How to Make a Booktube Video | My YouTube Workflow

[@zszam]

And this is your HOBBY??? Seriously, you're my favorite booktuber and I'm lucky you think this is fun.

[@valerieleduc4894]

I agree!! I have bought so many books because you recommended them! I know there is a lot of work that goes into each video but it was super cool to see the process and all the steps you do! Thank you for showing us and continuing to be an amazing and entertaining creator 😊

[@bookslikewhoa]

Haha yes, it's a lot of work but I enjoy the creative challenge!

[@Gillian.Ashcroft.66]

Sounds & looks like a full time job - for all of you booktubers .I know the end results are the product of bloody hard work.🤯

[@andrewannotates]

Girl I have to tell you the tip about just editing out the silences first is GENIUS. And listening to audiobooks while doing it? Omg girl THANK YOU.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was helpful!!

[@priscilla.t.a]

I knew editing videos was a lot of work, but still, it's really interesting to see all the different aspects of producing content. It's quite a lot of work and makes me more appreciative than ever of your content. Thanks for sharing this!

[@kimt3864]

Wow, that is a lot of work! I never knew all that went into making a KZbin video!

[@iansmith4023]

Usually I check out the list of books that feature in each of your vids;click on the relevant time-stamps for the ones I want to watch you talk about; but ignore the rest. Not any more! So much hard work that you put into all of this means that the LEAST I can do from now on is watch them all the way through :)

[@bookslikewhoa]

Aw, that's so kind!!

[@LisaOfTroy]

Last year, I had a KZbin star review my BookTube channel. He told me to do one of three things: 1) make videos literally no one else is making usually no one cares 2) copy a large Booktuber and try to get to be the suggested video, 3) look at the trends and immediately film a video. My response to him was that I have to produce content that I am excited and energized about.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Unless you are doing Booktube for the money, (and there are far more lucrative corners of KZbin). You should do Booktube in the way that energises you, it is fun as a hobby. The community is great and supportive, and there is so much to talk about related to books, you can and should watch other Booktubers but do your own thing, your own way, as you have been doing.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Oh interesting.. yeah, I think on Booktube, people should just focus on having fun and making friends in the community. We're not big enough for people to realistically expect to "hit it big" like in other categories on YT

[@sophiawoodward4838]

Even though I don't plan on making videos, I found this fascinating. Thanks for all the work, I always enjoy watching your videos and they can be lovely relaxation moments if the day is a bit stressful.

[@KristinKravesBooks]

I've noticed that some booktubers have a light that shines only on the bookshelves behind them, which I think is interesting! Worth playing around with if you have to use your box lights! Thanks for explaining your process to us. So inspiring! Also, off topic but I'm in love with your kitchen!

[@TheBookishMom]

I am always fascinated by other people's processes!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Big same!

[@booksvsmovies]

This was such an insightful video. I do generally try to be aware if the work and effort that goes in to my favourite creators' content but I don't think I fully understood the scope of the production or just how much time each step of the process could take. Hats off to you mara for your dedication to the platform.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank you! Yes, it's a labor of love :)

[@bookwhimsy]

I did not even realize how much a needed this video. It is so interesting to see your process. Thank you so much for sharing this 💖

[@bookslikewhoa]

So glad it was interesting!

[@juneclifford8377]

All that hard work is much appreciated.

[@booksboulevard-tr3mz]

As a new channel coming to the book community here in youtube . Your video was very useful for me . Many thanks . 😊

[@natashaescobar7168]

Thanks for this inside look! As Summer gets closer you are inspiring me to get back on my Channel and creating content 🙏😁

[@lupaecainis]

I love seeing how the magic is made. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your videos. That, the great content and your wonderful personality are the reasons so many of us love your channel.

[@BooksofAmber]

I'm obsessed with Cathrin Manning's analytics and process videos so this was perfect for me!

[@whos_reviews]

As a Booktuber this was really interesting to see how another bookuber does it!

[@heabooktubes]

I learned some things! Thank you. ♥️🌸

[@literatureads1439]

i started with my iphone for my first five years on booktube haha and just recently got a camera. I got a Canon g7x which is similar to your camera!

[@sarafairchild2588]

It blows my mind as to how much you give of yourself on your videos. However, I think it really attracts me to them as if I were listening to a friend. This is coming from someone who barely reads any of the same genres as you! Also a note that I especially love your long videos, I can set them up and enjoy while doing work at home or driving. Thanks for all your hard work, and GBO!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Aw, thank you!

