Pain and Suffering in the Cyborg Tinkerer

[@SilenceAtTheLibrary]

A part of me wants you to stop reading these books and just read the stuff you like, but another more sadistic part of me lives for these rants.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

I appreciate the sentiment 😂😂 - Maria

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Don’t worry, this next one is amazing -Katie

[@Neremworld]

@@unresolvedtextualtension Just keep tearing bad books apart.

[@Strannik01]

The rant reviews get more views than positive reviews, so they're probably going to have to keep doing it. Which is a shame, because many of their positive reviews are pretty fun, too.

[@ryank9825]

Praising good writers can only take us so far. Super talented writers are by definition hard to critique. We need to analyze publicized schlock, it gives hope for aspiring writers and helps us look to see I'd we fall into similar traps.

[@EmLorr]

Meg was really done dirty by her beta reader and critic partners including Jenna Moreci. It appears none of them were honest with her about this book and it makes me feel bad for Meg.

[@CEREBROBELFAST]

Exactly, I saw a video where Meg was talking about how for the year it took her to write TCT she would get up really early in the mornings to get in some writing time before her young son woke up, then wrote in short bursts during his naptimes throughout the rest of the day. She was probably completely frazzled and really needed her critique partners and beta readers to protect her but they weren't there for her. There's no way none of them realised how awful on every level TCT was, yet they let her humiliate herself and lose all credibility as an authortuber rather than tell her the truth

[@ocinidolegna]

@@CEREBROBELFAST :( that’s honestly really sad to know. i now feel really bad for her

[@EmLorr]

@@CEREBROBELFAST I remember watching all those videos too, she was so passionate and excited and appeared to have so much support around her especially from other KZbinrs. Makes you wonder what peoples true motivations were because it clearly was not helping Meg write a readable book.

[@sarahmatthews5878]

@@CEREBROBELFAST She didn't read this. And if she didn't and she lied about her review and maybe even beta feedback, then she's not a good person. At all.

[@geneclark5558]

@@CEREBROBELFAST Okay... I went and read the review in question and... Yeah. She does realize that a review is not the same thing as writing a script for one of your 15 second ad reads, right?

[@seasaltsanji]

There is a KZbin episode that Jenna Moreci were she explained how her first editor told her to make changes to her book and she did not want to listen to that editor. Further illustrating the advice to "find the correct editor". Basically the editor that tells you what you want to hear versus what you need to hear.

[@oops9678]

When I was in Jenna's Discord before being ostracized and bullied out of it, she shared some of the feedback she gets. All of it is gushing about the characters. There's no real critique, and she's said before that she doesn't pay attention to any of it anyway, so she'll never get better.

[@seasaltsanji]

She probably ran into a vanity publisher too. Vanity publishers will publish anything long as you've got the money, and they don't care about the quality. Push anything out the door. I've ran into it myself trying to publish my book.

[@HikariKobayashi]

Honestly, I agree with Moreci on her insistence on finding an editor. I did a short story for a collection written a couple years ago. I decided to try doing a horror-ish story and I was quite proud of it at first. Our editor was a volunteer, but also is a real editor, and her suggestions, none of which were extensive, made the story far better than it would have been. But you have to listen to your editor, otherwise why do you have one?

[@oops9678]

​@@HikariKobayashi Yeah, that's the thing. Moreci insists on a lot of things that are truly helpful. She just doesn't do it herself. Either that, or she refuses to hire a developmental editor and goes straight for the line edits which would make A LOT of sense based on how her books turned out.

[@v.anessa1451]

​@oops9678 can u tell more about what happened w jennas discord ? the community seems toxic and parasocial

[@Jen37978]

I feel it adds much needed context when you learn that Meg and Jenna Moreci are friends, and Jenna was like Meg’s writing mentor. Now the deadly competition thing makes a lot more sense! Great video any way guys. X

[@sarahmatthews5878]

And to add to the fact that Jenna calls herself a cyborg.....

[@strangementalitypaperYT]

Jenna is in no place to mentor anyone. She’s almost as terrible of a writer as Meg.

[@bluehydrangea5506]

@@strangementalitypaperYT agreed. I cant imaginr anyone looking at jennas flat, formulaic writing, cringy dialogue and weak characters and being like yep, thats the person who i want to be my writing mentor

[@bluehydrangea5506]

@Ego Master okay but thats seriously what i thought. Like any writer/beta reader who knows their stuff would look at that book and be able to point out multiple things that didnt work. Jenna just gave her blind praise (just check out her review on goodreads) so either 1) jenna is a garbage mentor/beta reader or 2) she told her it was ready despite fully knowing it wasnt

[@strangementalitypaperYT]

@Ego Master using her to get subscribers. But I hate how these author tubers speak as if they’re some kind of authority just because they paid some money to publish a crappy book.

[@Virgo117]

"What does capturing a dragon have to do with your performance?" They need xp to level up 😂😂😂

[@rmjwinfrey5722]

It’s hilarious to me that these authors who hand out writing advice don’t actually follow their own advice at all. Meg and Jenna both just seem to regurgitate the writing advice they find online. At least now I know as an aspiring author myself that those two aren’t at all people I should be listening to in any major capacity

[@JulianGreystoke]

I wasn't sure if you were going to be brave enough to tackle this one.

[@JulianGreystoke]

Listening to this I'm curious if y'all have been watching my vids or if we just like a lot of the save media!

[@Rachopin77]

I feel like so many "woke" writers that try to have a bunch of diversity focus on the LEAST important and interesting parts of that diversity, just the outer package. Like I as a black person have a really interesting and complicated story and history that has led to me existing as this person at this point in time. Like my ancestors and family have a completely different story than a white person and we have slightly different cultural themes and things that matter to us, even though I've always been around a ton of white people my whole life. It's just frustrating how so many people think that the only thing that diversity has to offer is people looking different, but they don't want to work the complexities of so many different people getting mixed in together in the world building. My brown skin is the least interesting thing about me as a black person and is the least interesting thing I have to offer. They want aesthetic diversity, but don't want to tell diverse stories or indicate that they've been at least inspired by these different stories and really appreciate them.

