As an indie author you will have a tool kit. Whether it is for writing, publishing, formatting, or advertising, there are so many ways to do what needs to be done to publish your book. Today we are going to talk about part of the publishing tool kit.
One of the things you’ll be asked when you start publishing a book on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is what keywords and categories you want your book listed in. This is where it comes in really handy to know your genre and other authors you want to target. This is an important step because it tells Amazon where to place your book on their shelves. And you want to be on the right shelf.
Note: When you publish with a publisher, whether they are a small press or a large press, you will never see the KDP dashboard, only the publisher can see it, so you won’t have any control over where they place your books. As a self-published author, not only do you have control, but if your book is not doing well in one category, you can go in and tweak it and put it in another.
How do you find the "right" keywords and categories?
You’re allowed 7 keywords and 2 categories. So, what is the best way to find those categories and keywords?
There are two ways to go about this…
1. You can go to Amazon and type your genre in the search bar.
I did a search for Vampire Urban fantasy. You can see in the screen shot below that along the left side there is a section called Departments. You can click in those departments and look at the books that show up on the main screen. This will help you narrow down your search and find the books and authors that yours would fit in with. By clicking on books you think yours is similar too, you can look at what categories they are placed in.
That’s the hard way…
2. The easy way. You can purchase an app called Publisher Rocket.
It is a one-time purchase of $199.00. If I could only buy two programs to help me publish, this would be one of them. We’ll get to the other in another post. Publisher Rocket takes all the work out of searching for keywords and categories.
I am going to add a bunch of screen shots to show you how easy it is.
Some Definitions
When you open up Rocket this is what you will see. I’m going to go through what each of those items means.
Keyword Search
The name says it all. This is where you would type in your genre and have Rocket generate some of the keywords you can place your book into. But as you can see in the screen shot, it not only gives you the keywords, but allows you to click on Analyze and it will show you a whole bunch of other information.
Competition Analyzer
This one will show you how much other authors are making in the specific search you typed in. So, I typed in Vampire Urban Fantasy and this is what came up. There was a lot more, but I cropped the picture.
Now if you want to go deeper, I would take the highest ranked and highest selling books and click on them. See what categories they are in, what their blurb looks like, and try to mimic what they are doing.
Category Search
This one will help you find your categories on amazon. It does help to have a basic idea of where you want to start with this one. Screen shot one shows you the front screen before you start digging in.
This second screen shot shows you what happens when you enter a search term. I picked science fiction and fantasy because it is what I write.
Now my book doesn’t fit in all of those categories, mostly the romance, so I wouldn't use those, but I would go through this list and find the best ones that fit my book.
AMS Keyword Search
This the section you would use when you are running AMS ads through Amazon. Once again, some great information in here. It gives you the titles, authors, AISN numbers, and the ability to export all of this into a spreadsheet to use for your ads.
I come to this section often to get new keywords for ads.
Final Thought
I am not trying to sell Publisher Rocket, but like I said it is one of my favorite tools. If you enjoy research, then you can skip Rocket and do all the same in the Amazon search bar. You will not get all the sales information, but you can get everything you need to set up your keywords and categories.
Note: Amazon says you can only have two categories on KDP, but if you email Amazon with a list of other categories you would like your book to be placed in, they will add up to six more.
This seems like a lot of information, so I am going to end this post here and take a nap.
Are there any other authors out there who have some other handy tips and tricks to help find categories and keywords? Please share them down in the comments!
About Jenn
Sass. Snark. Supernatural Sizzle.
Award winning author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Vampires, Greek gods, and a bit of Demon Destroyer fun for everyone.
Jenn Windrow loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast-paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two teenagers, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims.
World-building is often seen as something exclusive to fantasy or sci-fi, but in Young Adult (YA) fiction, it’s essential for every genre. From gritty contemporary urban settings to imaginative adventure worlds, every YA book needs to immerse its readers into a believable reality. A reality based on a teen's world view, whether that’s in a high school, a fantastical kingdom, or a futuristic city.
In part two of this YA writing series, let’s dive into examples from some popular YA novels and break down how they build their worlds. Want to read about YA characterizations? Read part one of this series here.
Worldbuilding examples for YA Writers
1. Reflect Social Structures Through Setting
In contemporary settings, the world teens inhabit often revolves around school and social dynamics. Like in One of Us is Next, the high school environment can be a breeding ground for tension and secrets. In this novel, the high school becomes a world of its own, with social politics and the tension of constantly being watched. See how these descriptive examples about the book’s setting bring the suspense?
“The school is full of secrets, and everyone’s trying to figure out everyone else’s. It’s like a live-action mystery game.”
“There’s an unspoken rule at Bayview High: if you’re not part of the in-crowd, you’re invisible.”
“The cafeteria’s like a chessboard, where every move—who you sit with, who you talk to—has consequences.”
Social hierarchies are integral to YA contemporary stories and writers can use this to heighten the tension in their stories. When you create contemporary worlds, one option is to use the school setting as a microcosm. The high school setting can become a character itself, filled with unspoken rules and hidden motives. Reflect the social pressures and hidden drama teens experience, whether it’s academic stress, cliques, or one’s reputation.
Try it:
Map Out Social Landscapes: Define the cliques, rivalries, and hierarchies that shape your characters' world. These structures can influence how characters act and interact.
Build Hidden Tensions into the Setting: Use locations (like jungle-like cafeterias or narrow, student-filled hallways) to symbolize unspoken rules or power struggles.
