Writing Roots

News releases (often called press releases) are an old way of advertising books, but they can still have some worth even in today’s world. It’s definitely not the route for everyone, but knowing the purpose of news releases for you marketing efforts can help you make the decision whether or not you should put in that effort.

Media releases are designed to get journalists talking about your books before the release, and therefore their viewers or readers. Your goal in writing one is to do half of the journalist’s job. They’re more likely to pick it up that way. That means you need to know not only your audience, but the journalist and their audience.

We break down the use of news releases and how to write one in this episode. Listen today on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.

The post S29E5 – The Purpose and Value of News Releases appeared first on Writing Roots.

Staying connected with your readers is an important part of any marketing efforts. They need to know what you’re doing and what you have planned. It helps build anticipation and desire. The more people you have actively following your progress, the more sales you will have when the book launches. One way to stay connected is through newsletters.

Most authors these days – most companies, for that matter – have newsletters they send to their subscribers. For businesses, they’re often sales notifications, coupons, or announcements for new items. For authors, the newsletters include progress on books they’re writing or working towards publishing, important dates (such as for events and book releases), and even access to free short stories.

Having a newsletter is one thing, but building a subscription base for one is entirely different. It can be an uphill battle to get the numbers you want. Then you have to keep them. Listen to this episode for more about how to create newsletters, what should be in them, and how to gain and retain an audience.

First aired February 14, 2022.

The post S29E4 – Marketing Books Through Newsletters appeared first on Writing Roots.

An author website may seem a bit archaic when compared to social media, but they are still essential in the process of marketing. A website helps lend credibility and gives you a place to not only show your work, but your style to the world. It can draw readers in and keep them connected. Not every site is equal, though. It takes real work and effort to keep one running and effective.

In this episode, we take a look at the basics of building a website. This includes focusing it on you as the author, having a page dedicated to each of your books, and making the perfect home page.

First aired February 10, 2022.

If you would like the full version of this episode, send us a request through email, Facebook, or Instagram.

The post S29E3 – Building an Effective Author Website appeared first on Writing Roots.

Knowing what it takes for a consumer to buy a product is the key to marketing. It’s more than just fulfilling a need or want – there are lots of products out there that do the same thing, after all. When you go to market a book, you need to know what the reader expects and what it takes for them to decide to purchase.

First, every reader has a quota for the number of times they need to see or hear about a book before they read it. It changes based on genre and the reader’s personal interests and demands. Some quotas are smaller with books from known authors, or even for books with pretty covers. Other quotas are insurmountably high, such as when the book is outside the reader’s preferred genres (you’ll never catch Ley reading a romance novel).

The other thing you need to know is about the AIDA funnel. This is what people either enter or fall out of when looking at a potential product. Listen to this episode for a breakdown of the funnel, and what it means for your marketing efforts.

First aired February 7, 2022.

The post S29E2 – About the AIDA Funnel appeared first on Writing Roots.

Marketing your self-published book is a pain. For one, it’s completely up to you. Yes, you can hire and pay people to help you, but you don’t have a publishing company to front those costs or give you any guidance. Getting your book into the world is entirely reliant on the decisions you make. Unfortunately, a lot of new authors don’t know how to market, so they end up wasting a ton of money.

The key to marketing correctly is knowing how to wisely use your budget. For one, you don’t want to market to everyone. Not everyone will want to read your book. It means finding who will want to read your book, and making sure they know about it.

Listen to this episode for tips and tricks on how to avoid wasting money while trying to market your book.

First aired February 3, 2022.

Throughout February, we will be talking about marketing your books. This is a companion series to Marketing Your Writing, and will dive into more topics to help you learn the best practices for selling books.

The post S29E1 – How to Waste Money on Marketing appeared first on Writing Roots.

Actually finishing a piece of fiction, especially something of novel length, is a great accomplishment. Many writers start out with grand ideas, but the inspiration eventually falters. They stop writing because the ideas aren’t there anymore. The book is never finished. That is why it’s important to build a habit of finishing your stories. Not just writing to “The End,” but to stop editing and making constant changes.

Leigh has often said that finishing Toxic opened the floodgates for the rest of her books. It helped her realize she had both the motivation and ability to write an entire book, if only she would stop waiting around for inspiration to strike.

In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss habits you can build throughout your writing journey that can help you do what many writers have failed: finish writing a novel. These include things like setting deadlines, and creating a checklist so you can know when it’s time to hand your book over to someone else, such as an editor or your readers.

First aired January 31, 2022.

The post S28E9 – The Habit of Finishing Your Work appeared first on Writing Roots.

Inspiration is a tricky thing when it comes to relying on it to write an entire novel. It is wonderful for sparking the ideas and for driving us during those exciting scenes, but it is not reliable. Inspiration comes and goes.

Or does it?

There are ways you can help yourself stay inspired. Start now by getting into the habit. It can be anything from setting up your environment to using smell or flavor to help remind yourself of those times you were inspired. In this episode, we discuss habits you can pick up to make sure the faucet of inspiration stays running as you set down to begin writing.

First aired January 29, 2022.

The post S28BE – Staying Inspired During the Writing Process appeared first on Writing Roots.

One of the best habits any author can get into is to make a habit of using our resources. There are so many things around that can help you improve, from specific advice from experts in fields you’re writing about to craft books by well-known authors.

It’s not just about having these resources, though. You must use them. How often have you gotten a book that will help you learn something, and it ends up sitting on the shelf or your nightstand for months? If you really want to get serious about your writing, you must make the conscious decision to learn, to explore, and to stretch your mind to improve every day.

In this episode, we talk about some of our favorite resources, our reader’s favorite resources, and the kinds of places you can go to learn in your writing journey.

First aired January 27, 2022.

Recommended Books:

Recommended Websites:

The post S28E8 – The Best Resources for Your Writing appeared first on Writing Roots.

One of the best habits you can get into to improve your writing is to learn from the writing and storytelling of others. We don’t want to take the fun out of consuming stories, but we do recommend taking time to think about it. Think about what you like, what you don’t like, how you would change aspects to make it better.

Once yo figure out how to do this with other media, you can then take it to improve your own writing. Listen to this episode for more tips and tricks to learn from consuming stories, and how make it a habit.

First aired January 24, 2022.

The post S28E7 – Learning While Consuming Stories appeared first on Writing Roots.

Though the process of actually writing is often a solitary activity, it’s not something we can take on alone easily. We need support, encouragement, and people around who know our struggles. This is why finding and participating in a writing community is a healthy writing habit.

Including other people in your writing process can give you different perspectives, a sounding board for ideas, and provide knowledge you might not have alone. They also don’t know your story, so they can bring a fresh view. On top of that, having fellow writers in a community means having people you can talk with to sift ideas, get past writer’s block, and provide accountability.

In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss the benefits of having writing friends, their own experiences, and how you can find and build one of your own.

First aired January 20, 2022.

The post S28E6 – Building a Writing Community appeared first on Writing Roots.