[@Rachopin77]

@@futurestoryteller I think that's an interesting thing you're feeling conflicted about and trying to work through. I don't really know if there's a way to avoid some people viewing those storytelling decisions in a way that doesn't feel somewhat malicious or at least like you're perpetuating certain narrow ideas of what it means to be this or that POC. In my case, I've never been poor, both of my parents have professional degrees, I've always been around mostly white people, but I've also been othered most of my life and experienced a lot of racism that stems from people assuming certain things about my experience and who I am and what my ways of expressing myself mean. Even what my expressions of pain and depression mean. Or people force their story and history onto me. And that's all an oversimplification. I guess I wonder why the themes of the story have to be so cut and dry, and what you're actually trying to share? What's the point? Is it you working through resentment and using this white character as a self insert, or are you telling a complete story that inspires you and shares some of your unique perspective? From what you've said, the villain seems to show a lack of true understanding of the complexity of those type of responses people in your childhood had to you. They're not good responses, they're counter productive, and obviously I don't really know any specifics, but it sounds like working from "archetypes" rather than fully exploring the nuanced depth of all the things that form a particular, complex, flawed person, which I think is the issue I have with a lot of ways that POC are written, especially by white people. You don't need to make a commentary on racism. POC still have stories outside of racism commentary even though a lot of who we are has been shaped by racism over centuries. But most people probably aren't really looking for that commentary from you and don't really need it. They just want a good story and they want to feel like you see them as humans. You might have to add in themes and characters and situations that show that you do understand the complexity, if you're really trying to do that though. Like if this one black character is the villain, there should probably be another one that contrasts that character and shows a different side. What's the point of making the indigenous character be murdered? Sure, that's something that happens and is on people's minds, but there are a ton of indigenous people who don't fit the box of "murdered indigenous person". Are you just recycling collective trauma and telling it in a watered down way? I think that if you're trying to communicate a lot of really complex themes, it's easy for it to be lost in translation and just not necessarily be effective with it. It might be better to just tell the story you want to tell about these nuanced characters and avoid trying to make some sort of commentary on racism. At the end of the day, it'll either feel real and true and authentic, or it'll feel like a white person trying too hard to make a shallow point. I don't know. That's tough. I'm cishet, and if I were to include LGBTQ characters in a story I was writing, I would have to approach them as complex people with arcs outside of making a commentary on homophobia or transphobia or identity etc because no one is looking for that from me. It can just be a nuanced character who impacts the plot and has autonomy in the story. If I were to have white characters in a fantasy, I wouldn't even make them have a racist story arc. They'd just be other characters from this part of the world who are here because of reasons that matter in the plot and the worldbuilding. Sorry for how meandering and confusing this was lol.

[@Rachopin77]

@@futurestoryteller well that's the thing, I think that no matter what, it's probably safe to assume that people will misunderstand what you're communicating unless you're very specific, clear, intentional, and thoughtful about it. You know all of the things in your head and what they mean to you, but no one else does. And no one else is going to have the personal connection to it that you have unless you give them a reason to. I think approaching a complex story assuming that people are going to not like it "because you're white" will probably set you up to be defensive about it and stick your foot in your mouth because you might assume any feedback or criticism is shallow and because of your whiteness. Either you have a story to tell or you don't, and if its coming from a real and authentic place, that's all that matters and it should hold up. It doesn't really matter if people have shallow thoughts about you as a white dude. F*** em. Your work should speak for itself. I think you misunderstand what I mean by "you don't need to make a commentary about race" If the world is grounded in our current reality, I don't think that race and racism is avoidable. And yeah, it might be central to the story. But what I'm saying is that most people probably aren't really looking to you to open their eyes to racism and othering, and that's fine. I genuinely can't remember a time when a white persons take on race felt new or eye opening to me. That isn't shade, it just is what it is I guess. Doesn't mean all black people have good takes either. But you can just tell a good story and hopefully people take more away from it along the way. Like it or not, most people probably aren't going to find your views particularly new or deep, and that's okay. It doesn't need to be new. most stories pull from a few common themes that have been told forever. it just needs to be real and a good story. I know that I as a black person value authenticity over most other things in storytelling. But like, to give you an example of what I mean, the creators of avatar the last Airbender were white, but they just told a good, grounded, authentic story that showed respect for the people they were inspired by. Granted, a lot of other people were involved and I think most of the animators were korean, but you get what I mean. No one cares they are white because the work holds up on its own. I don't think I've ever heard people criticize that show for being created by white people originally. Because it just slaps. My boyfriend is white and Jewish and also really into rap and hip-hop. It's most of what he listens to. He likes to write his own bars and songs and stuff and he's gone to an open mic or two. Doesn't really matter that he's white and Jewish, he just has to be real and spit good bars about what matters to him. And the only times I've told him some bars felt off is when they're about him but don't feel like his authentic voice. But his Jewish identity brings a different flavor to his rap and people respond well to it. Let your identity bring flavor to your work without being defensive about it, I guess is what I'm saying. I hope my tone comes across as thoughtful and not dismissive, Im aware it might seem that way.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@Rachopin77 I think you communicated your points effectively, so hopefully I can effectively articulate to you why I get very mixed signals from your post. You talk about the "authenticity" of Avatar: The Last Airbender... You're speaking about that as an... Asian? - Asian American? Because yes, it is just a fact that it is a well written story, but it's not _culturally_ authentic in any way. I've watched at least one KZbinr respond to the cultural analogues that fans typically assign to the different nations of the series, her response is that they analogues do not exist, in any meaningfull way. That it all felt like a westerner's generic abstraction of "Asia." They didn't set out to remain true to their research of other cultures, they were inspired by anime, and kung fu movies. Perhaps the reason there isn't much backlash is because the story is just too good, because the American East Asian population is so small, or because outside of some really dehumanizing stereotypes, they're just not as sensitive to white America watering down, or borrowing from their culture. (Seriously there are some fascinating clips of actual Japanese citizens blissfully ignorant of the controversy surrounding the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the Ghost in the Shell remake.) For all I know they're just drowned out by our boisterous Western appreciation for it. Let's just say I'd doubt that if a Wakanda-like, sprawling African fantasy universe was made today by two white American children's animators it would be met by default with the same casual acceptance as that was, and probably still would be on some level. I didn't really need an example like Avatar. Especially since "Write good and people will probably like it." Is not mind blowingly novel advice anyway. I'm more curious about the point that a white person has never had an "eye opening" perspective on race, not because I doubt that, but because you didn't give any examples of what an "eye opening perspective on race" actually is. You just conceded that not all black people have them either. I want to know who has, and what exactly they said that could have been an epiphany to you, who - in theory - already shares their experience anyway. The reason I bring this up is not because it is my goal do that, necessarily, but because of how surreal it is to have to explain once again that I am not the kind of person who's going to get defensive about people not liking something I've written under the _misguided_ assumption that it is "because I'm white" I'd like to think I've presented myself more thoughtfully than that, but it doesn't seem like I got the benefit of the doubt regardless. On the contrary: I'm met with skepticism that I could possibly have anything worthwhile to say on the subject of race _because_ of my skin color. Even though there's also a minor concession that some people *will* think superficially about "me," for that reason, and that I should disregard those people's opinions. So it doesn't sound like a meritless concern. Like... it's worth mentioning that I never said it was my intention to offer a "new perspective on race." I presented you with the bare bones of my story, raised some meatier points of concern for me, that it _sounds_ like most people would want me to contemplate, and the result, somehow, was this conversation. Perhaps the simplest way to put this is that by making that assumption and eventually hedging on exactly what it means to tell a story "about" race you are already signalling a misunderstanding of what my intentions are on one level or the other, and what my capabilities are in a way that is recognizably entagled with preconceptions about who I am and what it means from my perspective. Which runs counter to the idea that I should not be concerned this will happen as long as I "be real" - I've been trying to be real in this conversation... Now obviously I can't explain my story in more detail, and that's clearly part of the problem here. But you know, I don't feel like I have an identity that is entirely my own. I'm not a Jewish lyricist. Literally or metaphorically. I can't even get that specific. I feel no special connection or affiliation to any ethnic or cultural group. I'm a blank canvas. My entire family growing up consisted entirely of a small handful of people inside the same house. I'm a white man who was raised entirely by a woman in black neighborhoods. On the one hand I was never fully accepted by my peers, in a general sense. On the other hand to all of my friends I was their "white friend." I didn't usually have other friends, so I didn't make "black friends" they were just "my friends." You'll forgive me for saying, in my experience, these feelings of alienation and isolation, however you would like to charecterize them, are often expressed by POC in America, so is there some reason I shouldn't relate to them when they do? Armenians are white, Jews have an ethnically murky assignment by arbitrary western rules, Rwandans are definitely black by those "rules," but if survivors of their holocausts could come together and speak about their experiences I imagine their stories would be quite similar. The intention of my story really is to state the obvious. To tell a story about the human condition. To re-iterate that we are all the same, while emphasizing the important caveat that our individual and group experiences are still different, and interrogate where and why these differences leads us to antagonism, and whether there's any hope for a solution. I really think that's all you can do with something like this. Pretending to have some insight or answer that other people don't have isn't going to get anybody anywhere because no one has a new perspecitve to offer. That would require a new vantage point. It's interesting that we live in a culture that both celebrates the "death of the author" and "authentic voice." The realist voice will always be at the source. Meryl Streep was told by survivors on Sophie's choice what it's like to be so weak in a concentration camp that a conscious effort would actually be made to retread the same steps to not be bogged down by mud. On the flipside Tyler Perry, or Martin Scorsese might be criticized for perpetuating harmful stereotypes about their *own* communities, regardless of whether or not their narrative's authenticity is called into question. The movie Joker is a fascinatingly stupid piece of media, because the director apparently insists that any meaning you ascribe to it is false. The only message of his own he has articulated is "The importance of empathy" He said of the movie that "you can't make comedies anymore," because everybody is so woke, the studios are afraid too offend anyone. So the funniest most irreverant thing he could think to do as a director in this cultural climate is get overly serious with a clown supervillain. The resulting movie is about a depressed, white, male comedian who's upset that people don't find him funny, and feels like it will drive him crazy - He's Todd Philips, he's the director, he has not empathized with anyone. Empathy is not about putting yourself in your own shoes, three sizes bigger.

