Author! Starting A YouTube Channel?

It's your lucky day. Class is in session ...

I have two YouTube channels, with two very distinct stories.

If you have, or you are thinking of starting your own channel, I have some advice for you, borne from experience.

I’m not telling you this is the only way.

I’m not telling you this is the right way.

I’m peeling back the curtain and showing you what has worked for me. I’ve done hundreds of hours of research, I’ve done re-brands, designs, tested different types of videos and content, all to wildly different results. You don’t have to listen to a word I say, everyone is different. My hope is that some of my experiences can lighten your load, and fast-track you to improvement and success in some small (or big!) way.

The only correct rule is this: Nobody can tell you exactly what to do, because we are all different and operate in different ways.

That being said, I think I can help here, so here we go …

First - A bit of background.

I started MIRTH QUAKE in October of 2024, and the plan was a streaming channel, focusing on indie authors/creatives, and building a community organically - no ads, no gimmicks, just great content. (Also, it's at 96 subs, help me out folks, I need 4 for that nice triple-dig). There was an investment, and I knew from the beginning this would be a long-term effort.

Quill it with FIRE! was a recent-rebrand. I've had that channel for about 6 years, and the "old" content has been pulled to make room for a brand new project I'm rolling out within the next couple of weeks. Yes, it's at 17,800 subscribers, and it will grow from there with pre-recorded content. The channel has been dormant, but it's set to wake up in a big way. It won't take long.

Two completely different strategies, two completely different methods of growth, two wildly different long-term plans, both with value. The point here is that regardless of what your goal is in developing your channel and brand, that you need to have an actual plan, a strategy, and intention, as well as an expectation of the likely result of your efforts.

This sets us up for a number of things to keep in mind as you build a strategy for your channel. But pump the breaks, hombre, before you hit record, have a clear focus!

Second - Before you hit record, have a clear focus!

Your channel's concept needs to be crystal clear, typically on two different topics, both with different jobs. Think of it like having two vehicles. One for the heavy lifting - dragging trash around, sheets of drywall, manure - and one for those quick little zoomy commutes into work.

Your heavy-lifting topic is the one with broader appeal. This is the topic that sets you apart from every other channel where people are talking about their book, characters, and writing. It’s the workhorse.

Your secondary zoomy topic is the lens with which you see the first topic. If you’re an author, that means your lens is … “I am an author.” It can be more, or multi-faceted, certainly, but it’s distinctly “YOU.” It is the unique perspective that sets you apart.

This is a long-standing best-practice in the YT creator space, and for good reason. Let me tell you about how this applies to both of my channels, so you can see it at work …

Case #1: Quill it with FIRE!

I grew my personal channel (now Quill It With Fire!) into thousands and thousands of subs that made my debut novel release a profitable success. I wrote a psychological Urban Fantasy book with a deep lens on human emotion, and I made videos about psychology and human emotion.

Those topics were the workhorse with broad appeal.

The psychology fans (MBTI, particularly, INFJs ftw) flocked to the channel, and when the book released, they wanted to support me because I was relatable, open, entertaining and informative. I showed them WHO I was through the topics, and when I released a book with a main character that was an INFJ, it was instant relatability.

If I just talked about the book the entire time, or writing the entire time, that channel would never have grown past a few hundred subs. Most readers are not writers and don’t care about your writing process. Give them something related to your work that they are interested in, and when they get to know you, they will support that secondary thing.

Write Military Sci-Fi? Tell military stories. Talk about the experiences. Have fellow grunts on your channel as guests. Highlight some current events related to military life. Mention your writing, of course, mention how you like to be a storyteller. Tell the stories. When the fans arrive because of the military connection, the book is a natural extension of you and you’ll have fans ready to snatch it up.

I focused on psychology because my debut novel, The Caretaker, is a deeply introspective take on psychology in a supernatural world. Concepts like Pain, Anger, Knowledge, and Judgment are real entities, almost God-like, and our protagonist must navigate that high stakes world that can affect all of humanity.

