Writing Roots

S12E4 – Using Social Media to Market

The dream of many writers is to become well-known and bestselling. Unfortunately, just writing the story isn’t enough. In the world of self-publishing, it is up to the author to get their books to sell. Not an easy task when that author is also still trying to write more. This month is focused on marketing, that step just before and after publishing. Topics will include using social media, where to publish and sell, and creating interesting ads that will draw potential readers to a book.
Nearly all forms of social media can be very useful tools for marketing books and authors. It does take some work, though, to create a good following that will benefit rather than harm marketing efforts. This episode goes over some of the main ways to use social media, as well as things to avoid.
First aired July 13, 2020.
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S12E3 – Choosing the Right Medium for Your Book

The dream of many writers is to become well-known and bestselling. Unfortunately, just writing the story isn’t enough. In the world of self-publishing, it is up to the author to get their books to sell. Not an easy task when that author is also still trying to write more. This month is focused on marketing, that step just before and after publishing. Topics will include using social media, where to publish and sell, and creating interesting ads that will draw potential readers to a book.
Self-publishing authors all need to decide – hopefully early in the process – what mediums they will choose for publishing their books. It’s never an exclusive decision, as you can publish in all three main mediums: print, ebook, and audiobook. There are different things to consider for each one, such as upfront cost and possible return. This episode discusses the benefits and possible setbacks of each one.
First aired July 9, 2020.
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S12E2 – Building an Author Brand

The dream of many writers is to become well-known and bestselling. Unfortunately, just writing the story isn’t enough. In the world of self-publishing, it is up to the author to get their books to sell. Not an easy task when that author is also still trying to write more. This month is focused on marketing, that step just before and after publishing. Topics will include using social media, where to publish and sell, and creating interesting ads that will draw potential readers to a book.
A common mistake of new authors is not spending enough time on branding, or focusing on branding the wrong thing. Authors should be focused on making their name recognizable so that a reader will make the connection across all books the author writes. People read Stephen King because it’s Stephen King. This episode explains why it’s important to build an author brand and some tricks on how to accomplish that task.
First aired July 6, 2020.
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S12E1 – Finding Your Target Audience

The dream of many writers is to become well-known and bestselling. Unfortunately, just writing the story isn’t enough. In the world of self-publishing, it is up to the author to get their books to sell. Not an easy task when that author is also still trying to write more. This month is focused on marketing, that step just before and after publishing. Topics will include using social media, where to publish and sell, and creating interesting ads that will draw potential readers to a book.
The first and most important step to marketing is identifying the target audience. No book, not even those written by well-known names, will sell if they are marketed to the wrong audience. This episode helps writers find their target audience in order to start the process of marketing.
First aired July 2, 2020.
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S11E9 – Best: Improving Your Writing to Achieve Your Best

There are all kinds of four-letter words people consider to be bad. In writing, those four-letter words aren’t the traditional ones most people think about when they hear the phrase. The four-letter words of writing are the difficult topics to consider, write about, or simply just to do. None of the words are bad, but can be frightening for new authors or authors unfamiliar with certain topics. They are all something that needs to be addressed, at least, and decisions made on how to use them to the author’s advantage. Through June, this podcast will be breaking down those difficult words, such as edit, time, LGBT, and best.
Authors almost always want to be the best at their craft, but for new authors that goal can be daunting. It leads to comparing their first works to the professionally edited works of bestselling authors. Reaching for the best can help, though. This episode is dedicated to helping new authors figure out how to achieve their best work by focusing on themselves and improving each step of the way.
First aired June 29, 2020.
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S11 Bonus Episode – Read: How to Read as a Writer

There is one thing that can help an author improve their skills above all others. That is to read. New authors say all of the time they don’t have time, or that they would rather focus on their writing. While it is good to keep consistent with writing, only good can be gained by picking up a book.
The process of reading as a writer is slightly different than reading for enjoyment. Any genre, any book, can serve as a learning resource. This episode breaks down why it is important to stay reading and how to use that time to develop the skills and instincts all writers nee.
First aired June 27, 2020.
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S11E8 – Plan: Basics of Planning a Story from Start to Finish