[@Rachopin77]

@@futurestoryteller I don't know man, I think you're just taking everything too seriously. Yourself, this conversation with me, a random stranger on the internet, and this story you haven't written yet. It doesn't matter if I give mixed signals. Humans are contradictory, and I said what I mean. By avatar being authentic, I mean they had a story they wanted to tell and they told it and people like it, including Asian individuals that Ive known. And even people, Asian or not, who know a lot about the cultures they were inspired by. Obviously I know there's going to be plenty of people who have issues with it, but that is to be expected and it isn't the overarching narrative surrounding the show in the zeitgeist. It doesn't need to be perfectly culturally accurate for people to like it. And to act like it's going to be anything other than a western interpretation of certain themes and cultures is silly. Of course it is. It's a made up fantasy world for children with made up fantasy cultures that was created by two American men. But it's good. That's all I'm saying lol. If I ever created a fantasy world it's going to have my Western and black American spin on it. Just write your story. I'll never be able to respond fully to anything about your story that you haven't written and your life that I don't know. Pontificating about this or that will just keep you from writing it.

[@futurestoryteller]

@@Rachopin77 I'm sorry, I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to take my life, my art, or other people seriously. Maybe that's a luxury wealthy people have, idk.

[@quintonchristie7149]

You three are HANDS DOWN my favorite youtubers, nevermind booktubers. The wit and smarts you share like Olympic synchronised swimmers (mixed team, masked), makes life at the tip of Africa more bearable. I expect nothing less than a thorough roggering when my book/s eventually reach your desks. Love & peace.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Trigun? Or no? -Katie

[@quintonchristie7149]

@@unresolvedtextualtension Hola Katie! Loved the show, and Vash reminds me of my younger days, and I hope that's the Trigun you are referring to? I'm 57, so much of the current youngspeak eludes me.

[@lucasstrople4767]

Honestly this unrestrained negativity directed at incompetent writing is a breath of fresh air. So many online aspirants now acting like no criticism is deserved. The 'hater' tag is used to dismiss discerning readers who know better by all the naïve fluffheads in the creative writing community. Love to see the hacks and the grifters get the feedback they deserve for a change.

[@patriciomejia1114]

Ok, so there is another AuthorTuber. Her name is Abbie Emmons, and she currently has two published books: 100 Days of Sunlight, and Tessa and Weston: The Best Christmas Ever. I would like to know what you guys think of these books. I like Abbie Emmons' channel, but I haven't read any of her books, but given the criticism of AuthorTuber books, I would like to know whether you guys think that this is another one in the trend or if these books are actually good.

[@funnynickname1126]

I’d like to see this too!

[@nevisnebis1207]

She’s pretty big in authortube (that I’ve seen) so I’m really curious to see if she also falls into the trap of giving out advice while being a terrible writer. I don’t have the cash to spare to investigate myself, but I might ask a friend to get one of her books for me as a birthday gift just because I’m so intrigued

[@definitelyadarkangel9225]

I plan on picking up 100 days of sunlight in a couple days, her advice is miles better than most authortube people I've seen, at least for me personally, but I could see her going a little bit too far in the characters are all you need direction, but once I finish it I'll update this comment.

[@jbjstyx]

@@definitelyadarkangel9225 Please do!

[@bravelittleroomba]

@@definitelyadarkangel9225 I read 100 Days of Sunlight. I was not impressed, but it's far from the worst thing I've read. I'm probably not the best person to get an opinion from though because it is very much not the type/genre of book I prefer to read.

[@ShayLaLaLooHoo]

"It's a fairy tale retelling!" (only takes inspiration from Disney)

[@felix_a_fiend]

Every time I feel bad about my writing, I come back to this video to remind myself that I could be worse.

[@jusdeorange]

Same! 😂

[@lennysmileyface]

As a dying person I can confirm that we don't just forget about sexy stuff.

[@morleywritesbooks]

I think the biggest problems are treating diverse characters as a checkbox list, and trying to tackle topics way beyond their scope/understanding. They're woke, or trying to present as, and they're probably unaware of how insulting it is. much sad.

[@Harudodo]

Mhm. As an LGBTQIA+ person, I strive for diversity. But I always make sure to do at least SOME RESEARCH on the people I'm trying to represent. Forced Diversity is awful

[@destroyerinazuma96]

​@@HarudodoIirc the rule of thumb is to simply write minorities like any other good ol' character. Like "Jane is a pro diver on a quest to find her mother's treasure. And Jane just happens to prefer women. And the novel is about the quest not Jane's ex who is mostly mentioned to explain how Jane learned Spanish."