Chum for MBTI fans, and INFJs in particular!

Case #2: MIRTH QUAKE!

MIRTH QUAKE is a different story. This is a show focused on giving back to the writing community, but if you know anything about me or the show, you know my Golden MQ Rule:

“Nobody gives a shit about your magic system.”

Hell, I even SELL THE T-SHIRT. Merch ftw.

The concept behind MIRTH QUAKE is to focus on CREATIVITY, and not deep-dives into the author’s book or current WIP. You see, creativity - talking about how you work, not what you’re working on, is interesting. Everyone is different, and we get to talk about music, movies, things that are of interest, trying to create around kids and life, all of it. That’s the workhorse.

The lens? Well, we’re all authors (or creators of a different stripe, of course). The show attracts authors, establishes your humble host as a helpful part of the community, lifts up authors who struggle to be seen, and builds a support system. I have found an incredible core friend group of cherished creatives because of this show:

The MQ Crew. MIRTHSHAKERS. MIRTHQUAKERS! MIRTH … people.

We now have people who did not know each other before MIRTH QUAKE finding themselves doing projects together, planning shenanigans, and supporting one another. It’s EPIC, and it’s working.

Slowly though, because this is a STREAMING channel. More on that in a moment…

Third - What NOT to do.

There are some common traps and pitfalls when you’re working up a channel and trying to build a presence. These are the things that will throttle your channel’s reach, typically related to confusing the YouTube algorithm so it doesn’t know what you are. I’ll highlight a few.

Bad Audio.

It’s generally accepted opinion that bad audio will sink a channel far faster than bad video. People can generally forgive bad video (if it’s just you talking and not showing off art and the like). If the audio is clear, it’s great. So many people just “listen” anyway - while doing dishes, cleaning up doggie doo on a walk, or what have you. But bad audio? Crackling and skipping in your ears, as if you’re shouting into a tin can beside an industrial shredder chewing on some old rusty washtubs?

Screw that. Instant off for everyone. Do not pipeline noise into someone’s ear.

Winging It.

It's generally a bad idea to "wing it." You end up off-brand. You stutter. You grasp at straws trying to find a topic or something coherent to stay on point about and say. At the very least, have the video planned, have a few points you can riff off of, reference them when you speak directly to the lens and edit out the pauses in post production.

RobotTube.

Avoid turning on the camera and reading your video from a script. It comes off as fake. It looks stupid. People end up following your eyes and tuning out what you say, and it’s also really unnatural. You’re not giving a speech from behind a podium. This isn’t a college lecture (unless it is). Remember, you’re showing WHO YOU ARE. Are you unable to talk about something without reading it?

Of course not. It’s fine for a podcast (sometimes), less fine when the camera is on you.

Topic Straying.

YouTube works on understanding you, your content, and your channel. There is a big combination of factors that go into this. You have to treat YouTube like a teenager fresh out of high school. Yes, it can accomplish some things, but you need to spell it out or it’ll wander off in the direction of whatever shiny thing is brighter than you. Part of that, is making sure you stay on topic.

Do you have a channel talking about Dungeons & Dragons because you’re a fantasy writer? Great. Drag all the D&D folk there. They are awesome super-nerds. They’ll love your book. Mention the book. Mention the storytelling. Wrap it all together.

Then publish one video about a Chrysler Slant-6 engine in a convertible 1980 LeBaron and watch your views, viewership, subscribers, and reach absolutely TANK.

YouTube doesn’t like topic changes. It likes predictability. Remember, it’s trying to recommend the best possible video to people interested in that exact topic. If you teach YouTube that it cannot TRUST your content, you’ll notice that viewership and reach dip, sometimes dramatically. Start a 2nd channel if you want to have another set up to talk about early ‘80s engine manifolds.

This applies to any and every topic. Do you talk about comics? Great. Talk about comics. But if you start ranting about politics because the US Government increasingly resembles Hydra … actually that might be okay, but it’ll still work at confusing the algorithm to some degree. Resist.