[@mariana.c89]

wow! I had no idea how things were its. such an interesting video!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@kathleensmith]

Just a big Thank You!! I started watching you channel about 9 months ago and throughly enjoy every installment ( most multiple times!) I truly appreciate all the work you put into your videos. I honestly would never have the patience.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank yoU!

[@marisagettas]

I find this 'how to' FASCINATING 🙌🏼🤯❤️

[@christinegregory1942]

I would be interested if you made this a series, doesn't have to be often either. I would love to start

[@VeronicasShelf]

I love this kind of videos, they really do help when you are trying to improve your videos to see the behind the scenes of other creators. :)

[@rustiqjoy]

Nuff respect to you as always. Its been a real joy to find persons like you who love books and has also challenged me to read more diversely. Much appreciated.

[@Sarah-il4nk]

So helpful! Thanks for going beyond filming/editing and including all the other behind the scenes!

[@Loonadance1212]

Woow this looks like so much work ! So much respect for booktubers who do this on top of a full time job x) thank you so much for the content

[@vamps_rock]

This was fascinating, even though I have absolutely no intentions of ever having a channel myself. And even more so knowing how much goes into the creation of the videos on top of the planning and filming itself. TFS :)

[@justonemorechapter74]

Found this so interesting! I'm not about to become a you tuber but as someone who has discovered booktube during 2020 (largely through yourself after seeing your Poirot reviews!) I found it really interesting to see your process. Thanks for all your content, I really enjoy it!

[@sarahlopod]

this was super cool and insightful! I knew youtube videos were a lot of work, but it was really interesting to really see everything that goes into it. thanks for sharing!

[@joiab11]

Thank you! I really want to start a book tube channel and don’t know how. 🙏❤️🥰

[@cappuccinocrafts2412]

Thanks for sharing your process. Lots of helpful little tips and suggestions. You put so much into your content and that is why it is high quality.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I appreciate that!

[@geneva2846]

This was awesome. Thank you for sharing your creative process!

[@ReadwithStefani]

I'd really love to revive my channel but I lack confidence in front of the camera. Thanks for making this video!

[@AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

Thank you for this video, I’m just getting started on booktube and it was really helpful to see your whole creative process. So reassuring to see it’s not very dissimilar from mine so far. I have a cat ‘helper’ too, but his main skills are preventing me from using the laptop! 🙄 Loved this video. 🙂

[@JolienReads]

Thank you for making this video, I had no idea that youtube likes it if you put timestamps and cards in your videos and I have thus never done this (except timestamps in one very long video...) So yes, I will do this from this point forward haha! I also had no idea you could add subtitles and generate them through another program. I feel like such a noob. 😂 But seriously, thank you!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@seriela]

Very helpful, indeed. Thanks for sharing your process and gadgets. LOL, I never "liked" any of my videos; false modesty? I don't think my brain could handle listening to a podcast while editing out the "ah/um"s simultaneously.

[@rosepetalpages]

I won't lie, watching this video kind of exhausted me lol. I have soo much respect for you for all the hard work you put into your videos! This was also so informative, especially for a (kinda) newbie booktuber. I film on my phone right now and I love how streamlined the process is in terms of exporting footage and all that. The thought of getting a camera and figuring out how to use it is so daunting to me, so I'm not sure I'll ever move on from my phone, lol. I also didn't realize that the KZbin algorithm doesn't like vids lower than 1080p. I'm def going to start exporting at that (even though it takes up like double the space haha). Thank you so much for putting this out there!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was interesting/helpful!

[@EEwoo-bf1oj]

Wow, great video! There’s a lot more to creating a video than I thought. Thanks for showing us the process!

[@michellestratford9753]

I love this!! So very helpful. Thank you!!

[@AdyGrafovna]

Well... now I definitively know that I will not be creating content on KZbin. It was great to see how much goes into it though. I think if anyone was considering it, this information would be really useful in knowing the time to dedicate to it and the tips and tricks for starting out.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yes, it has to be something where you like the whole process since it is quite a bit of work

[@CatApocalypse]

Thanks for the in-depth look! I'm starting to consider trying out Booktubing for funsies, and this is very helpful to see! 💕

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@RoseRamblesYT]

I fully admit that fixing the subtitles is one of my least favorite aspects too. I don’t use any services, I just fix the auto generated CC’s that KZbin creates, which for me takes a loooong time. Whenever I script my videos, that does help some that I can upload my script, have KZbin time it, then I go in and fix anything that needs fixing. My long unscripted videos though? Yeah those take the most time.