[@allbutperfect]

What does woke mean?

[@andrewjennings7306]

​@@allbutperfectsuper progressive?

[@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf]

@@allbutperfectit’s a term from AAVE expressing that someone is ‘awake’ to issues and power structures in the world around them

[@ContessaDark]

Oh no. I haven't even watched the video yet, and all I can say is: "oh no." For frame of reference, I knew Meg, while a lovely human, would be a bad writer during a livestream with an agent where they examined randomly selected viewer-submitted first pages, reading until one of them hit a bell to indicate where they would tap out of a submission. On one Meg tapped out because of "purple prose" The agent asked what she thought was purple about it, then looked at the sub specs. Oh, it's adult Well, I guess it might be ok. The sentence in question (I'll see if I can find it and edit it in after) was nowhere NEAR purple. This was an unspecified age-range opportunity. The fact that she couldn't parse Adult prose on hearing it... I was done with her "advice".

[@alexandernorman5337]

She really pimped being an intern for an agent way too much. Didn't have any real insider knowledge.

[@tidyheidi9143]

@@alexandernorman5337 everything I’ve seen from Meg’s videos has me convinced she was just the coffee mule who fetched bagels for the agents and she just went on to lie on the Internet about being an expert agent herself. If she was even half as connected as she’d have you believe, she would have easily traditionally-published her first book and would have had many connections with editors and agents to make that happen. The fact that she self-published and the book feels like a shitty, unedited first draft speaks volumes of her KZbin facade.

[@CEREBROBELFAST]

I thought about those first page read-through live streams a lot whilst reading TCT. Meg was never cruel but often quite harsh with her feeback, then it transpired that pretty much every submission was way better that her own first page. TCT was awful from the first line, I would even argue that the first word was inappropriate.

[@nmartinez18]

What do you think of her return? I was much more sympathetic until I saw that video and had thought she had left with at least some grace. I even unsubscribed from Daniel Green for collabing with her from how done I was. It was a bad move on his part from a career standpoint.

[@Starburst514]

@@nmartinez18 whoa when they Collab? Was it before or after the stream? I only VAUGELY know about Meg outside this book

[@nichellecox4846]

Have found that Meg/ jenna tend to give advice and often don't follow in their own books. There are some booktubers out there that do actually help aspiring writers

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Will is more familiar with authortube. I know nothing, but just like anything, just because a few people have not done so well doesn’t mean the whole lot hasn’t -Katie

[@nichoudha]

@@unresolvedtextualtension They haven't done well at all. Meg's might be the final nail in the coffin for booktube due to her background. It's been repeated failures with these KZbin personalities. My takeaway: They're not writers, they're visual media "relatable" peptalkers who regurgitate information that you can read off advice blogs that they themselves don't take seriously. Maybe now that real authors like Brandon Sanderson are taking advantage of this platform, things will change. I'm certainly never buying an "authortube / Booktube" promoted book though. A complete waste of time and money.

[@futurestoryteller]

My theory has consistently been this: you know the old caveat "There are no rules/anything can be done well" - "You gotta know what the rules are before you can break them." They always think, subconsciously, that they're going to be the exceptoin that proves the rule. Even consciously, I bet they'll think, "Oh, it's fine, I know what I'm doing."

[@Newfiecat]

@@nichoudha Yup, I go to Brandon Sanderson's channel for writing advice since he posts all the creative writing university lectures he gives and it's awesome. Also the Writing Excuses podcast is great, they feature lots of famous guest authors, too. I hope more and more authors try to teach people through KZbin and podcasts.

[@DarwinRoger893]

@@nichoudha yup. i agree wholeheartedly. they're just giving regurgitated advice they know nothing about.

[@xChikyx]

rip meg tbh edit: This could be Meg's first book, but meg was supposed to be a book editor. How is it possible for her to write so bad? Imagine the books she edited... I wouldn't be surprised if she's jenna moreci's editor tbh

[@alexandernorman5337]

She was an intern. Just learning basically. And she's got much more to learn.

[@xChikyx]

@@alexandernorman5337 oh, i thought she was like a professional editor, i think thatc's what she said in the videos, right?

[@Neremworld]

@@xChikyx Writing is a different skillset from editing writing. Most art critics can't paint or draw or whatever. Record producers don't know how to sing or play instruments or write music. They don't transfer over.

[@mattkhourie4037]

Writing puts you in a weird space wherein you're often times too close to the work to see any issues in real time. You tend to think everything hits the page and makes perfect sense, because it makes perfect sense in your head as the author.

[@Neremworld]

@@mattkhourie4037 That's absolutely correct. It's why you need someone else's eyes.

[@wattthefaqameye1146]

I just found y'all and the chemistry between you three is awesome, y'all are hilarious.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

I’m so glad! We enjoying doing this so it’s nice to hear that it is received well!! - Maria

[@xrosyxposyx]

Does anyone else hear "megolataur" and picture a dinosaur?

[@suzannewdowik]

thank goodness I'm not the only one XD

[@haleymist09]

YASSS

[@severalcakes3267]

I picture Megatron, personally.

[@teodorapetkovic]

The fact that this book put an engineer as the center, but the writer still managed to write them into "sad piece of toast" is to weird? I mean, I do agree that quarter of our personality is "people confusing our very important and not at all pretentious job titles, and us yelling at them because they are wrong" (sad but true, the amount of times I got called a 'fancy programmer' made me at first very angry, but now I'm so used to it I have no energy to argue about it) but reading about that isn't fun! And if you wanted to have 'realistic engineer traits', why not go for pretentious know-it-all that then gets put in their place by people they see as "beneath" them? That's both good character development and a regular fucking Tuesday in my circle, so really... sad about the missed opportunity.

[@purplepigment4283]

"No, no, we're gonna talk about sex the whole time."

[@raqchealv8719]

This entire listen feels like a fever dream. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, have a singular flashback of a moment of this video, and wonder if I had weed in some form and got so conked out I forgot everything.

[@maf7742]

I think I've learned more about writing from the mistakes in Jenna and Meg's books than their advice. Some of Jenna's advice is good (I think she mentioned how she hates villains with tragic backstories because in real life it's usually spoiled brats who had it easy that end up becoming evil... I'd never really thought about that and it opened my eyes) but a lot of it is her responding to strawman arguments and nitpicking these days which is sad. I never really liked Meg's videos so i can't say much about her. With that said, both have written such terrible books that I could listen about reviews tearing them apart for hours. It's such a goldmine as a writer.

[@Neremworld]

Honestly that advice is wrong and bad and she should stop it. That isn't to say that villains must have tragic backstories to be good or whatever, but the idea that evil can never have a tragic quality is stupid as hell. Like, mind-numbingly dumb. A lot of people who do wrong and would be seen as evil in real life are people who had hard lives and the hard lives warped them in some way. Like sure, spoiled brats who had it easy can be evil, but their type of evil is usually very different. The idea that any specific type of person is most likely to be evil is just childish thinking.

