write a novel with me 📖☕️ romantasy writing vlog & spilling my publishing plans

welcome back to the rough draft vlogs episode 04! in this writing vlog, you write a book with me as i work on my romantasy novel. in this series i document the process of writing my first novel, including all the highs and the lows of writing a book, my real writing process & real writing chats about my writing woes lol. hope you enjoy this installment!
#authortube #writingabook #writing #writingvlog
🌟 THINGS MENTIONED
→ Katie Wismer - ‪@Katesbookdate‬
→ Kelley Tai - ‪@kelleyiswriting‬
→ Lynn D Jung - ‪@lynndjung‬
→ Kris M Fajardo - ‪@KrisMF‬
→ Sara Lubratt - ‪@SaraLubratt‬
→ Ana Neu - / @ananeu
→ Serpent & The Wings of Night - amzn.to/49j5hu8
→ my writing bag - www.ecosusi.com/products/ecos...
[ get $5 off your ecosusi order! - loox.io/z/s2ohzKQHb?s=raf ]
📝 MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE SERVICES
→ want me to read and critique your book? - www.briellewrites.com
→ for questions about my services, please reach out to: [e-mail].
☕️ WANT TO BUY ME A COFFEE?
→ like my content & want to buy me a coffee? - ko-fi.com/briellejuliet
📸 WRITING INSTAGRAM
→ / brielleiswriting
💖 UNRAVELING - MY BOOK
→ spotify playlist - open.spotify.com/playlist/1Pa...
→ pinterest board - pin.it/3JzA8knyn
✍🏼 WRITING TOOLS & RESOURCES I LOVE
→ scrivener - www.literatureandlatte.com/sc...
→ scrintal - scrintal.com/?YT&u...
→ reedsy writing courses - reedsy.com/learning/?ref=brie...
📹 WHAT I USE TO MAKE MY VIDEOS
→ camera - amzn.to/3SBYK87
→ mic - amzn.to/3Z5gZE0
→ mini tripod - amzn.to/3WU8Ctv
→ Epidemic Sound: where i get music - share.epidemicsound.com/1ceh5l
→ TubeBuddy: how i do keyword research - www.tubebuddy.com/briellejuliet
👩🏻‍💻 WANT TO WORK WITH ME?
→ for sponsorship inquiries, contact: [e-mail] (please include brielle writes in your subject line)
disclaimer: some links in this description may be affiliate links. I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you. thank you for supporting!

[@cherrystm]

The rough draft vlogs are back, yay ❤

[@briellewrites]

YAYYY

[@taliw7736]

Thrilled thanks for these videos it's like we are relating to one another and writing our stories together😊​@@briellewrites

[@astoldbydiamond]

I definitely agree with how my reading has been impacted by trying to write my own book. I feel for authors much more now, no matter whether I like the book or not, I have the utmost respect for authors who were able to finish several drafts of a book and make it something whole. Also I love how much you share about your process! It feeds my nosey soul. Congrats on 1K!

[@briellewrites]

so true!!! its really given me an appreciation for the amount of work and love that authors put into their books. especially knowing how hard it is lol. And thank you so much!!

[@elsermoira]

what you were saying about the writing getting harder further into the draft was so relatable and exactly what i needed to hear rn!! also excited to hear your thoughts on serpents and the wings of night

[@briellewrites]

I am LOVING the serpent and the wings of night !! I’ll have to gush about it in a future video but I am obsessed lol

[@AdamFishkin]

Spinning the plates of plot and character causality definitely becomes second nature after you've written professionally for a decade or so. It becomes easier to spot problems by the time the first draft is finished: it's like a narration in your head pipes up every time you write a plot beat and fast-forwards to all the spots where the beat comes back into play, but as soon as the plot beat paints you into a corner, the voice trails off. Getting stuck like that in the first draft provides valuable warmup, because the more times you get stuck, the less you have to deal with it during revisions due to how quick you manage the precise balance. On the one hand, your instinct to find out what works in other books of the same genre is the most obvious thing in the world. On the other hand, you WILL be ahead of most authors because in your 10:05 - 12:15 explanation you're clearly thinking about the how and the why and maintaining your critical stance on the pieces of a book fitting together. Book covers are apparently a whole other ball game. I know barely anything about the publishing side, but I do know the publishers exert massive leverage over the cover art conforming to their sales methods. In fact each separate publisher is so insistent on their methods, don't be surprised if your U.S. publisher and your U.K. publisher release your book with covers that don't look like they're even for the same book. (Disclaimer: you mentioned Amazon as your main distributor. They handle clients on a more independent level so your chances are high of having way more freedom to handle the cover.) 16:16 The actress is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't *quite* place who or from where. I was tempted to say Mikey Madison (she was in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") but they don't have the same eyes. When you printed out the hard copy (18:17) the guy on the bottom right looked like a younger Ed Skrein. And hell yeah, Sara Lubratt is my homegirl! The next time you comment on one of her videos, tell her about gruyere & thyme croissants ... I bet she would love those!