[@janenecampbell3109]

Omg I love the lowkey home tour at the beginning - your space is so cute!! Also ur videos are so good I have been watching them like almost immediately 😂💖

[@bookslikewhoa]

Haha, yes, it did end up being a mini house tour :D

[@JessOwens]

I LOVED THIS

[@tara5742]

Holy smokes! Thank you for all this work!! I hope this helps people that need some help with the nuts and bolts of sharing their ideas with the world via KZbin. I have so many questions! Feel free to ignore me XD 1)Do you ever waffle with the direction of your channel and how do you overcome it? For example, I’m sure you’re passionate about many things in life, is it ever tempting to try to combine or change your channel altogether? 2) What might be some lesser known “what KZbin likes,” details that are tried and true by you or your fellow KZbinrs? 3) During your time, do you feel this channel satisfied what it was that you were initially drawn to, and does it satisfy in ways you didn’t predict? If you do care to answer. Answer wherever ❤️ I’m on your Discord as well 👍

[@bookslikewhoa]

I'd say I try to find ways to incorporate other interests I have into my BT content- it often results in more creative videos. And yes, I'd say I definitely got what I hoped to get out of BT, which is a creative outlet and a way to find other reader friends

[@tara5742]

@@bookslikewhoa Yay! 🥳🥳

[@pretentioussunshine]

When you showed yourself doing the thumbnail before filming I felt low key called out because I literally ALWAYS forget to take one and then once I want to upload I have to put the clothes from the video back on, get the books and take and edit the entire thing days after I filmed the original video😂😭 I should probably start taking the thumbnail before hand😅

[@JasmineMGorton]

This helped me so much! Thank you 🥰

[@pdxleo]

Thank you! This was so helpful. I’m hoping to add captions in my next video and was wondering how to do that. Also good tips on the end cards - and more! Thanks!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad it was helpful!

[@WildeBookGarden]

I love that you still use natural light! I feel like there's this pressure on KZbin to "upgrade" to a fancy ring light or something ASAP, but your videos prove you can have great lighting without them! I find your background music to be really well-done! Pleasant but not distracting. I have a hard time with auditory processing sometimes (which is why I so appreciate the captions!) but I don't think I've ever had trouble with your videos 😊 Oh, appreciate seeing how the monetization options work! I've never seen what those look like This was so interesting! for me the filming part takes up a much bigger chunk of time because I am not only a rambly a$$ b!tch but also one who needs to do way too many takes 😂 and I also usually do several editing passes unless I specifically decide to do it all at once because...it feels faster for some videos? no idea why that is 🤷🏻‍♀️ And making thumbnails is definitely my least favorite part of the process which is kind of weird?? I think I’ve finally settled on something I’m somewhat happy with, but it’s hard not to compare to how nice other creators’ look. Also I resent having to spend so much time on something that is not technically the content of the video, even though book covers are kind of on the same principle and I love those 😂

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yes, honestly, I think most videos look best with natural light unless folks really put in the time to learn how to light at a more professional level... which I have not/don't want to do :D

[@beatricea2153]

This was sooooooo useful!😍😍😍 Thank you very much! I hope people can see how much work gets into these videos, it's not that easy peasy. I am not looking for having a channel myself, but since you are one of my ABSOLUTE favourites, it was super fun to watch what u do to create these wonderful videos. Btw...watching u on my work laptop and on my phone at the same time🤣🤣 You have a wonderful week, lovely!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Thank you!!

[@beatricea2153]

@@bookslikewhoa nothing to thank me for! Have a wonderful week!💜

[@Courtagonist]

I really enjoyed this and I loved being able to see what you have been doing! I found some things that I can do for my channel as well!

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yay, glad it was interesting! Hard to believe we've been at this for 4 years

[@Lorie336]

Cool! Thank you this gave me some more insight on how to get more views. Also, still shopping around on a better video editor for my Windows laptop than what I have now...lol. This was helpful and love videos that will improve what I love to do. 😊❤️❤️❤️

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad I could help!

[@hiigghhggg9150]

Very fun, helpful video! I hate that you have to face comments like those, but dude-bros always gonna find a way to dude-bro, I guess. Also, that first hate comment was really mean, but also, like, did he really try to use “short haired” as an insult 😂🤣😂🤣 some people lol

[@bookslikewhoa]

People are... interesting... 😅

[@Clarafication]

This is such a helpful video. 🥰

[@cathyl3526]

This is super helpful. I've had several false starts, but I've been using TikTok as training wheels. I'm going to need to watch this more than once. I'd love to see a "makeup for filming" from you too. It always looks great. Does it take a while to get used to looking at and hearing yourself when editing?