[@jans.g6033]

Jenna: Villains are spoiled brats So is that a confirmation Leila is a villain then? Cause she'd be a good villain. Psychopathic, bipolar, tyrannical queen who has no qualms about killing everyone but also happens to be the one giving life to the kingdom. I can understand why her dad wants her dead.

[@yoseisovereign6728]

It also implied we should make people’s lives hard on purpose just to make sure they don’t turn out evil lol. There are as many ways to make villains are there are any other character. They don’t even have to be evil!

[@Neremworld]

@@yoseisovereign6728 Indeed. Some of the best antagonists have zero evil in them one bit. One of my favorite shows is Columbo for a reason, where he's just this elemental force of antagonism that ruins the protag of the episode's life because he digs his teeth in and won't let go until he nails them dead to rights for the crime they've committed.

[@futurestoryteller]

It is NOT true that most evil people are spoiled brats, it's ironic how sheltered you would have to be to believe that. Actually it kinda depends on what type of evil you're referring to, on some level. Those who've had it too easy don't tend to have a ton of empathy to spare, true, and when you're wealthy it's more likely your apathy impacts a wider range of people regardless, but even some of the worst people you can name didn't have it "easy." Worth noting here: a (I think) debunked theory that serial killers mostly had one parental figure who was cruel, and abusive to the point of torture, and one parental figure who was kind, and loving and protective - or otherwise spoiled them. This dynamic, parental or otherwise, can be found in a LOT of terrible people. Spoiled by your wealth, but abused by a family friend, for example - recipe for a monster. You're really being reductive by agreeing with Jenna here. This is a perspective that lacks nuance, and just asssumes simplistic reactions to complex human relationships.

[@missallisnow]

When I first heard this author talking about her book (and I think it was on Jenna's channel 🤣) my Performative Wokeness Radar started going off like crazy. It's great to have its accuracy confirmed 👍

[@futurestoryteller]

I don't know that it's performative so much as it is calculated. A lot of her writing advice was marketing advice: "You should do this, this is what publishers like, so this is what readers like too." One time she made a comment about how when a main character is a woman the writer should take care to explain how their perspective as a woman affects the narrative, why they're the focus of the story. Something like that. So I made a sarcastic crack about how "This is because men are the default, obviously." Someone else responded "Not always, not even most of the time now, I'd say." After I explained that I was mocking Meg's attitude she appeared to delete the comment thread. I was being targeted by KZbin or its algorithm, especially for any political speech at the time, so I can't be sure, but I also defended Meg from quite a lot of criticisms I thought were unfair around then, but any time I'd comment a thought that her "perspective" on social issues lacked nuance *those* comments would get removed, with no comment from her. So I didn't always get the impression she was saying "This is what I actually believe." My sense was she was saying "This is what I actually believe.... will sell books"

[@missallisnow]

@@futurestoryteller performative vs calculated... potato, potahtoe ;)

[@futurestoryteller]

@@missallisnow I felt like I made the distinction pretty well, it's sorta like the difference between being a con artist and teaching a class on how to be a con artist

[@brittanyhoward1741]

The fairy tale retelling is really throwing me for a loop because when it was said that this was "What if belle was in love with the beast and sleeping beauty". Like, that's not a fairy tale. Those are just *characters* from fairy tales that happen to be in this book. This isn't like the Lunar Chronicles where it's stated from the very beginning of the story that this world is populated by fairy tale analogs---Cinderella, little red riding hood, snow white etc.--- this is just three characters derived from two complete different fairy tales who's only connecting element is through the symbolism of a rose, and not in the fact that the rose in sleeping beauty has completely different story connotations and plot relevance compared to Beauty and the Beast.

[@audacity4277]

Okay, I'm five minutes in and already I have to laugh at Maria's food analogy. I came to the same conclusion, although I said it was like trying to make a gourmet soup out of all of your favorite foods, like steak, fresh vegetables, M&Ms, a nice cabernet, some Doritos, the last slice of a dark chocolate, raspberry cheesecake, some golden potatoes and a waffle cone. My conclusion was that Meg should have just focused on tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. While not gourmet or as exciting, damn if it doesn't hit the spot on a miserably cold day. And yes, I came up with the analogy on my lunch break on a day that I skipped breakfast.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

ITS AN EXCELLENT ANALOGY. Yours is even better hahaha - Maria

[@partigiana]

these bad books sound like they just take the aesthetics of different aspects of plot and worldbuilding without understanding what that means aka writing fantasy just because it looks cool

[@futurestoryteller]

A KZbinr I can't recommend anymore because he was a total D to me identified this phenomenon, it's called Chesterton's Fence. It happens a lot in adaptations of works. My go to is A Nightmare on Elm Street remake. In it there's a scene of this idiot going to his friend's house covered in blood to say "I didn't do it" as police inexplicably show up to tackle him to the ground. See he'd just left his girlfriend's body in an empty house after the ghost of Freddy, a long dead serial killer, slashed her to death (her parents were out of town so they spent the night together). In the original the "same" character is arrested later, in the morning. His girlfriend's parents were out of town when she was killed but see if you can spot why his arrest is less surprising: 1. He had a "bad boy" reputation 2. He had a thing for knives. 3. All of their friends were over, because the girl was having nightmares and felt safer with all of them there. 4. He threatened a mutual friend that night. 5. The police chief doesn't like that he's a friend of his daughter's. 6. His girlfriend died in a locked room, where only the two of them could be heard screaming. 7. It's said the two victims had a fight before this at some point. 8. He eventually approaches his friend, the chief's daughter, because he's afraid no one will believe him since the true story is the killer was "invisible." Literally none of this exists in the remake. We're just supposed to believe he's that dumb, that neither self preservation nor an ambulance for his girlfriend was a first priority, instead vaguely protesting his innocense to a random friend was at the top of the list, and I guess someone saw him wandering a suburband neighborhood covered in blood at like four in the morning. There's no reason his story that someone else killed her couldn't be true. In fact, btw, compared to the original his girlfriend dies in almost total silence. All he had to do if he was afraid no one would believe him (as he should've been) is shower and leave.

[@Newfiecat]

Yup. Honestly, nothing wrong if your original inspiration is "that sounds cool", but then you have to figure out how to make it WORK.

[@maximilianlopez196]

RIP Will 😆 sorry you guys had to do this one, but thank you for taking it for the team!

[@briarbramblerose]

There does seem to be a real problem with people self-publishing horrible books. Traditional publishing has its fair share of questionable novels as well, but there seems to be an overabundance of folks who give writing advice that actually don't have a clue what they are doing. I've watched videos by both Meg and Jenna, but I honestly never heard any advice that I hadn't seen or heard somewhere else. Most of it is oversimplified or wrong. I would love to see someone who is an authortuber actually have a book be released and have it be awesome. I guess we can keep hoping.

[@jamesgravil9162]

"there seems to be an overabundance of folks who give writing advice that actually don't have a clue what they are doing." I remember hearing a few years ago that E.L James was giving writing advice. That's akin to Donald Trump giving advice on how to obey the law.

