Answering your questions! 5000 subscribers Q&A

To celebrate the channel passing 5,000 subscribers, I'm answering 20 of your questions. Enjoy! (Links to everything I mention are further down in this description.)
⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction
0:44 - What’s your biggest strength as a writer?
2:08 - What fantasy authors do you most admire?
4:36 - Do you write short stories?
6:53 - Is a website worth it for authors?
10:38 - How do I deal with self-doubt?
12:29 - How is the book coming?
14:19 - How do you assign POVs in a novel?
15:29 - How do you end a story?
17:17 - What do you think about Robert Heinlein’s 5 rules of writing?
20:39 - Advice for entering KZbin/BookTube?
24:51 - Does novel writing transfer to screenwriting?
26:10 - How do I know if I have the potential to be a writer?
26:32 - How do you get work writing for Choice of Games?
28:12 - What’s the difference between fantasy and literature?
29:51 - Best way to get involved with a writing community?
31:49 - What writing software do you use?
34:38 - What’s the chapter/page count of a book?
34:56 - Do you get friends to read your work-in-progress stories?
35:39 - What author’s process do you most admire?
36:07 - What do you put on a book cover?
THINGS MENTIONED:
My free short stories: jedherne.com/stories
The Art and Business of Online Writing
Kingdom of Dragons - opening chapters: jedherne.com/kingdom
My video game, Siege of Treboulain: www.choiceofgames.com/siege-o...
Choice of Games' application guidelines: www.choiceofgames.com/looking...
Joe Abercrombie interview: • Joe Abercrombie chats ...
Michael & Robin Sullivan Kickstarter interview: • How to launch books on...
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress analysis: anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episod...
ProWritingAid: prowritingaid.com/?afid=4301
Freewrite Traveller: getfreewrite.com/?rstr=6485 - use this affiliate link for a 5% discount.
Notion: affiliate.notion.so/d4txd5653c75
Book cover correspondence: bit.ly/thundercover
✏️ MY FREE WRITING ADVICE BOOK:
Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': jedherne.com/lessons
💌 MY NEWSLETTER:
Get a free fantasy story when you sign up to my free, fortnightly author newsletter: bit.ly/jednewsletter
📙 MY BOOKS:
Check out my fantasy books here: jedherne.com/stories
🔨 MY FAVOURITE WRITING TOOLS:
Freewrite Traveller (distraction-free writing laptop): getfreewrite.com/?rstr=6485 - use this affiliate link for a 5% discount.
MailerLite (best email newsletter software for authors): www.mailerlite.com/a/awmq7yim...
ProWritingAid (editing software that helped a lot with my early books): prowritingaid.com/?afid=4301
🧑 ABOUT ME:
Hi! My name's Jed. I'm a fantasy author with three published novels and a bestselling video game. On this channel, I draw from my 10+ years of writing experience to help you become a better writer.
💬 CONNECT WITH ME:
Follow me on Instagram: / jedherne
Send me an email: jed(at)jedherne.com
(Note: I don't always get a chance to reply to every email. However, I do my best to read as many of them as possible, and it's my preferred method of communication.)

[@jowrites]

thank you for the quote about outworking your self doubt - I really needed to hear that today.

[@the_fools_tale]

Thanks for the shout out! And glad the book is coming on well!

[@m.j.johnsonbooks7856]

Subscribed! I’m excited to check out your All Time top 10 and opening lines videos.

[@the_fools_tale]

@@m.j.johnsonbooks7856 thank you! Hope you enjoy them!

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome! Thanks for the great job with the edit on this video

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Appreciate you answering my question! I am way late in watching this… I really like the point you made about the reframing how to market a video/content and think backwards about it. Thanks again for the the Q&A, and congrats again!

[@Jed_Herne]

Glad it was helpful!

[@henrynewton8267]

Holy shit champ! Love your videos and watching this at 80k+ congrats man

[@luisdall5575]

Thanks Jed, great advice as always!

[@Jed_Herne]

You're welcome!

[@nickprocter1560]

Another brilliant video Jed. Thanks for answering my question. Thanks for all the great advice too. 👍

[@Jed_Herne]

Cheers!

