ever give a bad review. And I unsubbed all the ones that cannot tell the truth, that waste my time, that SCAM me bah! XD also - this bad practice hurts the indie publishing industry. Because yes, this author was indie so like.... gaaaah

The cover issue was a problem when I was first reading adult books. Many years later, cover trend issues haven't changed.

A self publishing opinion I have is that I feel like traditional published authors who are doing anywhere from okay, to mega famous should At least try to self publish one or two books. I feel like a lot of traditionally published authors spit on self publishing, but it has its pros as much as it has its cons.

Don't ever doubt yourself or your worth. I read a really good book called Brightly Burning and I gave it 5 stars on Amazon and Book Bud. The world setting is one I would love to revisit often. The characters are loveable, relatable, and well-executed. I only wish I could hate the villains more, but they are adults with a day job to do. The author has such a fresh, new appeal. For me, the book ends quickly, leaving me wanting for another 4 to 5 chapters.

Unpopular opinion: thriller isn't actually a genre. All thrillers largely fit in as either horror, mystery, action or drama. Thriller is too broad a term to categorize and understand how something will read or feel.

12.13: Those agents are all over Twitter recently, and they shitting on everyone. I have been getting DMs from them pretending to be from certain publishing houses when they are just market anylists, and nothing to show on thier feed. Facebook and Twitter is full of them, and often from GoodNovel or something press. Get 5 a day trying to sway me lol. And if I don't accept them, they get very nasty.

I think the Goodreads ratings thing is a little more nuanced. BIPOC writers have said they get slammed on GR because readers may not understand some of the cultural aspects of their books, especially by white readers. There was a Indigenous horror book that came out last year, and one of the top rated reviews from a white person basically said she didn’t understand the cultural stuff and why there was so much basketball in the story, and she gave it one star. If she had done some research, she would have easily found how basketball is a HUGE part of Indigenous culture, at least in the US. BIPOC writers have said to round up on your reviews, because (1) white readers are not the only audience, and (2) BIPOC have more obstacles and more to prove to publishing houses that their stories are marketable.

I agree with publishing more writer vlogs. I really like one you did that was just very low-key and organic. You were trying out the "comic sans" method and ordering a pizza and drinking wine and what not. Just was fun and cozy. More like that if you could. I don't know why these are my favorite. I think it's because you feel like you're sitting on the couch writing beside a friend. A lot of authors have "write with me" formats, but they are so stylized and staged, if that makes sense. It can feel cold and pretentious. But you're very human in these, and you even go off on tangents about cats--which I'm sure we can all relate to. End of wordy request.