[@andrewbidwell6421]

To be fair a lot of good writers don’t really know either lol. Brandon Sanderson is about the best at explaining the important parts of story crafting, and even he leaves things a little vague…

[@seansalaam]

i can only hope you three dismantle my writings one day

[@TaoScribble]

Saaaaame! Would help if I actually _finished_ one of them, though. Constant overtime REALLY kills your motivation to do anything but sleep, ugh. x_x

[@BlackFairy1751]

I am losing my mind over this because for some reason, up until watching THIS video, I thought FOR SOME REASON that Jenna Morrecci wrote this book and she was just using a pen name before eventually deciding to just write with her real name for the Savior series (i assumed it had something to do with her yt channel taking off or something)

[@missallisnow]

Jenna and Meg are friends or at least KZbin collaborators

[@ohohothisrocks]

Not to mention Jenna also calls herself 'cyborg' in the titles. yeah so at first I thought this was her book as well

[@geneclark5558]

@@ohohothisrocks I also thought this. Isn't she like a self proclaimed cyborg princess or something? Why on earth does she call herself that if it's not because she wrote this book?

[@TuesdaysArt]

@@geneclark5558 Because she likes to portray herself as cold and unfeeling for some reason, as if that makes her more quirky

[@zionengine]

Ok, I had the wrong first impression of Will. I've grown out of that, and as others mention, you three DO have great chemistry. This is one of the channels I watch to see what NOT to do in a novel. Keep bringin' it.

[@groobcoob5855]

i really love this channel. the reviews are always very mature and valid. while there is obvious comedy sprinkled in, they still tackle very serious topics (forced diversity, eating disorders etc.) with maturity and nuance

[@vivs3538]

Petition to have them read Cinder! Alll the talk about cyborgs at the beginning really made me think of The Lunar Chronicles

[@ammalyrical5646]

me too

[@TK-gy7ci]

i never finished the Lunar Chronicles (i hated Scarlet) so I'd love that too. Cinder was amazing

[@penhxd5970]

During this review, I kept getting glimpses of Cinder, so I wondered if she was influenced by it.

[@DarwinRoger893]

​@@TK-gy7ciscarlet was actually the worst book along with the couple. I never liked Scarlet and Wolf because they were too insta lovey.

[@vapx0075]

I feel like I get more out of this critical analysis review than I do out of tips videos. You're broaching intuitive writing concepts that are missing from logical 101 channels. I like to have words to describe the things that I need to tighten up in my next round of drafting more than "It doesn't feel right, go around again". Looking at my notes, there isn't anything here to surprise me, except seeing these particular ones together on the same page is new. Except the s*storm of profanity that apparently lives in that book, wth. And I have a new appreciation for Unobtainium as a motivation/plot device, so thank you. Actually, this video was so dense with useful tidbits, I will have to watch it a second time if I'm going to get the full value of it.

[@graciacardassia7306]

Ok the fairy tale retelling went right over my head. But then suddenly the dragon makes kind of sense, I alway wondered, what it was doing in this story. And I got to confess, I stopped thinking about the meaning and the background of the story after a few chapters because it was so bad. And I have to agree with Sara, I am really sorry for how much bad novels you have to endure but I absolutely love your rant videos. They are so relatable. I felt the same about this novel just like I did with your oppinions an TSC and TSS.

[@singlovedream98]

Being someone who wants to be an author, I kinda went through a phase of idolizing authortube for a while. Like wow these people are giving free advice on my dreams it must be so good! But then I realized most these authors I look up to are hustle culture rejects with a English 1 understanding of writing. And it’s so odd. I really had to unlearn so much people like her and Jenna moreci taught me because I realized it’s just bad.

[@SWilde-ws9qg]

this book should be called Bean Flickerer

[@arcadelinkauthor]

Ya'll are hilarious, and I hope you tear my books apart when I publish. lmao

[@tidyheidi9143]

I was wanting so badly to see you guys tear through this awful book. I’m just thrilled that we finally get to see that coming to fruition.

[@laurenalyssa4677]

My deepest condolences for the pain this caused y'all but I'm so glad you read this because I've been wanting a full run-down on this plot for MONTHS

[@wrensart1335]

I stumbled upon this video and I love everyone’s dynamic. Katie is so funny. As someone who’s trying to write a sci-fi / space opera novel, watching this is a good “what not to do” advice

[@wordfullyyours]

From looking at the Amazon listing, this was book 1 in a series published back in 2020 but she never published another book. Wondewr why.

[@PetalsAndPlague]

I'd give my right leg for y'all to trudge through Acotar. All. Of. It.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Maria genuinely wouldn't survive. --Will

[@PetalsAndPlague]

@@unresolvedtextualtension I feel that on so many levels. You would rip it apart. It would be glorious.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Throne of glass makes me feel cheated out of the time it took me to read it-Katie

[@TreeDwellingShrimp]

When you say the author's name, it sounds like a dinosaur or villain from an 80s show. Meglator.

[@marcomoreno6748]

I would listen to her videos at work and I always thought she was doing some clever thing like "Meg L'Autor" as in "Meg the Author"

[@anjoliebarrios8906]

If anyone wants to read a sci-fi adaptation of fairy tales done well, read Cinder (& its sequels) by Marissa Meyer. I've read the first two and starting the 3rd right now. The POV/ protagonist changes for each book, but the 1st is about a cyborg mechanic (a mechanic who is a cyborg, not one who repairs cyborgs).

[@Shalaena]

I had no idea this was a fairytale retelling... SAD PIECE OF TOOOAST (Waiting for that shirt, kthx) It's sad how much depth these authortuber books could have but they're so shallow. If this is what these writers who stress outlining, linear writing, and sticking to your outline produce, then how is that an argument in favor of being a strict plotter/planner?

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

You can really feel where the initial ideas seemed to get in the way of the story itself. I feel very Pirates of the Caribbean about it: the code is less rules and more guidelines. Same with outlines AND writing advice hahaha - Maria

[@TheRonnieaj]

You know, I’m a fairly hardcore plotter. I don’t like going into a scene without a clear idea of what’s happening. (I tried pantsing. It was awful, miserable, and I love myself enough to know it’s not for ME.) BUT ALSO!!! If you come up with a better idea, CHANGE THE OUTLINE. I change outlines as I go. I change them in editing. I shuffle them around when I get my dev edits. This idea that they’re so beholden to the outline is maddening. That, to me, is amateurish and makes me a sad sad plotter. 😞

[@Shalaena]

@@TheRonnieaj Exactly. It's one thing to know what works for you, but it's also smart to know when to adjust. As a pantser, I always feel talked down on by these people who stress outline so heavily they say you'll never produce anything and all you'll do is fuck it up. And yet... Those in glass houses should not throw stones.

