How To Build Your Author Platform On Youtube, ft. Jenna Moreci (Classic Replay EP#575)

Jenna Moreci is an award-winning romantasy and writing craft author with a YouTube channel of hundreds of thousands of subscribers and tens of millions of views. In this classic replay (originally recorded 2023) episode she explains how she built the channel, and how a writer can do the same without it taking over the writing.

Her channel grew slowly for months. It took off the week she stopped trying to be polished and started being herself. Her advice to anyone starting now is the same: don’t copy another creator, and don’t make your first video about you. Give the audience something useful first. They get interested in you and your books once they’re loyal to the content.

She also covers the practical side. Film on your phone, spend money on a mic before anything else, and edit with free software. Post on the same day every week. Budget about a week a month for YouTube and protect the rest for writing. Treat the whole thing as an experiment, so if it isn’t for you, that isn’t a failure.

In this episode:

From a finance degree to full-time writer and YouTuber

The channel grew when Jenna stopped trying to be polished and started being herself

Who she makes videos for: readers and writers who would like her books

Why “worst” outperforms “best” in a title, and why she caps the rants at one a month

Thumbnails that work: silly faces and the dog

Video length, Shorts, and why the bookish audience likes longer videos

One video a week, same day, same time

Writer first, YouTuber second: when to dial YouTube back