(excited gasp)
- [Jade] Oh my god! Mom come and look at this email!
(upbeat instrumental music)
I'm going to my first ever book meeting
with the publisher.
This is happening!
I have never experienced such intense
imposter syndrome in my life.
I don't know what to do with myself.
I have this desperate urge to get myself
out of this contract because I'm so
I don't know I'm just so scared to write this book.
I just, I don't feel worthy enough to write it.
I don't know. Even though I've made a YouTube channel
where I give people advice about studying,
I still have this part of me that's like,
I don't have a PhD in study methods,
like why does my voice matter in this space?
Like, why should people take my advice?
And sometimes when I sit down to try and write it,
that's the narrative that I keep feeding myself
and then I just don't write and it's pretty unproductive
and it's really scary.
And right now I've sat here and I just can't
imagine the whole book being finished.
In future days if I'm watching this with a written book,
that is just, that would be, that'd be a miracle.
Cause right now I don't feel like it's possible.
So, I just emailed a bunch of the StudyTube gang,
and asked them to contribute to my book.
Why does this whole thing feel like
such an ode to StudyTube?
Oh my God.
I have two more weeks to finish my manuscript.
I also have four assignments too, and a presentation,
and six classes.
Future Jade, if you're watching this
and you've written a book.
I am so proud of you.
You did it.
I haven't done it right now.
And I don't know how I'm gonna do it.
I wrote a book!
When I first started making videos on YouTube,
I was literally just that nerdy girl
at school who was obsessed with learning.
I can remember feeling so stressed during my GCSEs
because I cared so much about grades,
and yet I didn't know how on earth to revise
and I didn't have an older sibling to reassure me
that it was all going to be okay.
And so when I finished GCSEs and I did well,
I started mentoring younger students
in things like time management, revision techniques.
It suddenly occurred to me
that I needed a place to share this with more people.
That is how I started YouTube.
And in particular, StudyTube.
What I actually wanted to do was show my experiences,
but in a book.
I wrote in my little manifestation journal back in 2016
that I would one day write a book sharing my experiences.
How to survive secondary school exams,
how to reassure other people that it will be fine,
and all my tips and tricks and everything I'd learned.
I wanted to write the book that I always wish I had
but never did. At that time,
I didn't want to read more CGP.
I wanted to read a book
by a student who had been through it
just to know the basic things of how to do well.
During my gap year in Australia, I actually
started writing all the topics that I would want to discuss
in a book like this.
Everything I'd ever voiced on StudyTube and more.
But as uni began and my time diminished,
I convinced myself that this book wasn't necessary.
I pushed any notion of writing it further away.
And then last summer happened.
Right at the end of quarantine in summer,
I received an email from a publisher.
Like a legit publisher.
And they were expressing a need for a book like this.
I literally could not believe my eyes
when I read the email.
I'm genuinely in shock.
The publisher was pitching a book
which was almost identical to the one that I had written
in my little manifestation journal all those years ago.
It was exactly what I wanted to write
for GCSE and A-level students.
And they were asking me, little old me, if I wanted to
write it. It was truly a dream come true.
And you can say what you want
about manifestation and law of attraction and all of that.
But, it felt like I manifested this.
Except there was a catch.
And that catch was,
I needed to write all 60,000 words of this huge book,
the whole frickin' manuscript, by March, 2021.
Which would be fine, if I wasn't at horrible, intense,
hectic Uni, and moving countries, and living with roommates,
and dying, and doing YouTube,
and a hundred million other things.
Every logical thought in my brain said, don't do it.
Jade, you will not have time.
Jade, you always say yes to everything.
Jade, you are busy enough. But what did I do?
Well? I said, yes.
I felt like it was the last time
to have this dream actualized,
and to do everything I'd always wanted to do with StudyTube.
So, I said yes.
I have regretted this decision
so many times in the last few months.
I have cried about this so many times.
I have felt such a gross imposter syndrome
questioning why on earth
I thought I should be the person to write a book like this.
Part of me feels sick at the thought
of announcing this,
but Hey, it's here.
I've written a book. And it's being published. This year.
How insane is that?
I literally cannot believe it.
Even though I did objectively well, grade wise, at school,
this book is not just about grades.
I want this book to reflect the holistic student.
I want it to be nuanced around all horrible things
we face as young people just trying to navigate life,
and then also having the pressure of a horrible exam,
academic system on top where we have to regurgitate loads of
information in order to get a grade that's going to
affect your whole life.
Like, what a concept. That's pretty cruel.
I want to treat students not just as
a grade-producing machine.
So I'm going to go through some evidence-based learning
techniques, which I used to help me succeed.
And yes, we're gonna do the practical advice
of timetabling and techniques to beat procrastination,
all of it.
But it will also be nuanced around discussions
of mental health, perfectionism pressure, and expectations.
I just forgot to detail some of the most important
and exciting stuff! You can officially
pre-order my book, which is crazy.
There's not an official cover reveal or anything yet, but
if you follow the link in my description, you can order it.
I think it's already on Amazon and Waterstones
and other retailers.
So, you can go pre-order it, which would mean
the world to me to have your support.
It is mainly aimed at secondary school students,
so if that is you, I really hope it helps you in some way.
It just feels so surreal
that a book that I wanted to read, I've now
had the chance to write myself? Like, that's mad.
So yeah. I've written a book and that's pretty cool
and terrifying. I just want to say the biggest
thank you to all of you guys who have
let me have this opportunity. Honestly, like, I'm not
better at school or revision than so many people
in the world, but for whatever reason, I have this platform
and these opportunities, and I've been able to reach people.
And if my book can help even one person,
then I guess it's worth it.
So thank you so much
for supporting the over the years, for making this platform
what it is, for supporting me in making
StudyTube a community. Because now I am completing
yet another dream, another bucket list item
at the age of 21. And that's pretty cool.
To any of you at secondary school,
I hope this book helps you.
It's the book I wish I had when I was in secretary school.
So yeah, I've written a book.
That's the announcement. Mad. It's going to be published
in August. Mad, mad, mad, mad, mad.
I've learned so much about the publishing industry.
I have an editor.
Life is just so interesting,
I can't wait to tell you all about it.
Yeah. Just, thank you for everything. Bye!