[@nmartinez18]

If it helps at all in Brandon Sanderson's writing class he talks about it being a spectrum from total improv to plotting out everything before hand. Sanderson himself talks about how he outlines about 75% of his stories I want to say, but will discovery write his characters. And when the character becomes someone who wouldn't do what the outline says they will, he reworks the outline or reworks the character, but you make it fit either way. I think the problem is a creative needs some level of being able to f*** about a bit. And on both extremes of the spectrum you are writing the book twice at least.

[@Shalaena]

@@nmartinez18 Exactly. You have to bend to the story, not the other way around.

[@Luisa-bt2wr]

omg thank you so much for this videoooo my day is suddenly ten times better

[@harleybates4905]

13 minutes in and I am cackling. SO happy to have internet access again. My one joy left in life is your suffering.

[@CaffeAmericanoIsMyKryptonite]

I'm so glad I found this channel! You guys are so funny and entertaining. At the same time so informative to readers like me who are always looking for a new book to try. There's something in your videos that makes me want to binge-watch them!

[@gloriacox9926]

The banter between the three of you is so entertaining to watch/listen to

[@leigh-anjohnson]

I'm writing a series of Fairytale Retelling Mashups. One of them is a Steampunk Cinderella in Wonderland and another is a Cyberpunk Wizard of OZ (we see technology in the world progressing). So I'm here taking notes on all the things that can be explored through cyberpunk that this book failed at. Thanks!

[@freddybaumgartner3096]

Not gonna lie, I absolutely respect EVERYONE who's creating stuff. And going public with your work takes some serious balls/ovaries. Better to write a shitty book, a horrible song, a bad movie - than not create anything at all.

[@randomspider725]

Then debate.

[@freddybaumgartner3096]

@@asimhussain8716 when you create, you expose yourself. You use imagination. You put effort into something and a part of yourself. You put something into the world that wasn't there before. You have a vision. You dream. You have passion. You're being proactive. You reach out in an attempt to communicate something.... Yes, that warrants respect. And you make yourself vulnerable. Takes courage. Some people are very hesitant when it comes to hand out things like respect, or empathy. They insist that you have to work hard to earn those things, and if it's not up to their standard, they deny it. I do not believe there is anx merit in being such a person. Not to oneself, not to mankind.

[@freddybaumgartner3096]

@@asimhussain8716 well, I certainly don't respect people who can only make their point by calling others "stupid" and "asinine". Shows weakness. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm out. You only understood my point on a superficial level anyway, and I said what I had to say.

[@stevetennispro]

@@asimhussain8716 I have the same problem with the current use of PRIDE. IMO pride is reserved for accomplishment, not something you were born with. That accomplishment may include overcoming adversity though.

[@stevetennispro]

@@asimhussain8716 Humility is the hardest virtue to hold on to... once you think you have it... you lose it.

[@eugenebezpalko1631]

You know what? After watching this video for approximately 20-30 times (cause it’s that entertaining) I will summon my inner Will (aka inner contrarian) and read it

[@hyenaedits3460]

I heard that if you like cinder you should read this book. Thank you for saving me time and money and sanity with this rant review lol. The two don't even compare.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

Now I’m thinking how much I want to see a hero with an eating disorder. That could be done so well.

[@ryleegayle5293]

You guys give the most detailed and intelligent feedback and are also just hilarious. I love watching these sm

[@patrickleitzen9752]

Thank you for preventing this hopeful author from taking that person's advice. Lmao

[@leilawoodford5574]

I really love these rants. They're so fun. Sorry to make you read terrible books for our entertainment, but we really appreciate it!

[@mycatisnamedlucifer1389]

I've skimmed through the book to prepare myself but gosh dang the amount of "Ms. Gwen f-cking Grimm" or "Ms. F-cking Grimm" I saw was unsettling lemme just add a "me" problem. The amount of times they used the euphemism "stars" infuriates me so much lmao

[@person405]

This trio...such a hoot. Just found this video randomly and enjoyed the review. Loved the points about consistency. Fiction doesn't have to be realistic, necessarily, but there does need to be a certain amount of reason to the world building, and as long as it's explained reasonable then the reader can get on board.

[@writerducky2589]

"I'm a ship tinkerer, not cyborg tinkerer." Makes me think of the book "Ship's Mage" (a world where spaceships are powered by mages). The room the mages would control the ship from was called the Simulacrum, the room at the center of the ship. And every time it said "Simulacrum," the room at the center of the ship, it would say, Simulacrum, the room at the center of the ship. Same thing happened to the captain with his title being added on every time he was mentioned for the first time in a given chapter. And I swear everyone had "ice blue eyes". Every. Single. Character. Except maybe the MC, who might have had green. Don't remember. Like, come on author did you not even read through your own book before publishing it? A shame really, because it had a pretty decent concept about magic in space. Things like the knowledge of how to construct or reconstruct the magic circuits of a ship had been lost/locked away and thus any tampering was dissuaded because the tiniest mistake could easily kill someone (or everyone). It's been years so I don't remember it that much except recessive eye genes apparently out-dominating the dominant genes, and the Simulacrum, the room in the middle of the ship. I did like it though, even if I could never bring myself to finish it😅 I do enjoy your videos and all your, "What could have been"s are such a goldmine. Cheers.

[@kianafitzpatrick2062]

Your reviews are always fun to listen to! I think that you three would have a fun time reviewing A Court of Thorns and Roses series, or a Kingdom of Blood and Ash series. They're not the greatest books, but they are fun to read simply because of how out there the plot goes. Not boring reads for sure, and they're fun to discuss with others at the very least.

[@DarwinRoger893]

um, i really hated blood and ash so it would be nice to see their opinion on it. it would be fun!

[@momo_genX]

I haven't read it yet, but you have to admit, the AskMojo of self-publishing, iWritery, is the Queen of hype, a single book, two years ago, talks of a maybe movie, Wow. How many of those sculptures on the shelf double as "tobacco pipes?"

[@Virgo117]

I wonder if my book will ever get this roasted 😂

[@dashwoodmuircastle3199]

I’m soooo happy I got to see this! This is a perfect example of Alll publicity, is good publicity, I’ve watched a ton of Megs Videos, have heard her talk about the book, but YOU GUYS have convince me I’m going to LOVE this Book!

[@nethla314]

Just wanna say that I love Katie's metaphors and similes and the way you all visualise things ! they often have a real absurdist flavour that is so refreshing :D

[@Theonlywatchman2]

Interesting points all around. But, there's a particular truth this book (and other books) highlights. That being that writing/depicting sex is a skillset onto itself. And a skillset needing to be highly refined. As I've observed here, and in my own writings, its a very delicate balance act for an author when walking the path of this topic. Finding that spot of accurately (and classily) express an aspect of the human condition without becoming pornographic or juvenile (or both). Which given the quirkiness, to put it tamely, of sex makes that extremely difficult to successful balance that tightrope, which in my opinion is a knife's edge. As this book, among others, demonstrate how easily it is to cleave yourself in two on that knife. And here's kind of the irony with this. Not depicting sex in your story doesn't take something away from it, unlike what the current trends may say. In fact, as this book demonstrates, adding sex haphazardly or for the sake of sex (placing a sacrifice on the altar of "realism") at best distracts and at worst ruins the story. Furthermore, writing about sex in a tasteful way, if such a thing is possible, requires an author to disassociate themselves from what's being written. Or to put another way, to approach the subject from a more clinical perspective. Or to put it more crudely, if what you're writing turns you on you've probably gone astray. Now, it should go without saying what I've written doesn't apply to erotica given the nature of that particular genre...maybe...I don't know never read erotica.