Lastly - What to do.

Quality Thumbnails.

Yes, this typically means making a stupid face. Don’t do thumbnails on your channel where you are on camera with a plain white thumbnail and a janky font. Throw your face on it. Make sure the graphics grab attention. Make sure the text is large, simple, and easily readable.

DO NOT PUT THE TITLE OF THE VIDEO AS TEXT GRAPHIC ON YOUR THUMBNAIL.

You already have a video title. The video title is for YouTube’s benefit, the thumbnail is to snatch the attention out of that crack-gerbil mind of someone doom-scrolling through topics to watch. Grab ‘em by the scruff and shove their nose in your awesome content.

Now, I didn’t follow my own advice in terms of the thumbnail, but this is a side project creation that I wanted to throw on the channel mostly just to share. It’s still related to everything I’ll be talking about in regular videos (writing community, absurd comedy, creative insights).

So to illustrate the thumbnail difference, here’s a look at one of my VERY early videos (six years ago, since made private on the channel), to last year:

Yes. This is horrifying. I chose this as a thumbnail. What is wrong with me?

The terrible color scheme aside, the difference is very obvious. This is branding that I tried and have since left in the dustbin, but it is a MONUMENTAL improvement over my first attempt above.

That’s the game, fine friends. Constant improvement as you grow. It works.

Proper Title, Description, and Tags.

YouTube looks at titles and your description to understand what your video is. Channel tags are in your settings behind the scenes. Here is a screenshot of my settings for Quill It With FIRE! (Located under Channel Settings):

All of this helps YouTube understand what it can expect from your channel, so when lining that up with a potential viewer, it knows what to recommend - YOU.

For description, you can set “Upload Defaults” in the channel settings as well (see above screenshot). Here are the settings for that ridiculous song that I made about “ARE YOU EVEN A REAL WRITER IF …”

Appearing in the first paragraph: “engagement bait arguments” “writing community” and “social media discourse" - that describes the video.

Underneath, the links to all the things, my name, the purpose of the channel. YouTube will understand this.

Be professional.

Edit the videos to the best of your ability, and gather up skills needed to do so. That means using Premiere Pro from Adobe, or DaVinci Resolve, or plenty of free options or options that come with your operating system (iMovie, etc.). Don’t leave dead air on your video, don’t leave the recording going while you go let your dog out to poo and then not cut that out of the finished product.

Make sure you hit the main topic within the first 15 seconds (at least give the topic to your viewers), and make sure the words you use in-video match what can be read in the title, and in the description.

YouTube reads the text of what you’re saying, and matches it to the title and the description. This is how it annihilates clickbait reach. If you the video title is, “TOP 10 WAYS TO SCORE THE GIRL OF YOUR DREAMS” and the video is all about a crypto scam, it will (rightfully) go into the trash bin.

Don’t try to trick viewers.

You don’t have to get this perfect on your first video - it’s better to just start, and upgrade as you go instead of procrastinating and waiting for perfection, but it’s something to constantly keep in mind. Professionalism is a constant effort to upgrade, show polish, and show that you are worth a watch.

Last but not least - branding.

What sticks out with this screenshot?

Let me ask you this … is there ANY mistaking what this channel is called, and what it represents?

Have a look at the expanded channel description (seen when you hit that “…more” link, and set in your Channel Settings):

Everything lines up. Everything is on brand. Everything is clear. Everything communicates to both YouTube and the viewer what your channel is, what it is about, and what you can expect.

The stars align! It’s THE GREAT CONJUNCTION!

This is truly a rabbit hole of deep topics, techniques, practices and strategies. If there’s anything you take from this post (and I appreciate you sticking around), it’s that you should absolutely have a plan, strategize, and make sure you’re not setting yourself up to be painted into a corner when a little growth hits.

Be smart, be scalable, and always be improving.

You can do it! I believe in you, and best of luck!