Wondering how and where to expand your knowledge about self-publishing? Would you like to learn from professionals how to deal with book marketing and advertising?
It sounds like a challenging task.
Or is it?
Taking a cue from industry experts with years of experience and a handful of mind-blowing insights is a great idea.
Wait, it gets better. We’d like to show you 21 YouTube channels that every indie author should follow. You can get tons of useful information from the best-selling authors and professional editors.
Let’s go through the list.
Self Publishing Formula
Mark Dawson, the man behind the Self Publishing Formula, is a USA today bestselling-author, who has achieved great success when switching from traditional publishing to self-publishing. He has been featured in Forbes and The New York Times. How’s that for social proof? Mark has now published over 20 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He reflects on his own experience to share insights and teach other authors what mistakes they should avoid.
The YouTube channel is great for anyone who is already self-publishing or still planning to start. You can find answers to all your questions regarding book marketing, advertising, writing, and so much more. The channel offers longer and shorter educational videos so that you can pick your pace of learning.
Writing with Jenna Moreci
Jenna is a self-published writer and a YouTube sensation.
She is a best-selling author of dark fantasy and science fiction. Her first novel in The Savior’s Series, The Saviors’ Champion, was voted one of the Best Books of All Time by Book Depository. It’s a great read, filled with some blood drops and a romantic vibe.
Besides, Jenna is a YouTuber with a capital Y. She runs an informative and amusing YouTube channel for authors where you can learn everything about self-publishing, book marketing, writing tips, creativity boosts, etc. The channel is updated regularly and has excellent navigation. You can spend hours browsing for more educational videos from Jenna Moreci.
You also might want to check out our recent interview with Jenna Moreci where she shares book launch tips and strategies.
20Booksto50K[R] – Live Events
We’re pretty sure the name 20booksto50k rings a bell for you. If not, stop reading this, go to Facebook, and see what it’s about. Basically, we are talking about the largest Facebook group for indie authors run by Craig Martelle and Michael Anderle.
Even the story behind the name is quite impressive. Michael had a plan to finish 20 books in his series. If the sales went well, he’d estimated to earn 50k a year and retire. Instead, the sales went so well that Michael managed to hit the target much earlier. And that’s how he decided to start a publishing empire.
Craig and Michael help aspiring writers understand all the aspects of self-publishing better without a profit motive. They cover topics like author branding, book launch tips, and strategies, finding first readers, networking, and more.
The YouTube channel itself is new. It started in 2019. Which means they take good care of the content and make sure everything is updated.
Chris Fox
Chris Fox is a science fiction and fantasy author. He earned his name in the indie community through his books “5,000 words per hour”, “Write to Market”, and “6 Figure Author”. The titles are impressive and tell you what to expect when subscribing to Chris’s YouTube channel. It’s full of useful information for authors.
He discusses the challenges and hiccups that might come along the way and teaches how to deal with them. Also, he shares his writing process and gives a lot of interesting examples and ideas.
Chris also has a whole section on his channel called “Quick tips”. These are very short videos with great insider advice on different aspects of writing and self-publishing.
The Creative Penn
Joanna Penn is a British author who writes thrillers and dark fantasy, a self-publishing expert, and an influencer. Google any book-related topic you are interested in and believe us, Penn’s website will be among the top results. She’s been running her YouTube channel for already more than ten years, and it is widely popular, informative, and useful.
You can find lots of guides about research, writing, and marketing. There are tons of short videos about issues like writer’s block, procrastination, and self-doubt. A whole section is dedicated to the author website and email marketing for authors. Everything you need to know about self-publishing is there.
The Alliance of Independent Authors (The ALLi)
The Alli is a non-profit association for authors who self-publish.
It was founded by Orna Ross, an Irish author and poet and her husband, Philip Lynch.
The association provides immense support for indie authors, including valuable expert opinions, the global (all the seven continents are covered) team of ambassadors and advisors, government benefits, and bonuses. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
The YouTube channel for authors includes weekly podcasts, and conferences with many heavy hitters, like Joanna Penn, Sasha Black, and others.
Besides, you can learn a lot about author branding, social media campaigns, current trends in the industry, etc.
Derek Murphy
Derek has a lot of exciting ideas about book marketing and book cover design. He has helped a lot of indie authors to chase their dream and achieve huge success as self-publishers. He’s been featured in Forbes, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal for his creative ideas and techniques.
Derek has a background as a cover designer, so he shares his opinion and helps you understand why you need to hire a professional to take care of your book covers.
He also teaches how to format a book, and what to pay attention to in book layout.
Brandon Sanderson
If you are a fantasy writer, why don’t you learn from possibly the most famous fantasy author alive?
Yes, the one, the only Brandon Sanderson.
He shares a lot of useful information with the writing community on his website and his YouTube channel for authors. He used to run a series of podcasts called “Writing Excuses”. It’s full of valuable insights, and a must for every self-publishing author.
Also, Brandon was a guest lecturer at Brigham Young University. And he is that cool professor that everyone adores. The best part? Well, all of his lectures are available on his YouTube channel. He focuses on plot-building and character development advice and shares a lot of insights from the self-publishing industry.
iWriterly
The next stop is iWriterly. Meg LaTorre, the woman behind it, is an author, blogger, and public speaker. She uses her background as a literary agent, to explain industry-related topics and give writing advice for everyone who wants to become a successful self-published author.