[@briellewrites]

I see the Mikey Madison resemblance!! love sara as well, i do feel like she appreciates a good pastry hahaha. but yes, wanting control over the cover is def a reason why self publishing is of more appeal to me than traditional publishing! and agree, im glad that im pausing when i need to when it comes to balancing the plot/character stuff- really trying to avoid having to majorlyyy overhaul in revision because i lost sight of the character arcs. will still need some work of course but trying to think about all of it while drafting as much as i can

[@lynndjung]

I absolutely love how you talk about writing, you put so many things into words so well in this video, especially the bit about stories getting more complicated and entangled later on in the drafting process!! Congrats on 1k 🎉

[@briellewrites]

thank you sm lynn!! 🥹🫶

[@KrisMF]

rooting for your publishing journey brielle !!! cant wait to see this project come together ☺️🫶🫶

[@briellewrites]

aw!! Thanks sm Kris!! 🫶🏼✨

[@taliw7736]

Love both your channels ❤❤ best wishes for your journey

[@edelgrane9375]

Yay a new vlog! I, too, am underlining certain passages that I like (currently reading Ursula K. Le Guin - Planet of exile) and I try to think about the ways she does worldbuilding and about the descriptions of locations. She writes so little but so effectively. Congrats on 1k!

[@briellewrites]

love that, im trying to pay more attention to location description too as i feel like thats one of the hardest parts for me!! and thank you!

[@bookishsyd6077]

I totally know what you mean when you said that as you go through a book sometimes the way you write slows down, like as you know more of the characters. Also I agree when you said that some writers put too much stock into word count. Like you can have an epiphany about your book and it won’t really count towards word count very much. That’s why I try to note down when I had major (or even minor) epiphanies. Thanks for the video!

[@briellewrites]

ooh I love the idea of jotting down epiphanies as an additional way to document progress! that's awesome! I've had a few of those moments while prepping for revision and they were so exciting :)

[@micslibrary]

OMGGGG the progress is INSANE!!!! and congrats again on 1k 🥹❤️‍🔥

[@briellewrites]

THANKS MIC AHHH

[@alex.chrisco]

So just a publishing note - if you are in Kindle Unlimited, you can't put your books anywhere other than Amazon. You can't even sell them direct through your own website. You are 100% exclusive to Amazon and there are strict rules about what you can and can't do, even where ARCs are concerned. KU can be great, especially for romantasy novels because it has a huge readership, but if you are trying to do special editions or special hardcases, Amazon doesn't have that capability and therefore you wouldn't be able to produce and sell them if your book is in KU. I'm writing my debut romantasy as well and I'm doing a lot of digging into whether it's best to go into KU or not. Just something to think about as you look towards publishing

[@briellewrites]

Hey! This is interesting because I’ve actually seen otherwise. I’m going off of what Katie Wismer has done, she has her marionettes series in kindle unlimited and she has special edition hardcovers of that series on Amazon. She also sells copies through her own website, and has the paperback on the Barnes and noble website. It’s my understanding that only the EBOOK needs to be exclusive on Amazon to be in KU. (Just did a quick google search as well that seemed to confirm this- it says you can’t sell digital copies elsewhere, aka ebooks, but seems other formats are fine).

[@alex.chrisco]

You're totally right I missed when you said just paperbacks!! That's what I get for trying to multitask haha :)@@briellewrites

[@jupiter4334]

I love your vlogs so much, they inspire me to open my laptop and write as soon as I finish watching. I'm almost done with act two of my draft and I feel your excitement while heading into the climax part of the story, it's always the most enjoyable to write lol. I was curious to know how did you come up with the idea for this story? The romantasy mixed with dystopian vibes sounds so interesting!

[@briellewrites]

aw yay so happy to hear you enjoy the vlogs!!! good luck heading into the climax, so exciting that you're getting that far into your project!! will totally touch on how this idea came about in the next episode!!

[@taliw7736]

I really like author tube too and i follow some of those people too ❤

[@buttercupetc]

ive started my own novel writing journey and just stumbled upon your channel and had to subscribe❣youve already influenced me to do the little fill in bubble method for wc goal tracking.

[@briellewrites]

Aw yay!! Hope you enjoy the bubble method what a cute name for it lol

[@taliw7736]

What helps you make your characters believable and feel real? Im having a tricky time planning my characters. 😊

[@charleeraewrites]

Great job staying on track! Also congrats on 1k! 🥳

[@briellewrites]

thanks charlee!!

