This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
We've become a little bit addicted to YouTube in the past few months. Previously seen as a place to find out how to change the filter in the vacuum cleaner or watch Car Pool Karaoke we've realised it is SO much more than that. And, AND!, people are talking about books on there. BookTube is an amazing bookish place with writing tips, book hauls and wrap-ups along with, more recently, Christmassy book recommendations. If you haven't discovered BookTube yet, then let us introduce you to Rose Mannering. Rose works in a publishing house during the day and talks about books on YouTube at night. Rose has also had two fantasy YA books published in the USA as well as two picture books. We love her book recommendations, her choices are varied, and she always manages to tempt us with something we wouldn't have picked up ourselves.
So, without further ado, let us introduce you to Rose.
Hi Rose. Welcome to Novelicious! Could you tell us a bit about yourself
Hello! So I’m Rose Mannering and these days, I spend 99% of my time surrounded by books! I write books, read books, make videos about books and work with books! In the daytime, I work in a marketing department at a publishing house, coming up with campaigns for books and bringing book babies into the world. In the evenings and at the weekend, I write books and create videos for my book-based youtube channel. I have two YA fantasy books published in the US – Roses and the sequel, Feathers - and two picture books: The Spotty Dotty Daffodil and Boo’s Beard. On my youtube channel I chat about what I’m currently reading, what new book everyone in the publishing world is talking about and just generally share my love of reading and writing.
When and why did you start your book tube channel?
I started my youtube channel when I was at university and had just begun my writing career. At the time, I watched beauty videos on youtube and had no idea that there were people making videos about books (cue dramatic gasp). When I discovered this, I just knew I had to join in.
How did it feel to make your first video and to send it live?
My first video is incredibly embarrassing (it isn’t online anymore). I was very awkward, a bit stilted and then my editing skills weren’t the best either… but ultimately, as I uploaded it, I was excited. I couldn’t believe it when people actually started watching me! When I first hit 100 subscribers, I was amazed and I’ve continued to be amazed ever since.
What kind of books do you talk about?
I honestly talk about all sorts of books. I’m so far from a reading snob – I’ll read anything! I love fantasy, YA, historical, a bit of crime, a touch of non-fiction and romance. I love books in general and I have an eclectic taste.
What categories do you have on your channel? Can you tell us a little more about them?
If you’ve never watched booktube videos before there are certain ‘types’ of videos that people make. For example, each month I make a ‘Reading Wrap-Up’ where I go through everything I’ve read that month and give you little snippets of my thoughts. I also make monthly ‘Book Haul’ videos where I share all of the new books I seem to have miraculously acquired over the past month…
I’ll pop some examples of each below if you’re a newbie and would like to take a look:
A Reading Wrap-Up:
A Book Haul:
However, there’s no reason to stick to these ‘types’ of videos and I actually find it most exciting when I do something completely different. For example, last year I made a ‘Get Reading With Me’ video which is a lifestyle take on reading. It’s here if you’d like to take a peek:
What is your favourite video (of your own) so far?
The only videos I make that I like to re-watch are vlogs. So far I’ve done “vlogmas” two years running and it’s always a bit hectic, but I’m so pleased that I do it. Vlogmas means vlogging every day until Christmas (a vlog being a video diary of your day). I can’t manage daily vlogs (and my life is too boring for that) so I create weekly vlogmas videos. It’s basically a week of my life summed up in a 6 min video and I find it fun to watch them back and remember what I was doing each year. I’m going to be doing Vlogmas again this year, so if you’d like to see it, make sure you subscribe.
Would you recommend YouTubing to other writers?
Yes! Although it’s important to be an active member of the community – nobody wants to be sold to constantly. If you’re a writer and a book lover why not share your love of reading and writing in video form? Keeping up with a youtube channel is tough and a significant drain on time (and resources – you’ll find yourself desperate to get your hands on the ‘buzz' books!) but it’s so rewarding too and the booktube community on youtube are a very kind, generous bunch.
What are your top tips for setting up a channel?
I think my top tip would be to make sure that you watch and comment on other people’s videos. You’ll get inspiration from what other creators are doing and the best way to make friends is to be a loyal watcher and commenter on videos – the creator will notice! Another tip would be to try and be consistent. If you can, don’t leave long gaps of months between videos and then upload four videos in a row – try to spread out your content.
Who are your favourite booktubers?
Oh my goodness, that’s too hard! I have so many! However, I did make a video recently about emerging booktubers who I feel don’t have as many followers as they deserve so maybe that’s a good place to start:
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ROSE MANNERING:
YouTube Channel: Rose Mannering
Blog: RoseMannering.com
Twitter: rose_mannering
Instagram: RoseMannering