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Is it real or is it a prop? It's real. Wait, what? It is real? Hi, I'm Hailey Pham. This is Channeling, a deep dive into my past, present, and future on YouTube. We also have a secret guest question for you. To describe my channel to strangers, I tell them that I read books and review them. Sometimes I do challenge formats like reading for 24 hours straight. Sometimes I document writing a book. It's just a cozy vibe. In the car over here, I was like, okay, how do I pose with a sword?
I'm scared of all of it, but I'm excited for the chainmail. Very heavy. Eight pounds. Oh. Okay. Can't wait. Have you ever worn chainmail before? No. Have you ever worn chainmail before? I'd say the top three videos you could watch to really get a sense of my channel is an in 20s Diaries video. That's a vlog basically of my journey through my 20s. What I do while Ryan films travel videos is one of my favorite videos that I've made ever and reading for 24 hours straight.
Reading for 24 hours is crazy and I've done it multiple times so check it out. Now we're doing a cape look. I actually had a perspective shift earlier looking at people that I know at this height is Life-changing. I wish I could do this stuff. It's great up here.
This was the first look and potentially my favorite look. We did the armor over the chest piece. Oh, yeah, wearing armor. That was a first for me. And holding a sword, also a first. I actually made my very first video in 2008 on a different channel that no longer exists. And I used to watch Juicy Star 07, Blair Fowler. I was so inspired and I wanted to be like her. The very first video I ever made was how to make nail polish. And I've seen it once and I think the channel got deleted.
The term "girlypops", which I've been calling my subscribers that for a while, came about because I was at a dance convention and I was just talking with my friends. A girl named Leah said it actually. and I said, I love that, can I say that in my video? And then I did, and it stuck, and it has persisted to this day. I've had maybe a handful of people tell me that they watched my channel and then my husband's YouTube channel before knowing that we were a couple, and then one day they figured it out, and it was like a very weird Matrix situation for them.
So that was really fun. I would like one of these. Thank you. Yeah. My first ever book video was actually posted to my second channel. And it came about because I got obsessed with reading to the point where I couldn't focus on working. And all I did was read and then I needed a YouTube video. So I was like, well, I've read 18 books in two months. I will post a video called What I Thought of the 18 Books I Read. And then that just started taking over. I was more interested in reading books than anything else. and I brought it to the main channel and it's just stuck around.
I think my high school vlogs are so fascinating to me because most people don't get to watch themselves be a teenager. And I think that you would misremember it a lot more than you would think because when I watch them back, I'm sort of fascinated by my personality. I just seem very unselfconscious. So it's kind of inspiring for me to watch younger me. I think hitting a million subscribers on YouTube was really cool. It felt very surreal and validating in a way and just fake.
Like that number feels so not real. Yes, I have a very vintage 100,000 plaque that they don't make anymore because that's how old it is. And I treasure that one a lot. This one has a hood that I was skeptical of at first, and then it ended up being really fun. And then we did the feathers with this one, too, which was great. Feathers, accessories, shoulder pads, neck wear. They used a lot of neck items back in the day, I guess. I think a great BookTube video requires enthusiasm.
I know I like to watch videos where the person is so excited to read, and then they can articulate why they loved that book so much. I like my book videos cozy. So read, tell me why you love it or didn't like it, and I'm gonna watch it. I feel like so many people told me that they read ACOTAR and then got into reading, but I was already into reading, and I was like, I don't know if I'm a fantasy girl. And then I picked up book one and book two, and the rest is history.
You just have to read all of them once you start. The funny thing about the videos I've made about Sarah J. Maas's books is I never intended to, but I would read the first book in the series, and then it would consume my life. And then I was like, well, I'm going to document this because what is happening to me needs to be documented. And now I've done it twice for two of her series. Loved every second of it. I never dress up, I feel like. So this is so fun. Crazy. I mean, I might have to integrate some pieces into the wardrobe.