[@AutumnAshleigh]

I just love the chill vibes of your vlogs! 🥰 I can't wait for this story. We love a great argument/falling out scene 😂 it's so exciting listening to you chat about your story. Best of luck!

[@briellewrites]

Aw thank you autumn!! 🥹❤️

[@author.gabrielavrivera]

I love your vlog style! Also you're stunning 🖤🖤

[@briellewrites]

aw thank you!!!

[@taliw7736]

​@@briellewritesyesss super pretty woman 😊

[@megreads9]

It's so difficut to be a writer but for me it is the most beautiful thing that happened to me as I found my real path even my grandpa always tell me and my mom when I was child that this girl will be a writer some day, like he knows deeply my future in his eyes and i turned really an author and published eight children stories and my second novella in Arabic as I am a Lebanese writer.

[@kimmick88]

Just wanted to come on here, and tell you that you inspired me to get back on KZbin and track my writing journey too! I stopped during NaNo '23, but kept working on my project anyway. I have been in a writing slump, but thanks to your videos have gotten back into writing and I'm excited for the future. Also trying to kick self-doubt in the butt XD

[@briellewrites]

Aw this is amazing ! You got this!!!! Good luck w your project and your channel

[@kimmick88]

@@briellewrites thank you, you too 🙏😊

[@emona820]

Loved this!! And omg new profile pic how fun 🥹

[@briellewrites]

:') thanks bestie

[@chelseawritesbooks8763]

I definitely tend to accidentally mimic writing styles. I also do it with accents 🙈

[@briellewrites]

lolll accents! Love that

[@michelle-ev3me]

congrats on 1k!🎉

[@briellewrites]

thank you sm!

[@asmmovies0220]

I really like the new tracking system! Definitely gonna implement something similar

[@briellewrites]

its honestly been a gamechanger, strongly recommend! so fun

[@AdrianasWonderland]

amaazing!!!! I am coming back to my writing as well. Tomorrow I have my writing day

[@briellewrites]

yay! good luck with your project!

[@taliw7736]

New subscriber ❤❤❤ thanks for that motivation I wanna set small attainable word count goals too. Excited to hear more about your Cool adult romantasy 😂❤(romance X fantasy)

[@kelleyiswriting]

Everything about this video is so aesthetic~ your vlogs are so cinematic!!

[@briellewrites]

ahhh thank you so much Kelley!!!! I will absolutely be hitting you up when the time comes for beta readers thank u sm for offering that would be so great ❤

[@itsalljustsemantics]

I have to agree about the books I'm currently reading being an influence on my writing. I've found myself purposefully reading the type of book I want to write, like reading fantasy when I'm working on those or thriller for the other and if I'm not I struggle with some of my writing at times. Idk if that makes sense

[@briellewrites]

Totally!! I feel similarly, reading the same genre can help you get in the vibe / language that is typical to that genre, makes total sense

[@nicolemarcinawrites]

💙💙💙💙

[@nini.watches]

I'm 30 seconds in. I want to read this book so bad!!! I feel like there's a drought in dystopian NA, and I don't understand why. The stakes are so much higher in my opinion!

[@briellewrites]

Aw yay!!! Hoping you get to read it some day :’)

[@taliw7736]

Whats your story plot and what inspires your books?

[@jessieartsdaily]

Congratulations! 1k is amazing. You’re inspiring me not only in my writing, but in the way you’re putting yourself out there. I love it. I’m going to pick up the pen (well, the keyboard) and start again today. Thank you. I can’t wait to see more videos and watch your process.

[@briellewrites]

ahhh this makes me so happy. im so happy to hear that, best of luck with your project 🫶🏼

[@JustKiyyah_]

I've been writing a book and your videos have been so motivational! Would you ever do a scrivner tutorial? I recently downloaded it and it's definitely a learning curve 😂

[@briellewrites]

Aw yay!! I could totally do something like that in the future, is there anything you’d want me to explain specifically? Like just how I set up my project ?

[@JustKiyyah_]

@briellewrites At the moment I've been trying to figure out how to upload pictures of my characters. I have tried to upload the pictures but it doesn't show when up. I hope that makes sense

[@taliw7736]

What helps you manage school/ work and your writing?

[@michelle-ev3me]

if you haven’t heard of it already you might be interested in reading Writing the Breakout Novel by donald maass, lots of great tips and there’s a workbook

[@briellewrites]

oooh that sounds so interesting, i'll have to look into it. ive been thinking about diving into more craft / writing career books!!