Working on one thing at a time, for as long as you need to or feel like it, is a luxury.
This site is now in archives-only mode. Click here to read why.
Guest Post: Eight BookTubers You Need to Subscribe to
Today I have a guest post from Dane Cobain, who introduced his book No Rest for the Wicked to us about a year ago. Today's post isn't an introduction to a book. Instead it is an introduction to BookTube, which is something I've been meaning to explore!
Ah, BookTube. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you’re in for a treat.
As its name suggests, BookTube is the name that’s used by the community of readers and book lovers who call YouTube their home. They upload regular videos about all sorts of stuff, including book reviews and recommendations, haul videos, tag videos, challenges and more.
Some of the most successfully BookTubers are picking up hundreds of thousands of views per video, but even the modestly successful ones with a couple of hundred are still taking part in the burgeoning community, and it’s not uncommon to see a book take off as more and more channels start to review it.
Watching BookTubers, then, is a useful exercise for readers and for writers, because it opens up a whole new way of finding out what new releases have got people talking. Here are just a few channels to check out to get you started.
Christine from PolandBananas is so enthusiastic about books that sometimes you feel like she’s about to burst through the screen. As well as talking books and making recommendations, she films a lot of comedy skits and other videos that pay homage to her favourite series.
Jean is a friendly Scottish YouTuber who’s studying for a PhD and who runs the Feminist Orchestra Book Club on Goodreads. Jean tends to focus on the more ‘literary’ side of things, covering plenty of classics and contemporary literary fiction.
Ariel is probably most well-known as the founder of BookTubeAThon, a once-a-year celebration of reading in which BookTubers are invited to participate in challenges and competitions and to read as much as is humanly possible. She also tackles related topics, such as freelancing and getting degrees.
Ishmael isn’t technically a BookTuber, but he does have an incredible channel that will make you fall in love with books all over again. He invites people to call him to talk about their favourite books, and then he transcribes their comments and releases the videos.
Lainey is the creator of Top Five Wednesday, a popular challenge amongst BookTubers where there’s a weekly theme for them to discuss. She also films regular videos about her own writing.
Max from Well Done Books talks about all sorts of stuff, from contemporary to classics and from tags to hauls and reviews. He occasionally follows along with literary awards, reading his way through the shortlist and deciding upon his own favourite.
Brock from Let’s Read offers his own unique spin on talking about books by animating himself and playing with other sorts of video techniques. The result is a fresh perspective on books from a guy who likes to read fantasy and sci-fi.
Joe from Bookseller Ravings is a British bookseller and YouTuber who’s notable for his 60-second reviews, which manage to cram a huge amount of information into a short amount of time. He covers books from all sorts of genres that he comes across thanks to his day job.
Get Involed Yourself
Of course, you don’t have to stick to watching videos. Why not get behind the camera yourself? While decent lighting and a high quality camera do make a difference, an iPhone is better than nothing. The BookTube community is a welcoming community – which is rare on YouTube – and people are likely to respond once you get started.
If you’re not sure where to start, just sign to the site and create a channel, and then film a short video to introduce yourself. Tell people who you are, where you’re from and what kind of stuff you like to read, and then build up your channel from there.
Take part in popular tag videos. Film book hauls, short reviews and Top Five Wednesday videos. Watch and comment on other people’s videos. You’ll be a part of the community in no time.
About the Author
This post is written by Dane Cobain and sponsored by Publishing Addict, an organisation that specialises in author website design to establish a brand, connect with their readers and to sell more books.
Post type:
