I’m getting ready to record Episode 3 of Despair on WriterSanctuary’s YouTube channel, and it dawned on me…I really enjoy doing these videos. At first, I wasn’t really sure if it was going to be something worthwhile. But, I’m having a lot of fun.
Sure, I’m not the best when it comes to reading aloud. Between stumbling my words when I speak to needing a new pair of glasses, it’s a bit of a chore. However, the videos themselves seem worthwhile to create.
What Are These Storytime Videos?
A few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at being more creative. And although I’m incredibly shy when it comes to putting myself out there from a creative perspective, I figured it would be something to help me get back into doing more creative writing.
All of the short videos I create for the Storytime series are pieces of work I write myself. Actually, I’m writing each episode every week and then putting it together for Saturday nights.
They usually range around two pages of manuscript each. Then, after recording the video and making any final adjustments I feel worthwhile, I paste the manuscript into Wattpad.
This way, it is both an audiobook and a developing novel on the system.
Going Old School
The idea behind doing the videos was to recapture some of the early, 1900s radio shows. I spend a great deal of time browsing for sound effects that I’ll use within each episode as well.
I just wish I had the budget to hire a few voice actors to play certain parts. Then, it would really come to life as a radio show.
At any rate, I quite enjoy adding the sound effects during the story, and it seems to flow well.
Voice Mod Software?
Since I don’t have voice actors to play the different parts, I’m debating on buying some voice mod software. In fact, I’ve played with Voicemod itself on ColoradoPlays’s YouTube channel.
I figure this way, it would add a bit more to the story instead of listening to me trying to act out each part. And I’ll admit, I’m not very good at doing the acting stuff.
Probably because I haven’t really tried to really act.
Above Average Viewership
The first two episodes have about an average viewership for the channel. That was my biggest concern, actually. I didn’t want to spend all this time writing, recording, editing, and setting everything up if it was going to only get one or two views.
After all, I spend a bit more time making these than I do the regular YouTube videos.
But, to my surprise, they range pretty close to average compared to the other videos on the channel. They also outperform the typical performance of videos in terms of views for the entire channel.
Seriously, for my channel, 22 views in a week isn’t too bad.
In fact, both Episode 1 and 2 are above 50% average viewed, which is higher than most videos that I’ve uploaded. So, I suppose they are worth the effort as they add to watch time.
This means they’ll help me get to 4,000 hours sooner so I can join the YouTube Partnership Program. Then, I can rely on that sweet, $10-per-month YouTube money.
Actually, I would love to write a few articles about the reality of monetizing YouTube. So, as soon as I accepted into the YPP, the sooner I can crank out some insight blog posts.
Why On Saturdays?
I didn’t want to just switch the style of my content on the YouTube channel. In fact, I still focus on freelance writing, blogging, and WordPress. I just wanted to add a bit of a creative layer to writing.
After all, part of what I want to do with WriterSanctuary is to show the self-publishing angle. I can’t really do that if I haven’t published anything myself.
While I’m still working on my autobiography, I decided to at least add the creative element on a day when I don’t have a lot of visitor traffic anyway. This way, it would limit the number of subscribers I might lose because I’m not talking about Textbroker.
How Long Will I Keep Making These?
I came up with the idea of Despair back when I lived in Westminster, CO. It’s part of a series of three books that I planned to write on Wattpad. The reason I was using the free platform was because the books are based on Dungeons and Dragons in the realm of Ravenloft.
I don’t want to get sued.
However, I’m trying to restructure the story where it’s a standalone world. It if winds up doing well either on Wattpad or on YouTube, I might just publish it on Amazon.
At any rate, I plan on doing these every Saturday for the foreseeable future. If interest picks up, I might push to do longer videos. But as it stands, a lot of my week is already taken up by everything else I’m doing.
So right now, 7-10 minute videos are the best for my time constraints.
It’s Been a Fun Experience
I truly miss being creative. Most of the last decade has centered around professional works, tutorials, marketing blogs, and business materials. While there is a bit of creativity involved in making any piece of content, it’s not the same as making a world come to life.
And from my own perspective, each episode just seems to get better and better. Not just from a writing perspective, but for me reading the text aloud and adding a bit more to the production value.
At any rate, dedicating to a weekly published video for my viewers has kept me motivated to keep writing. Maybe I should have done this for VII?