Will YouTube authors light up the publishing world?

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]nce upon a time an author was seen as an unreachable, mysterious presence; the tortured artist; the recluse. Then somewhere along the line they became approachable, relatable, and dare I say it… Tweetable. YouTube stars are starting to take on the publishing world, but with ghost-writers and claims of selling out, is there something wrong with our authors becoming less lofty than we imagined?

John Green, an author before obtaining YouTube success, uses his channel to reach his readers. With behind-the-scenes videos of the Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns films, he even made a Tumblr account where people can ask questions about his books. YouTube provided the platform for Green to extend his fanbase. The 2012 ‘Tour de Nerdfighting’ featuring both John Green and his brother, attracted fans of his YouTube videos and books alike. You can see the beauty of his prose in his “Thoughts from Places” videos, which use footage with a voice-over to reflect upon a certain location. YouTube authors (if we can brand them as such a thing) like John Green have used the digital age to their advantage, with social media playing a huge part in reaching the internet-obsessed teenager.

Take the case of Zoella (Zoe Sugg) who has almost 7.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 3.01 million Twitter followers and a legion of young megafans hanging on every word about the latest upmarket product to grace her pouted lips. While her peers (boyfriend Alfie Deys, friends Tanya Burr and Grace Helbig) have published mainly non-fiction, Zoella bounded onto the young adult fiction scene with triumph. Her debut sold 78,109 copies in the first week, which is miles ahead of classics like Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. However J. K. Rowling didn’t have millions of fans behind her as she first published, so is this really a fair comparison?

Zoella has a two-book deal with Penguin – something most young writers can only dream of; a magical fairy tale starring the publishing princess. However the evil question lingers in the shadows; did she actually write the book? She claims the characters and story are hers, but that the Penguin team supported her during the writing process. As she started off as a blogger, there is no doubting her creative writing ability. But still the cries of ‘ghost-writer’ are whispered, and there are rumours circulating online that popular Young Adult author Siobhan Curham contributed to the novel. Maybe anyone can write a book with a little help, but does that mean that anyone should?

The celebrities’ faces plastered onto hardbacks at Christmas prove this is in no way a new idea. Is writing a book any different to selling a t-shirt or making a single? Giovanna Fletcher (McFly wife turned YouTube star turned yummy mummy turned novelist) has brought out women’s fiction to general acclaim. While her husband Tom Fletcher has teamed up with his band mate Dougie Pointer to bring out a children’s book called The Dinosaur that Pooped the World. Is there anything wrong with musicians, YouTubers, or any celebrities wanting to write a book? Maybe it was their childhood dream. Maybe everything up to this point has been aimed towards penning the next bestseller.

Surely everyone should be able to publish fiction, whether they’re a literary academic or budding celebrity

You’ve got to think about who buys books these days. Physical, hold-it-in-your-hand, shop-bought books. Let’s disregard English literature students and academics, and the half of the industry devoted to eBooks. When buying books specifically for other people it’s sometimes hard to know what to buy. I must confess I’m guilty of the easy Mother’s Day present of Gi Fletcher’s books. I know my sister (who is so anti-reading, I question if we are related) got Zoella’s book along with Alfie Deyes’ The Pointless Book for Christmas. Not that she’s read them yet… nor probably ever will.

Imagine the general public standing at the bestsellers wall at Waterstones deciding on a birthday present. For a fan of The Smiths, Morrissey’s autobiography seems a good option. Meanwhile Man Booker prize nominees wait idly on the shelf, knowing that Russell Brand’s Revolution will be picked before them. Book-buying becomes a case of cost, celebrity, but not content. The sad thing is, the quality of the book doesn’t always coincide with the best sales figures. Publishing is a circus, making writers jump through hoops trying to beat Amazon, the ringmaster cracking its whip in the corner. And if popular YouTube stars supply the kind of books their audience wants to read, who are we to criticise? Perhaps there’s a subtle difference between writers who are YouTubers, and YouTubers that write books. I doubt the next Dickens will have a YouTube account, but as long as books are still being purchased and read, what harm can it do?

Does the publication of famous YouTubers herald the death of good literature? Tweet us @BoarBooks.

Image Credits: Header (Flickr/Derivativeofcourse), Image 1 (Flickr/Gage Skidmore), Image 2 (Flickr/Andrew Perry).