[@timiatolz7110]

"...his dick twitched" uhn whaaaayt?! I'm dying here with laughter, wtff🤣🤣😂

[@tsrotmasftghhjkuujiou]

This is brutal, but it confirms vibes I got from her channel. Maybe I'll check out the book on my own, but I've never been interested. The poor reviews for Jenna Moreci's works are more sad for me, because she does give some good advice usually, but I feel like Meg reads other people's advice out loud in camera.

[@r.leighmorgan]

I think I need a "hey, let me ask you a question" shirt 🤣🤣

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

I will add it to our list of future merch! - Maria

[@Jen37978]

As well as ‘sad piece of toast’

[@jeffarce669]

I just discovered this channel by accident… I LOVE IT! Lol!

[@AnimalLover101195]

I'm so ready for this!!! I got pizza and everything.

[@TwistedKitsuna]

Great video! I like the mini cam for the third person you do sometimes, it's a nice addition. Looking forward to your future videos!

[@grimmdanny]

I'm inspired to write a bad novel, so I can get a bad and entertaining review like this.

[@nicholewarren4229]

If anyone is interested in exploring what it means when a company owns a mechanical part of you, it's a major subplot of the "Starstruck Odyssey" season of a tabletop RPG show from the CollegeHumor folks called D20! Its REALLY really interesting and well-handled from a disability context (in my opinion as a disabled person)

[@RichardSekmistrz]

You guys make me want to write a terribad book so you can obsess over it as well ;)

[@QuilavaChick]

Y’all said Meg LaTorre enough that my brain was interpreting the name like she was a Transformer 😂 ‘Meglator’

[@2natrix]

I started watching y'all when you released the iron widow rant and you've quickly become some of my favorite youtubers, let alone booktubers. I actually stopped watching booktube a couple years back and you dragged me back in again lol

[@Joker-er9tf]

These videos are funny as fuck but also genuinely helpful critiques

[@frankiethebookworm3163]

And how can we forget the freaking dragon in space?!?!

[@WadzanaiMufunde]

Just wanted to say I really enjoyed this review. Thank you for suffering for our entertainment 😆

[@opiateutopia]

A character named Gwendoline Grimm in a steampunkish world? Did this come out before Jim Butcher's Aeronaut's Windlass?

[@carinelaberge5352]

This cracked me up. You guys deserve entirely more subscribers.

[@jinxyhelix]

Subbing. Had me laughing at work

[@Disarrayable]

I haven't watched an episode on a few weeks (new job has me too busy for KZbin T.T) and I wanted to say, I think Katie's camera angle looks a lot better! It's a bit lower (or maybe she is just sitting further away?) and it's a good change. Great episode as always! You guys are great 😃

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

LOL what makes it better now? I also really have to change my setup but that requires cleaning -Katie

[@Disarrayable]

@@unresolvedtextualtension I think its just more uniform with the others who are looking head on at the camera. You look fab from any angle though! Cleaning is hard, I feel you.

[@goodnaturedgamer8181]

KZbin unsubscribed me! Glad you guys got round to this book I was excited for you guys to talk about it haha. Would love for you guys to read Daniel Green's books, in his, there are moments where it can be great but sadly I thought I didn't get to what it could.

[@ocinidolegna]

lmao i love the banter between you guys

[@maxwellvindman7212]

We’re ship’s tinkerers, of course we can’t operate on cyborgs

[@raynorchen5602]

"Authortube bothers me so much" - as an aspiring authortuber I am so sad. Still love your videos though!

[@haleymist09]

You can be that ray of sunshine 🌞 lol. Empty barrels make the most noise. Authortube is huge, there's lots of creators. It really should've been called WriterTube to expand it to more writers.

[@lucaleone4331]

I initially only was gonna get this bc I thought it was just Treasure Planet Steam punk. Im so glad i waited until people talked about it, bc wtf >_< It would have been not what I wanted to sign up for at all.

[@jeffarce669]

I don’t know, space sex circus sounds kinda fun! Lol!

[@rogersisson8580]

I have notice i seem to like this type of review podcast. dissecting the 80s(for 80s movie) does the same type thing. Walking through the plot and giving their feedback and options.. keep up the great work. Since your are doing youtubers' books, read Daniel Greene's.

[@CandyThePuppy]

Why am I up at 3AM starting another one hour video..? Idk, you tell me.

[@GilTheDragon]

Not paying taxes! The worst crime of all!

[@KHMissy]

The easiest way I find to describe it is a horny re-telling of Disney IP with death competition.

[@angelique9527]

You lovelies are my heroes!! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for diving into this absolute doozy for us-you should be canonized as saints. 😂 Edit: Does anyone know what’s going on with Meg la Torre these days? Did she just stop writing altogether after that Goodreads debacle?

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

What is this goodreads debacle?? I don’t even know and I would love to! - Maria

[@angelique9527]

@@unresolvedtextualtension Ooh it’s a good one! Lol. When her book released it apparently wasn’t getting the best ratings on Goodreads (except by mostly friends and other authortubers) and then suddenly, magically, shortly thereafter all these 5 star ratings and raving reviews popped up by accounts that appeared to have been created the day they reviewed (and I believe didn’t rate or review anything else except her book). People started pointing out how fishy it all looked and accused Meg of buying reviews. She came out and claimed it wasn’t her but that it must’ve been a fan who’d done it and told them to stop… and consequently removed herself from all social media a day or two later (claiming a family emergency) and hasn’t really been active anywhere since. She may very well be innocent of buying reviews, but all the activity surrounding the Cyborg Tinkerer release does seem highly suspicious. 🤷‍♀️

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Oooooh, interesting. A few people have mentioned the goodreads drama and I had NO idea what they meant. This adds some context! Thank you for the explanation! - Maria

[@CEREBROBELFAST]

@@unresolvedtextualtension Yeah about 50 5 star ratings from fake accounts appeared on the same day, you can see Meg's response to the controversy on the iWriterly community tab, it was the last thing she ever posted. Some of the accounts gave Jenna Morecci's books 5 star ratings too but she escaped the controversy for some reason. For what it's worth I don't think Meg was behind it, more likely a well-meaning friend or family member trying to help out after the book tanked, unfortunately for them it destroyed whatever credibility she had left

[@chronixchaos7081]

Who ever edited this video?…….10/10. Give yourself a cup of tea, and a hobnob. Good job.

[@WeAreTheTwintails]

You guys should do a video on some of the SPFBO contenders and winners throughout the years. There are some books entered in the contest I think you guys would have a wonderful time roasting.