She makes a lot of how-to videos and offers valuable tips on how to find book cover artists. There’s also a lot of insider information about writing and editing, and book marketing tips.
ShaelinWrites
Shaelin Bishop is a young inspirational writer who has published more than eight novels already.
Did we mention that she’s also a vlogger?
Yes, she started her YouTube channel for authors when she was still studying in creative writing school. This means all the information she shares is fresh from the oven and very relevant to the current trends in self-publishing.
She often mentions what she has learned from her professors, so basically, you get the mouth to mouth information from huge experts in the field.
She shares a lot of valuable writing tips, and there’s also a whole section dedicated to short novels.
Terrible Writing Advice
The name speaks for itself, doesn’t it? So does their disclaimer: Needless to say, please do NOT follow any of my advice.
These guys took a different approach and decided to concentrate on mistakes rather than achievements. It might be easy to listen to the educational video and think that you’ve checked all the boxes. But it’s way harder to spot a mistake. And that’s their deal. Everything you hear is literally what you should not do when writing a novel.
Terrible Writing Advice concentrates on all the genres and sub-genres, so you’ll find what you are looking for.
Alexa Donne
Alexa is a traditionally published YA author who runs the YouTube channel, where she shares insights on writing, YA, and the publishing industry.
She has a lovely and warm delivery manner. While watching her videos, you feel that you are just chatting with a friend over a coffee cup.
She shares brutally honest opinions regarding the publishing and writing and has a whole section dedicated to a how-to for beginner writers.
She manages to boost your motivation levels immediately. Give it a try.
Kindlepreneur
If you’ve been browsing the web looking for self-publishing and book marketing tips, you’ve come across Kindlepreneur articles. Dave Chesson, the man behind the Kindlepreneur, shares fantastic book marketing tactics and tricks that help authors improve their book sales.
He also reviews apps and software, and presents interesting data and algorithms, so your inner geek will be satisfied.
The YouTube channel is getting more and more attention, so don’t miss Kindlepreneur TV. The short videos cover book marketing for self-publishing authors and show excellent tactics to improve book sales.
By the way, we have recently had an excellent opportunity to get to guest post on Kindlepreneur. You might want to check out how to use your book cover to build your pre-release campaign.
Ellen Brock
Ellen is a freelance editor, who works with about 150 writers per year as a writing coach, and plot consultant. She uses her experience to educate aspiring writers about novel writing.
When it comes to the structure and style, her videos are fantastic. All the content is short, up to 20 minutes, so you don’t need to dedicate an immense amount of time to it, and just watch it when you feel like it.
Self-Publishing with Dale
Self-publishing with whom? Meet Dale, an accomplished self-published author, and YouTube content creator. He is dedicated to sharing advice on building a successful self-publishing business, an influential author brand, and skyrocketing your book sales.
The new videos are coming out very often, and you might get tired scrolling down. Dale has all the topics covered, from mistakes to avoid and self-publishing for beginners, to marketing and promotion for self-published authors.
Roll up your sleeves, and get to it.
Vivien Reis
As Vivian speaks of herself, “I’m a writer who loves to help other writers!”
Vivian is a YA author and a research freak. That’s why she has decided to take advantage of it and share her knowledge with fellow writers.
There are a lot of writing tips, especially inspiration and ideas on how to outline your novel.
You can find a lot of useful information on how to write a book series, and how to improve your author brand.
K. M. Weiland
Katie Weiland is an award-winning writer of bestsellers “Outlining Your Novel” and “Structuring Your Novel”. She also mentors authors through her YouTube channel with fantastic advice on writing techniques. The layout is extremely user-friendly. There’s a lot of useful information, particularly on how to write beginnings and endings, and how to develop the characters.
By the way, recently, we had a chance to interview Katie and ask about self-publishing challenges and tips on being a successful indie author. You might want to check it out.
Mandi Lynn
Mandi Lynn is a true creative entrepreneur. Look at the facts. She published her first novel when she was seventeen. She is the owner of Stone Ridge books, where they help self-publishing writers with book marketing and cover design. Mandi also created The Book launch Planner, a software that helps authors publish and market their books.
Finally, Mandi is a YouTube sensation. She creates videos to help self-published writers make a living out of writing and find new ways to market their books.
Author Learning Center
The Author Learning Center is a fantastic community that helps authors achieve their writing, publishing, and marketing aims. It’s the perfect place if you are looking for some writing tips and marketing ideas.
The people behind it are industry experts and professional publishers. Their YouTube channel for authors includes a lot of educational resources for those who want to improve their works. You can also count on feedback and support from fellow writers.
Self Publishing School
Self Publishing School is a resource for writers you might have already stumbled across. They create great content, interview bestselling authors, and research industry-related topics.
Their YouTube channel for authors offers a lot of educational videos on how to master the art of self-publishing. If you are looking for book ideas, writing tips, software, and more, it’s the right place to go.
Natalia Leigh
Natalia Leigh is an author and editor. Through her easy-going YouTube videos, she helps authors show off their talent, market their books, and learn some insights about editing.
If you are looking for ways to improve your creativity, stay tuned to Natalia. She shares a lot of brilliant ideas that can help you feel confident in the self-publishing world.
Wrapping up
We hope you managed to find exactly what you were looking for. Subscribe to these YouTube channels for indie authors and enjoy access to valuable resources and information.
Happy self-publishing.
