The Merry Writer Podcast

EPISODE SHOW NOTES The Merry Writer Podcast is trying a new format for guest episodes! Since we haven’t talked about ourselves in a while, we decided to be our own guinea pigs. This week, Rachel interviews Ari about her author career and books! In this episode, we cover: How Ari got into writing What her writing process is like Her writing goals and more! As always, thanks for listening. Please le...

Writing is considered quite an isolated endeavour. If you are new to writing, it can help to connect with other writers, to share your woes and your wins. But how do you make writer friends? That's what we are talking about in today's episode! In this episode, we cover: Finding Friends Making Friends Do's and Don'ts Etiquette What the most important parts are As always, thank you for listening. Pl...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Authors are meant to be present in many places on the internet, but did you know there are some platforms you don’t necessarily have to be on but can still add your book? This week, we’re discussing some of those places. In this episode, we cover: Goodreads BookBub Book Sirens AllAuthor As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES We are changing things up with how we run guest episodes and to see if the new format is going to work, we decided we would use ourselves as guinea pigs. So in this episode, I am interviewing Rachel about her work, her book, her processes and more. As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our co...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES It’s been a while since we’ve done a Would You Rather episode! So, for this week’s episode, and for another milestone, we’re doing a podcast edition of Would You Rather. Enjoy! As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content! WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE SHOW? If you would like to be considere...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES It's the start of a new year and we decided to do something silly and fun. So we are discussing what colours we associate with our writing. In this episode, we cover: Ari's colour association with her writing process Rachel's colour association with her writing process Slight disagreement Ari's colour association with her specific projects Hearty discussion about the colour yell...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES It's the last episode of 2024! This week, we're talking about all the new and exciting updates that are coming to the podcast in 2025. Thanks for your support of the year and we wish you a Happy New Year and a Happy Holiday! In this episode, we cover: Changes from 2024 New guest format in 2025 The podcast turns 5-years-old in 2025! As always, thanks for listening. Please let us...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Have you ever struggled to finish your manuscript? Do you have several writing projects languishing unfinished? Check out today's podcast episode where we share our experiences and advice on getting to the finish line. In this episode, we cover: Schedules Sacrifice Small time Deep in the minutiae Curb the Editor As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts i...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Writing a novel isn't easy; we all know that. But which part of your novel do you typically get stuck with? This week, we discuss our opinions about the beginning, middle, and ends of stories. In this episode, we cover: The purpose of enticing beginnings The purpose of the journey of middles The purpose of satisfying endings As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know yo...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES To all you published authors, do you read reviews left for your books? Today, we share our own thoughts on this topic. In this episode, we cover: - Reviews are everywhere - Everyone has an opinion - Why authors should not read reviews - Why authors should read reviews - Needing tough skin As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, gi...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES We've all heard of the cozy mystery genre, but did you know there's at least two more? One has been circling the reading community and the other... we haven't heard of before. In this episode, we cover: What the cozy genre is Cozy Mystery A trending cozy genre A cozy genre that may not be as well known As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comm...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES When writing a book, it can be fun to keep track of the journey along the way. In today's episode, we discuss ways to track it, what you might want to log and some benefits. What we covered in this episode: Recording the dates Different milestones Sharing the hurdles Accountability Useful data As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments belo...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES It's no secret Ari and Rachel love using Scrivener for their creative writing projects. This week, they decide to dive into the software, gush about why they love it, and the cool features Scrivener offers. In this episode, we cover: What Scrivener is How Rachel uses it How Ari sets hers up Cool features it has Using it for non-writing You can check out Scrivener here. As always...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Today we are discussing some of the advice we've seen floating around that is written almost as gospel, but that we don't think is always the best advice. In this episode, we cover: Daily writing Word count Trends Reading genres   As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content. WANT TO BE...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES As readers, one of the best ways to support authors is to leave a review of their book once we've read it. This week, we want to know: what does a book have to do to earn five stars from you? In this episode, we cover: Rachel's criteria for five stars Ari's 5-star threshold Comfort books As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, giv...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Do you worry your story is not exciting enough? Depending on what you write and how you want to write it, not every book needs to be exciting but it needs to hold the reader's attention but you may still need to build up the excitement in some way. What we cover in this episode: Check your pacing (are there too many slow parts?) Use the slow parts intentionally to build tension...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES In episode 217 , we talked about what you should consider when agreeing to be a beta reader. We thought it'd be a good idea to talk about it from the other side, if you, the writer, is searching for beta readers. In this episode, we cover: Who your beta readers should be Ensure your ready for betas Being transparent with your betas Helping your betas be prepared for the process...

Have you considered hosting guests on your blog? There are some benefits to doing this and that's what we are talking about in today's episode! In this episode, we cover: Credibility Remember your audience Exposure Backlinks Networking Guidelines Deadlines Etiquettes Due diligence As always, thank you for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, like the video, and subscr...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES I get it! It's a Monday and suddenly something pops up from The Merry Writer Podcast. This is a little Mini Merry Moment, to give a shout-out to Rachel's upcoming book: Apparitions Anonymous! Please make sure to give Rachel lots of love on this new endeavour. ​Add the book to your Goodreads, keep an eye out for it on Amazon or wherever you buy your books and don't forget to leav...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Have you ever wondered what it's like to set up an in-person book tour event? Have you thought about trying it but didn't know where to start? Well, you're in luck because L.E. Harper joins us this week to talk about running a successful book tour. In this episode, we cover: How L.E. began doing book tours The overall process to set one up Supplies to bring to an event Tips for...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES We are talking about marketing today and discussing the possibilities of using Influencers for book marketing, including things you might want to consider. In this episode, we cover: Who is their audience? What is their engagement? What is the ROI (return on investment)? What is their content like? As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Things don't always go as planned and that includes your writing career. Your wants and desires might have changed over the years as you and your writing grew and improved. This week, we discuss what to do when you come to the realization that your writing goals have changed and what to do about it. In this episode, we cover: Your writing purpose Narrow vs broad goals Creating r...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Today we are talking about quitting (nope, we are not quitting writing!) But we wanted to give some thoughts on why some writers may choose to quit writing. In this episode, we cover: Writing difficulty Writing as a career The results... Learning Prioritisation Lack of fun Procrastination Rejection Life changes Money As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoug...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Have you ever thought about going to school for creative writing? This week, Jason Harris joins us to discuss what getting a creative writing degree may look like. In this episode, we cover: Benefits of having a creative writing degree Typical lesson plans for a creative writing class How creative assignments may be graded Exercises you can do at home As always, thanks for liste...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES Today is all about regrets! We do love to pick some cheery topics. We each share our main writing regrets and would love to hear yours. Or if you don't have any regrets (lucky you) tell us that too! In this episode, we cover: Ari's regret Changing mindset Rachel's regret Different options As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, gi...