[@bookslikewhoa]

Yes, it's weird at first and takes time to get comfortable, but if you keep at it, it gets easier

[@RR-xl6yc]

While I have no intention of ever creating a KZbin video, I find the behind the scenes of how things work fascinating, so I watched the whole video. I thought the screen shots of the analytics particularly interesting and would watch a follow up video on that topic if you were interested in making one. I'm curious what you can glean from them and how that knowledge affects future videos. I did notice one thing you can see is where the viewers for a particular video came from. Does it make a difference to your channel if I click on your video from my home page recommendations as opposed to my subscription feed? If one is better for you then I'd like to do it that way.

[@bookslikewhoa]

I think it's better if it comes from home page recommendations, but honestly, any view is appreciated :)

[@JessTalkingBooks]

Thanks for all this a new Booktuber. (Also the tiny bit of green southern grass outside.) We just tried to tag and couldn't on the website. Wondering if something changed and you're grandmothered in. Because we tried several videos and accounts. The timestamps and card info is helpful, too. Husband edits due to severe lack of being able to watch or listen to myself. So it helped both of us.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Oh interesting... I'm not sure, as it only showed up for me as a feature in the last 18 months or so

[@JessTalkingBooks]

@@bookslikewhoa I can tag in live chats but only link in description. KZbin being inconsistent, never!

[@WhitneyOpfar]

Great video and super informative! The mean comments made me tear up. Idk why people need to be unkind. In that vein, I dream of starting a book tube channel for fun but every time I seriously consider it I chicken out thinking that is silly. How did you have the confidence and drive to create your channel in the first place?

[@bookslikewhoa]

For me, the interest in connecting with other readers and having a creative outlet outweighed the knowledge that I would have jerks in my comments. But that's something everyone has to decide if they can handle :)

[@derekdavis5310]

Oh lordie. You are NOT pretentious! Some ppl... 🤦‍♀️

[@marilynwelther5823]

Thanks for creating this video, very interesting. Not a content creator myself but wonder how or if you back up your videos on your equipment or does that not concern you once you have uploaded and know everything is working as planned on KZbin?

[@bookslikewhoa]

I have an external hard drive I keep all my video stuff on... in theory, once the final video is uploaded, you can always download the finished video back onto your computer as needed

[@biankatoth1786]

Very interesting and informative video.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

This was great.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I also watch myself to think about my talking and edition.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I did not know you could save default descriptions. I wish I knew that sooner.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

Haha I looked up that camera and as soon as I saw the cost I knew that wasnt an option for me. Maybe after three years I'll upgrade too, but right now I'd hate to upgrade and then drop the hobby after spending so much money.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I've tried removing the dead spots or the um/like first before editing the main text. I stopped doing that cuz I thought it was taking longer. Maybe I'll try doing that again since you think it's faster. It's also lets me listen to a podcast or book like you said during that.

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I film in a basement, and I absolutely agree that lighting is the most important and perhaps most difficult thing about this. I've invested in a box light, actually two. It helps. Of course you can't beat natural lighting

[@HappyforNow]

Mara why are you speaking to my project manager side bad my like desire to know everyone’s workflow along with how I can improve it 😅

[@bookslikewhoa]

LOL I'm a PM too, so maybe that's why I'm so nosy about this stuff?? :D

[@tarotstudent3258]

Thank you!

[@primustorus5116]

Are you a Beatles fan? I noticed you using at least two Beatles titles, like 'I'll Follow the Sun' and 'The Night Before'.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Haha, yes, I do love the Beatles

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

I've clearly got the wrong Sony camera, my one is quite noisy, when autofocusing...it sounds like a dog snoring in my videos.

[@AdventuRyn_]

My Sony doesn't do the auto focus noise, but it overheats & dies after 15-20min usually.

[@bookslikewhoa]

Oh no! Yeah, I've never had that issue :/

[@a_bookish_gemini]

The cool tone you talk about actually has absolutely nothing to do with the type of camera you use; you’re referring to light “temperature” which is determined by your white balance setting and this number can be dialed up or down to your liking in any and all (digital) cameras out there.

[@TheBookishSock]

ok I'm new here, but I need to know what Pile of Shame TBR is 😂

[@bookslikewhoa]

Haha, that was a recent vlog I did where I read the books I'd preordered a while ago but still not read 🙈

[@park6977]

hii! first hehe