Digital Author James Fell
Video by Pamela Morris and Timothy Molina
Bonus material: Edited Audio Interview with James Fell
This project asked us to take a deep dive into a digital author and contemplate their purpose, audience, and technique; this was my favorite part of the project. Both my partner and I were curious and enthusiastic about the author and the project and overall that made it both enjoyable and illuminating. One of the more difficult aspects of this project was the production of a “short” video when we had much to say and would be graded on our content. As graduate students, we always want to be thorough! However, the most challenging aspect of the project was that the video editing tools we had easy access to do not lend themselves to collaborative editing. I chose Adobe Premiere Rush, a middle-of-the road tool (simple interface but also a good selection of tools) both because I has some experience with it and because my institution provides access to the software. However, we discovered that one cannot share projects-in-progress. Video editing can also eat up a lot of hours — particularly if one has far too much to start with, struggles a bit with the tool, and tends toward perfectionism.
We learned much about digital author James Fell. He is quite straightforward about his purpose — both the content and that he is making a living at it. However, understanding how he feels about and deals with both positive and negative feedback among his online audience was really enriched by talking directly to him. For example, online, one does have to have a tough skin, yet, also treat people with kindness and respect where warranted, and be open to legitimate critics. Another valuable thing I learned about James is how much hard work he put into his work that resulted in his success. Yes, he had the right idea at the right time, but there is more to the story than meets the eye. This includes support from his family, his followers, and financial and time investment including hiring an online marketing expert. Finally, investigating James taught me a lot about the value of understanding author authenticity — both in the voice used in one’s work and in dealing with followers.
I had an excellent partner for this project. I learned a lot about and from Timothy Molina. He uses language in an amazing way. He articulated concepts and ideas in our video without as much preparation and I needed (perhaps partly due to his experience with podcasting). He was super easy to work with, flexible, and enthusiastic, open to ideas and trying things. Timothy is getting close to earning his PhD, although he already has a leadership position at his institution. For myself, I learned that I am still super-paranoid about preparation and organization. I may eventually go with the flow, but I am uneasy about it. I tend to over-plan. I need not have worried — our first video take contained quite a bit of usable footage, even though we did it in a free-flowing manner (gasp!). Also, working with a collaborator helps me relax and be more open and creative. This is why I am hoping I might work with a partner for the final project.
The creative process brought up some new ideas as well as generating some questions. New ideas that I did not initially think about when starting the project included examining the societal-level focus of a digital author, digging into the play between a digital author and their audience, understanding the work behind a successful digital author, and looking at how digital authors approach the aspect of making a living (implicit or explicit). Some questions that arose that I am still reflecting upon include: How does digital authorship open doors to other opportunities? What things can be done to get followers/audience — particularly without a large monetary investment? and How does one define success as a digital author?
REFERENCES
Amazon. (n.d.). James Fell Amazon Bio. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W2NYDGJ/about
Fell, J. (2023, February 27). Personal Interview.
Fell, J. (2023) Sweary History with James Fell. Substack about. https://jamesfell.substack.com/about
Fell, J. (2023) James Fell Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/bodyforwife/
Fell, J. (2022) Sweary history with James Fell. https://jamesfell.com/
Fell, J. (2022) swearyhistorian TikTok page. https://www.tiktok.com/@swearyhistorian?lang=en
Fell, J. (2022) @BodyForWife Twitter page. https://twitter.com/BodyForWife
Fell, J. (2022) ADHD and creativity: A superpower with kryptonite. TEDxTirguMures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zb0RcnE5S8
Fell, J. (2022) James Fell’s 2022 Book Launch Party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkqEQRRWb4o
Fell, J. (n.d.) James Fell. https://bodyforwife.com
MacMillian (n.d.) James Fell About the Author. https://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesfell
Short, D. (2022, September 16) Calgary author launches second volume of historical short stories. Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-author-launches-second-volume-of-historical-short-stories