I always wanted to be a writer. I thought that I would maybe one day publish essays and poems. I started collecting those things when I was 17, and I'm very glad no one will ever see those because they were very emo. But for fiction, I was very intimidated by it, and I think I was ready to write it five separate times before I actually sat down and started. I was super nervous to take any time away from YouTube in order to write because writing at that point, to me, seemed like a hobby. And I love YouTube so much, so I didn't want to take any steps away from it. But I feel like now it's been a really cool journey
to bring my audience along for writing and still get to do both. I feel like I'm very privileged to love two things as much as I do. TBR, to be read, anticipate and read. That's like a book coming out. There's a Lynn Painter book. It's like a fall baby book. It's really cute. John Green's new book. After writing my own book, I'm definitely more empathetic when I review books. I feel like I always try to be positive, but now it's almost sad to me if I don't like a book.
Like I want to just take the angle of what did the author get right here? Because I understand how much hard work goes into it. And sometimes if you read a book and you don't like it, it might just not be for you. But I can envision people who would like it. But giving a harsh review after writing a book is like impossible to me. I just can't. I can't do that. The inspiration for the writing style of Just Friends, at least, are definitely authors like Kaliane Bradley. She wrote The Ministry of Time. The way that she manipulates language, I am obsessed with. Like, it makes me feel more alive and excited for life just to see the English language used in a way I've never seen before.
Also, authors like Barry McFarland do that. Olive A. Blake. The way that words can be used is just so exciting. And I feel like they're not romance authors. Some of them are. but I feel like I tried to take bits and pieces of that and then bring it into my writing. You guys need to get that again. The writing and publishing journey was so exciting every step of the way because everything was new. And I honestly felt like I was in my own little world while writing it. And it wasn't until I fully turned it in, I was like, I'm going to publish this,
that I got so horrified by what I had done. I was like, why am I publishing this? writing a book was great, but why does anyone else need to read this? And I wanted to take it all back, but I'm glad I didn't. It's been so fun to read people's messages that they read it and connected with it. So I would not take it back, but it was definitely a very scary experience. I think there's actually a lot of similarities between making YouTube videos and writing a book. First, you have to think of an idea and it has to be good enough to stick around so that you want to commit to it. Then you try to plan it out
and it always goes differently than how you expect. And then you edit, which is my favorite part, because I feel like you get to really hone in your vision. When you edit a YouTube video, you take out all the times that you messed up. And similarly, the first draft is not what you publish. You have to fix all of your mistakes and usually cut your darlings. Kill your darlings, they say. Which means delete. And then you publish it. And you see people's reaction to it, which I think is sometimes the best part.
When I picture posting in the future, I definitely see a lot of me documenting, writing books. I feel like I will always post videos about whatever I'm interested in, and I will always be interested in something, so I will always be posting videos. The library. I love my library. Every time I get home from a trip, I just walk into my library and look at it. I still remember the first eight books. I ever bought. And so to see the collection grow has been really fun. And I'm sure I'm just gonna keep letting it grow and keep reading as many as I can.
Are you ready for the- Ooh, yes. Hi Hailey, it is Brooke Averick. Aww. I have just loved watching your videos over the years. - It's so cute. And I'm so proud of you and all of your success with Just Friends and I look forward to hopefully hopefully many more books from you in the future. And I have a question for you. I have been wondering what your favorite trope is. And that is my question. Okay, love you, bye. Wait, okay, fun. I love Brooke, she's so nice. I'm still just a fan of Brooke. Like we are friends, but I'm fangirling.
Okay, my favorite trope ever, I wrote it. It's childhood friends to lovers. That is what just friends is. but I also think slow burn and forced proximity. That's three different tropes, but those are all my favorites. Wow, thanks Brooke for the question. That's so fun. I really like it, honestly. This and jeans, simple, easy look. In terms of me writing books, you can expect more love stories and you might expect a new book next summer. Can I say that? Thank you guys for watching. You can drop all of your theories for A Court of Thorns and Roses in the comments, and you can subscribe to my channel if you want to.
All right, guys. Thank you.
