I did a live video yesterday, and I liked it!

If you haven't noticed by my lack of blogging lately, I have been hiding out from the interwebs. Life threw me for a real loop and I'm working hard to get my feet back under me. But I am surrounded by a fantastic group of authors and friends, and because we all know by now, (I've said it enough this month, I know. I'll shut up soon.), NaNoWriMo is a time to try new things.

I had a small tripod and a mediocre cell phone, so I tried hosting an online write in, in my NaNoWriMo writers group.

Why not publicly, you ask? Um...it was a stay at home day, and I didn't want to put on makeup. The only reason you get the re-creation pic below is because of photo editing. My eye bags and lack of makeup need help this early in the morning. And frankly, I'm not putting on makeup to take one pic for this blog. I love, y'all. But not enough to attempt eyeliner before a full cup of coffee.


What did I learn from my first live video? Well...let me break it down.

1. FB live video has a delay. I loaded up the FB page to see if my video was actually showing up, and there was a good 10-15 second delay between what I was saying and what was showing up.

2. Avoid front-facing cameras if you need to show anything with words on it. So if you are going to be showing off a book or cute items with quotes, use your rear-facing camera. The FB live feed allows you to line everything up before you start broadcasting, so you have time to line up your shot. 

3. Selfie rules apply. Any selfie addict knows, you need to find your angle. Don't set up a camera below your line of sight. If you're using your laptop, prop that bitch up. The higher the camera, the fewer chins you have. #protip I might not be the most professional videographer, but I know that if you want that good look, setting your video up just off to the side to allow for 3/4 profile, and slightly above my line of sight, works well for me.
​4. You viewing yourself counts as a "watch". I legit thought there was someone in my group watching me for a good 5 minutes before I realized, the viewer was my own FB feed on there. Yep. Felt real dumb.

5. You have the option to post your video after streaming or delete it. After you end your broadcast, you can either post the video to view later or wipe that bitch away. Obviously, how the stream went would determine if you post or don't. I shared mine, mainly because no one else in my group was around, and me yammering and writing for an hour wouldn't be worthwhile if I didn't post it. But if shit goes wrong...no one but those watching live have to know.

6. Turn off notifications! I didn't think about how loud notifications would be. And my phone got a couple of them during the feed which resulted in an epicly loud ding during the video. So another #protip, turn off all notifications and the ability to receive calls before you start broadcasting if using your phone. I'll definitely do so next time. 


Yes, I did go back and watch my own video. And I don't think it was half bad. I thought I'd be awkward and stumbling, but I found the whole experience relaxing. It was like talking to friends. I did occasionally glance at the camera during my writing sprint time and smirk. And there was a bit of a "this is odd" feeling during the writing sprint times, because I felt like I should be talking. Which is also why my writing sprint end count was lower than it usually was. But in about an hour, I chatted, wrote 1400ish words, and tried something new. 

I think I'm going to do more live videos, simply because I enjoyed sitting down and chatting with a cup of coffee in hand. Before I do anything outside of closed groups, though, I'm going to set up my shot better, sit in a room that isn't lit from above, and put on some damn makeup. 

Have you watched a live video stream before? If so, what is your preferred space to watch? FB? IG? Or have you done your own livestreams or write-ins before? If so, share some tips with me. I'd love to hear them.

​~Roxy