Writing Roots

Editors are an invaluable piece of the publishing process. No one should publish without having someone with editing knowledge look at the manuscript. If you think about all of the books with a New York Times Bestselling label, they’ve all been pushed through a meticulous editing process. For new authors – especially self-published authors – that process can be unfamiliar and frightening. It’s dif...

There are so many subgenres listed in KDP and other self-publishing sites that it can be more than overwhelming to figure out the right ones. Experienced authors and publishers know the importance of picking the right one, which just increases that pressure. In this extended episode from our archives, we take a closer look at how to figure out your genre so the right target audience can find your...

No matter where you are in your writing journey or what kind of writer you are, there are some things you need to know before you ever put that pen to paper (or fingers to a keyboard). It doesn’t always have to be the plot of the story or a detailed history of the characters. It can simply be the spark of an idea. In this extended episode, we take a look at what any author needs to know before the...

Reviews can mean everything for book sales. Good ones can help a book thrive, while bad ones can drive away potential readers. In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss ways to get the most effective reviews. Original episode aired July 23, 2020. The post Extended Archives – Getting Effective Reviews appeared first on Writing Roots .

No book can become a bestseller without outstanding marketing, and one of the best platforms for marketing in this age is social media. Whether it’s Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or even TikTok, social media is an essential tool for getting the word out about your books. This extended episode takes a closer look at the use of social media and some of the best practices for marketing on those platf...

One of the most difficult things about working on a first draft is accepting it for what it is: a first draft. Some authors feel a compulsion to edit it constantly before the draft is even completed. Others get discouraged if it’s not shaping up to be exactly like a bestseller right away. As all authors experience, writing takes time. In this extended archive episode, Leigh and Ley discuss their o...

You will encounter rules about writing everywhere you turn. We’re taught grammar and structure in school. Teachers demand specific formats, like APA or Chicago. What about fiction writing? Is it necessary to stick rigidly to all of the rules, or do you even have to follow them at all? The real answer for fiction is in balance. Like Captain Barbosa said, they’re more guidelines than actual rules. H...

Welcome to the Extended Archives episodes! Writing Roots is on a temporary hiatus until July. Until then, we’ll be releasing extended versions of episodes from our archives, previously released only on Patreon. Finding the right target audience is a major piece to the process of marketing, especially if you’re self-publishing. It changes how you market on social media, ad targeting techniques, and...

Villains can make or break a story. Their purpose is intertwined with the hero of the story. But what are their motives? Are they truly evil or are they simply a normal person who believes they’re doing right? Part of the answer depends on what role you need the villain to play, along with the genre of the story. It could be the villain is a contrast to the protagonist and you need the extremes. I...

Any story can be very different depending on whose point of view is taken during the narrative. The question, then, is whose story do you follow as you write? Do you only follow one character, or use several to help paint the story progression? Both styles present their own unique challenges and carry their own benefits. Ley and Leigh debate the use of narrative point of view in this episode, disc...

New authors often wonder what they should focus on more when building a story. Should they focus on the plot itself, or the characters? What should be built first when first deciding to tackle a story? There are benefits to either way, though each also come with their own pitfalls. Leigh and Ley debate the different aspects of designing a story primarily by the plot or by the characters in this ep...

The idea of story is nebulous. Humans have been telling stories from the dawn of time, even before there was written language. Even still, ideas are constantly being compiled into something new. That leads us to the question of whether there is a finite number of stories. It depends on your perspective. Leigh and Ley discuss the idea of story and what it means for those who wish to create, even if...

There is no real wrong answer to whether you should choose first or third person when deciding on the narrative perspective. However, there are some things you should consider as you decide, such as the genre, how much information you need revealed, the main character(s), and the connection you want developed with the reader. In this episode, Leigh and Ley debate the uses and problems with both ma...

It can seem sometimes that every story has some kind of love interest, even if the story isn’t a romance. After all, it’s a great way to build connections between the characters and the readers. However, some authors argue that romance isn’t necessary unless you intend to write a romance novel. Leigh and Ley debate the virtues and pitfalls of including a romantic subplot in other kinds of stories,...

How many words should be in one novel? There are standard answers for all genres, especially for authors starting out (we’ve discussed as much in prior episodes). Yet there still seems to be an ongoing debate about how rigidly those standards should be followed. Some like to push the limits, writing thousands more words than is recommended. Others barely skirt in on the low end of the scale. Is th...

Finding the right word for the moment can be a difficult task that slows down any author’s writing process. But how do we know which word is the right one? Is there anything we can do ahead of time to arm ourselves? Or are we better off keeping it simple? The answer isn’t as clear as you might hope. Ley and Leigh debate the pros and cons of using complex words to help you find the best option in y...

Writing comes in all forms, from short poems to epic tales that span hundreds of thousands of words. One form of writing, though, is often looked at as not really writing. Despite that, fanfiction is wildly popular especially among new writers. Fanfiction consists of taking worlds or characters from the author’s favorite fictions and creating something new with them. In this episode, Leigh and Ley...

If you search for writing prompts in Google, you’ll get hundreds and hundreds of suggestions. They range from silly suggestions to academic treatises. Prompts are wildly popular and common, but are they actually helpful? Can prompts be used to get you published one day? Leigh and Ley debate the benefits and downfalls of writing prompts in this episode. Leigh takes the stance that prompts are incre...

It seems that so many of the popular books these days – especially in the YA genre – are set in a trilogy. That must be the recipe for success, right? Yes, but also no. While there is use in having a series or even a trilogy, just because a book does well doesn’t mean it must continue on in a series. Sometimes books can be alone if they are strong enough on their own. Listen to this episode for mo...

Self-publishing has many advantages, from avoiding the stresses of getting traditionally published to having total control over the product. However, it should not be seen as a shortcut, and though it is often thought to be so, it definitely is not free. At least, it shouldn’t be. It is possible to self-publish without any cost to the author, but that feeds into the stigma that self-published work...

Writers spend a lot of time on their projects before they even start putting words down on a page. That leads to a strong attachment to the idea alone and a desire to protect those ideas. At the same time, it also leads writers to being discouraged by ideas they don’t think are unique enough. Both of these ideas – that good ideas are entirely unique and need to be protected from plagiarism – are m...

It’s rarely said by those who actually try to write a book, but it can be discouraging to hear. The myth for today’s episode is that writing is easy. After all, why shouldn’t it be? Those who wish to be authors usually know how to write – basic sentence structure, grammar, and an idea. However, getting those things onto a page in a compelling fashion is anything but easy. Listen to this episode to...

While it is true that the quality of a book can influence its success, it is only a myth that a good book will sell itself. This myth exists more because of hope than reality. We all wish our books would just fly off the shelves and we’d become instantly famous without the effort of marketing. That, however, is a fantasy of its own. There are parts of marketing entirely out of the author’s control...

It’s a phrase you see everywhere, especially on any number of writing blogs. A “true writer” will do this or be that. It could be anything from how the writer spends their time to what words they use in their stories. While there are trends often followed in writing, we at Writing Roots don’t believe there is any one way to be a true writer. First of all, writers are not born naturally good writer...

In any writing group, you’ll encounter someone who says their characters are like living voices in their head that control their own actions throughout a story. This idea, however, is like saying mortals control Zeus. While it’s true that authors can develop characters so fully that they become like living people in their mind, the author is still in ultimate control. In this episode, we discuss w...