[@luked88]

Congrats man!! Just bought a copy of Across the Broken stars. Can't wait for it to be delivered so I can give it a read. It'll be cool to finally read some of this writing you always talk about on your channel. Thanks for being so inspirational. Looking forward to all the future content!

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Luke! Hope you enjoy it!

[@hendlerexel2029]

did u enjoyed it Luke?

[@missdragon5892]

wow that was super interesting - thanks for answering my question

[@chenstylemonkey]

Great vid, Jed :) Yeah, I discovered your channel via your writing like Gaimen video. I'm glad the algorithm has pulled you out of obscurity. As a baby writer myself, I love the content. Cheers!

[@matthewjohnson3789]

Thanks for answering my question 👍

[@suysal2593]

Lovely channel, your videos are really helping. Been writing now for some years to finish my first fantasy novel. I hope it is finished by the end of the year.

[@Jed_Herne]

Best of luck!

[@mcpanarr]

I love Heinlein's rules of writing! Definitely agree with not rewriting endlessly, but just making minimal editorial corrections. This has always been my approach. When it comes to my writing, I ALWAYS have a clear vision of the story, the characters, how it begins and where it's going. This is one of the reasons I never rewrite anything---yes, I correct typos and make small word changes here and there, but I always know how the story should go from the beginning. This was an endless frustration to my English teachers in high school who always wanted us to write multiple drafts of papers and creative short stories. Obviously, I never would rewrite anything because I wrote it the way I wanted it the first time; there was nothing to rewrite. I see all these indie authors on KZbin talking about how many drafts they write and how much editing they do... I just don't relate to that type of process. Great video, by the way!

[@user-nf6bw9zm8d]

I got the part of my questions that are relevant to fantasy writing answered🎉🎉🎉

[@mikevoss4894]

Heinlein's rules, it should be noted, stem from a time when being able to churn out books was really the only way to write for a living. If you couldn't turn out quality drafts in your chosen genre, and rewrite quickly to address an editor's issues with that draft, agents and publishers had little use for you. After all, those were the writers they relied on to keep *their* income going. Those rules are useful today for some experienced writers (and Heinlein was in no way addressing or even interested in "aspiring authors") and those with the native talent to turn out a very clean draft. They're not meant for, or of much help, to self-published writers, who often must maintain a day job because it is much harder to make a living at this craft than it was decades ago, and with so much more competition.

[@franksellers7858]

Which of your own books is your favorite?

[@Jed_Herne]

Across the Broken Stars

[@m.j.johnsonbooks7856]

38 minute video? Perfection

[@Jed_Herne]

Perfectly rambling, as all things should be

[@maxreenoch1661]

You mention using short stories as a palate-cleansing tool to rekindle one's passion for writing. What if I'm writing my first short story, and I've been working on it for over a month, and I've had long stretches of days where I haven't written anything because of life (school/studies, in my case) getting in the way? Would it be best for me to: try to continue with it; try to rework it/start again with the same idea; or should I start writing a completely new short story? (hi again, by the way)

[@Jed_Herne]

Sounds like you need to commit to finishing it

[@haldanebdoyle]

On Heinlein's rules for writing, this pro author still uses them today and finds his work suffers if he edits excessively. I have picked up the method by accident and it works really well for me. The full talk outlining the approach is here- kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6GqZZyrf56Smc0

[@Lauritzen91939]

You doYou should try to write like edger allen pofor 7 or 30 days I don't really know Like how you did stephen king

[@nlnrose]

I've tried to read your short stories on your website and kept getting the wrong redirect. idk what happened.

[@Jed_Herne]

Hmm that's weird - if you email me ([e-mail]) I can send them through directly

[@umwha6271]

But let’s face it, the only question that really matters is, What grade are you currently projecting?

[@Jed_Herne]

Haha I got a V6 the other day, so does that answer your question?

[@umwha6271]

Nice!

[@studentemail19]

W

[@franksellers7858]

How do I become a beta reader?

[@Jed_Herne]

Send me an email with details about: - How many books you usually read a year. - What genres you read. - Which of my books you enjoyed the most, and why.