There are all kinds of four-letter words people consider to be bad. In writing, those four-letter words aren’t the traditional ones most people think about when they hear the phrase. The four-letter words of writing are the difficult topics to consider, write about, or simply just to do. None of the words are bad, but can be frightening for new authors or authors unfamiliar with certain topics. They are all something that needs to be addressed, at least, and decisions made on how to use them to the author’s advantage. Through June, this podcast will be breaking down those difficult words, such as edit, time, LGBT, and best.
Planning a story is a daunting task, especially for pantsers (or discovery writers). Even if there’s no official outline, there is a lot to be gained from thinking about how the story arc will flow. In this episode, Ley and Leigh put their heads together to plan a hypothetical story as an example of how simply it can be done. However, no author should feel bound to the plan created at the beginning. The hosts also discuss how to plan an use an outline to make the best story possible.
First aired June 25, 2020.
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S11E7 – Time: Maintaining Momentum Through a Story

There are all kinds of four-letter words people consider to be bad. In writing, those four-letter words aren’t the traditional ones most people think about when they hear the phrase. The four-letter words of writing are the difficult topics to consider, write about, or simply just to do. None of the words are bad, but can be frightening for new authors or authors unfamiliar with certain topics. They are all something that needs to be addressed, at least, and decisions made on how to use them to the author’s advantage. Through June, this podcast will be breaking down those difficult words, such as edit, time, LGBT, and best.
Time is an elusive subject for many writers. It can be difficult to know exactly how to make time feel like it’s passing in a story without listing it out. Momentum is also difficult to maintain if the story is spread out over a long period of time. This episode details some of the ways to maintain momentum and mark the passing of time, such as using the ticking clock method, to make sure a story keeps moving and readers stay interested.
First aired June 22, 2020.
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S11E6 – Edit: Why Editing is Essential for the Business of Publishing

There are all kinds of four-letter words people consider to be bad. In writing, those four-letter words aren’t the traditional ones most people think about when they hear the phrase. The four-letter words of writing are the difficult topics to consider, write about, or simply just to do. None of the words are bad, but can be frightening for new authors or authors unfamiliar with certain topics. They are all something that needs to be addressed, at least, and decisions made on how to use them to the author’s advantage. Through June, this podcast will be breaking down those difficult words, such as edit, time, LGBT, and best.
Self-published books have long had a bad name. It was first seen as the route taken by those whose books no publisher wanted. With the advent of sites like Amazon, it soon became an easy route for thousands of aspiring authors to get their stories out there without going through the hassle of traditional publishing. However, that also meant many of those authors skipped the editing phase. Too many go from first draft directly to eBook. This is a huge problem and has driven many people away from wanting to read any self-published works. This episode is designed to talk about why all authors should take the time to edit.
First aired June 18, 2020.
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S11E5 – Stop: Making the Decision to Abandon or Pause a Story

There are all kinds of four-letter words people consider to be bad. In writing, those four-letter words aren’t the traditional ones most people think about when they hear the phrase. The four-letter words of writing are the difficult topics to consider, write about, or simply just to do. None of the words are bad, but can be frightening for new authors or authors unfamiliar with certain topics. They are all something that needs to be addressed, at least, and decisions made on how to use them to the author’s advantage. Through June, this podcast will be breaking down those difficult words, such as edit, time, LGBT, and best.
It’s not uncommon for writers to hit a point in their work where ideas are slowing and interest is fleeting. Each author deals with these times differently, with some choosing to keep plowing through and others putting aside the work entirely. Neither decision is wrong, but there are things to consider before deciding to set aside a manuscript temporarily or permanently. This episode is designed for authors who are struggling to make the decision between making the process feel like a burden and giving up on something they once loved.
First aired June 15, 2020.
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