Answering The AuthorTube Newbie Tag 📖🩷✨

In case you missed the exciting news, I've recently started my own YouTube channel! 📖🩷✨

As the spunky and sparkly little sister to this blog, my channel is meant to be a space to chat about writing, life, and whatever else comes to mind.

For one of my first videos, I'm taking part in a longstanding tradition and doing the AuthorTube Newbie Tag. If you're unfamiliar, it's essentially an icebreaker activity where newcomers introduce themselves by answering this set of questions about their writing.

I found this list on Iasmina Edina's website, though it was originally created by Jenna Streety.

Watch my AuthorTube Newbie Tag video here (or, if you'd rather read my answers, you can find them below)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9jk4gQNgnI

1. How did you find out about AuthorTube?

I've actually been watching AuthorTube for quite a few years! Back when I was in college, I was watching Jenna Moreci, iWriterly, and Alexa Donne on a regular basis.

Somewhere along the line, I began discovering other creators like Abbie Emmons, SBU English Club, and Julian Greystoke. And just a few weeks ago, I came across Andrea J. Severson's videos and have been enjoying them quite a bit.

And while they're not writers, I also want to mention Reads With Rachel, Laura Rae Says (formerly Book Lover Laura), and Alyssa Matesic as a few of my other bookish creators.

I'm sure there are so many more AuthorTube channels I'm failing to mention, but suffice it to say, I've been lurking on the sidelines for quite a while.

2. What genres do you write?

I write Regency Era romance!

3. What is your preferred writing tense, point of view, and category of story? (Children’s, YA, NA, Adult, etc.)

I write in the third-person, past tense. It's always felt like the better fit for my historical romance projects.

As far as category goes, I feel like I lean somewhere between New Adult and Adult.

4. Are you a Plotter, Pantser, or Plantser?

I'm a Plantser, skewing more towards Pantser.

Up until recently, I'd been trying to make myself a Plotter because so many resources made it sound like that was the only way to approach writing a novel. I would spend so much time on outlining my story, only for that outline to be rendered obsolete in a matter of pages. It was frustrating, and it caused a lot of burnout for me.

Embracing my Pantser side has had its learning curves, but it's helped me rediscover the joy of writing.

5. Are you self-published, traditionally published, or yet-to-be published?

As of right now, I'm a not-yet-published author!

6. What publishing company, literary agent, and/or printing company are you represented by or use? If you’re not yet published, what is your dream publishing house and/or literary agent?

Honestly, I don't have a dream publisher or agent right now.

Don't get me wrong, I have a few agents I'd like to query when the time comes, but I don't want to say I have a dream agent because I don't know what the future holds. The agents on my list might leave the industry or shift gears and no longer represent romance, and the publishing landscape is ever-changing. Harlequin's recently announced plans to shutter its historical romance line in 2027 are a prime example of that.

There's a very real possibility that my dream agent isn't even in the industry yet, or that the publisher who takes my books on hasn't even been founded.

7. What AuthorTube videos can we expect to find on your channel?

Like my blog, I'd say my channel can best be described as writing, life, and whatever else comes to mind.

I'm planning to post writing tips and tricks I've learned along the way, updates on my own projects, and maybe the occasional writing vlog or body-doubling video/livestream depending on my schedule (I do have a day job to work around, after all).

One thing I do want to mention is that I am not here to tell you how to write your book. What works for me might not work as well for your writing, and there is nothing wrong with that.

8. When did you begin writing?

According to my first and third grade teacher (Hi, Ms. Shannon!), I've always been a writer.

But I started writing historical romance as a high school freshman, so I would have been about 13-14 years old. More specifically, I found my love of the Regency Era during senior year; prior to that, my project existed in this void of "before electricity, good enough."

9. What was the first story you ever wrote?

In terms of romance, it was called Guises to Keep.

Very long story short, it was basically a Regency Era Downton Abbey, following the servants employed at a country manor house and some of the family who owned the estate. Inheritance woes and discrepancies, multiple intertwined love triangles, mile-long dramatic backstories for every single character--and plenty of issues.

I still have a lot of love for Guises to Keep and appreciate the role it played in my writing journey, but it's also never going to see the light of day.

10. What authors have inspired your writing the most?

Jane Austen is the obvious answer. When I first started exploring historical romance, Tessa Dare was a particular favorite.

Lately, I've been enjoying Sarah Adams's writing (The Cheat Sheet was my favorite read of 2025) and recently started A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales; I'm four chapters into the latter so far and I'm already taking notes on her narrative style because it feels a lot like where I want mine to someday be.

11. Do you schedule your writing sessions or simply get to writing whenever you can find the time?

I write whenever I'm able.

I'm trying to have a more consistent schedule for my writing, between my fiction projects and my blog and now YouTube, but I'm still figuring that out.

A lot of my writing happens around my job. My schedule and transportation situation being what it is, I do a lot of my writing before my shift. I have a few spots, several of which are a little unconventional but get the job done; for context, I work at an escape room in a casino. I use a lot of this time for drafting blog posts since the inherent distractions of my surroundings make it hard to zone in on my WIP.

I also do a fair bit of writing on my lunch breaks (and admittedly during slower shifts, provided that all work-related tasks are taken care of).

Beyond that, I try to get a little writing done on my days off. I am also part of a writing group that meets on alternating Tuesday evenings, and our group sprints are a great chunk of time where I'm only focusing on my fiction.

12. Do you type on a computer, typewriter, write everything out by hand, or use a blend of those? And where do you write in general?

Pretty much a blend of methods.

Believe it or not, I actually prefer handwritten drafts whenever possible! It started out as a necessity back in the day, but it's since become my go-to method because it makes it easier to concentrate. I also feel more connected to my historical fiction with a handwritten draft.

I do a lot of my writing on my laptop; however, my go-to for digital drafting is my NEO2. It's great for writing on the go and a nice balance between distraction-free writing and efficiency.

I don't have a single designated writing spot. Like I mentioned above, a lot of my writing happens either in odd nooks and crannies at the casino or at the escape room between games. At home, I bounce between my bedroom and the living room.

I do wish I had a cute little coffee shop near me, though! I would be spending so much time there.

13. What are you most looking forward to now that you’re a part of AuthorTube?

Community and connecting with fellow writers!

Overall, I want my AuthorTube channel to become a cozy corner of the internet where we can chat about writing and find community.

Like this blog, I love the idea of creating a little time capsule for myself and writing, so that when my books are published at last, I can look back and see how much things have changed (and what has remained the same).

I'm also hoping that having this channel will hold me accountable. 2025 was one of those years where it felt like every step forward with my writing had me taking three steps back. I've been missing that motivation, so I'm hoping having this channel will revive it some.

That's it for the Newbie Tag!

This YouTube channel didn't have the smoothest of starts, so it's doubly exciting to be over in that space now that (most of) the technical difficulties have been sorted out.

Now it's your turn! Feel free to answer these questions down below. And if there are any writing-related or writing-adjacent topics you'd like to see here on the blog or over on my AuthorTube channel, don't be afraid to let me know!