Turn the Setting into a Character: Make the high school, neighborhood, or city an active participant in the plot, with rules and dynamics that influence the characters’ decisions.
Use Public vs. Private Spaces: Highlight how characters behave differently in private (home, quiet corners) vs. public (school, social events) spaces.
2. Let Emotions Shape the World Around Your Characters
In All The Bright Places, Jennifer Niven uses physical locations to mirror the emotional states of her characters. The world feels simultaneously beautiful and heavy, creating an affecting backdrop to Finch and Violet’s emotional journey.
“The top of the Ferris wheel was a different world, where everything below looked like a miniature model, and for a moment, the pain of life seemed distant.”
“The back of the library is a sanctuary of forgotten stories and hidden dreams, a place where time feels suspended.”
“In the middle of the river, we are weightless, like we’re floating above everything that’s trying to drown us.”
The settings reflect the characters’ emotional landscapes—places of both escape and suffocation, reflecting their internal struggles. This not only grounds readers in a vivid, relatable place but also adds an emotional depth that makes the setting resonate long after the story ends. Whether it’s a sanctuary or a place of tension, let the world mirror the inner lives of your characters.
Try it:
Match Mood with Setting: If your character is feeling overwhelmed, describe their surroundings as oppressive or claustrophobic. If they’re feeling hopeful, open up the setting—wide horizons, airy spaces.
Emphasize Shifts in the World: Let the character’s emotional journey affect how they perceive familiar spaces—what once felt safe may become threatening as their feelings evolve.
Use Physical Landmarks to Reflect Change: A character’s evolving relationship with a specific location (a treehouse in their backyard, Grandma’s kitchen, or museum once visited) can show their emotional growth or descent.
Weave in Nature or Weather: Use changes in weather or nature to symbolize internal conflict or peace.
3. Engage the Senses to Deepen World-Building
In I’ll Give You the Sun, the world is experienced through the characters' artistic eyes. This makes the setting feel like living, breathing canvases. Sensory details make a setting immersive and emotionally charged. Jandy Nelson’s novel stands out in contemporary YA novels because the setting feels like a piece of art, building not just a physical space but an emotional one.
“The world is a canvas, and we’re just splashes of color trying to make sense of the chaos.”
“Every corner of the house has its own story, like a gallery of our lives and memories.”
“The beach is endless, stretching toward an ocean that’s both wild and serene, just like us.”
Nelson creates a vibrant, sensory experience for the reader. The world is full of color, sound, and feeling, making it resonate and linger with readers. Think beyond just physical description—layer in sensory details to make your world feel alive. This is especially effective if your character sees the world through a unique lens, like an artist or musician.
Try it:
Describe More Than Just What’s Seen: Include sounds, textures, and smells to make a setting come alive for the reader. How does the world feel against the character’s skin? What does the air taste like?
Use Artistic Language When It Fits: If your character has a creative background, let that influence how they perceive the world. A painter might notice colors and light, while a musician might be attuned to sounds.
Make Settings Reflect Creativity or Despair: Show how the state of the world (organized vs. chaotic, vibrant vs. dull) reflects your characters’ internal state, especially in emotionally charged moments.
Balance Detail with Action: Ensure sensory details don’t slow the pacing—let them heighten the world without overshadowing the story.
4. Use Contrasts to Add Depth to Your World
In Shadow and Bone, Bardugo’s fantasy world is rich with contrasts—between wealth and poverty, light and dark, for example. Leigh Bardugo’s book introduces a rich fantasy world where contrasts in the setting reflect the larger conflict within the story. These contrasts create tension and reveal underlying themes.
“The Shadow Fold was a place where the sun’s light was swallowed by darkness, and monsters prowled the empty, blackened land.”
“Ravka is a country of contrasts, where the opulence of the capital city stands in stark contrast to the poverty of the outskirts.”
“The Little Palace was a thing of beauty, gleaming with golden domes, while the rest of the kingdom seemed to crumble under the weight of its own despair.”
In Shadow and Bone, the stark contrasts in the setting reflect the tensions between characters, highlighting divisions of class, power, and danger. Fantasy, dystopian, or even contemporary settings can benefit from placing stark differences side by side. This sets up a world that feels real, full of tension and high stakes. Use contrasts in your world-building to reflect the themes of your story.
Try it:
Highlight Class Divisions: In dystopian or fantasy worlds, sharp differences in wealth, power, and status can be reflected in the settings—luxurious castles vs. run-down villages.
Contrast Light and Dark: Symbolize hope and despair through physical spaces—bright, open areas for safety or optimism; dark, confined places for danger or fear.
Create Geographical Opposites: Use contrasting locations to deepen the world, such as cold, distant mountains versus warm, bustling cities, to reflect opposing forces or ideologies.
Layer Social Conflict into the Setting: Let the geography itself serve as a battleground for conflicting values—urban vs. rural, rich vs. poor, controlled vs. wild.
5. Make Future Worlds Feel Relevant to Today
In Burning Bright, futuristic world-building is grounded in themes and issues relevant to the present. Think of present day themes important to us today, such as technological advancements and environmental change. Alexa Donne’s Burning Bright uses futuristic settings to offer a glimpse into a possible future that still feels grounded in the present.
“The floating city is a marvel of technology, suspended in the sky like a beacon of hope and innovation.”
“The remnants of Earth’s past are scattered like relics, and the new world we’ve built is a testament to our resilience and ambition.”
“The artificial sun bathed the city in light, but beyond its glow lay the darkness of an uninhabitable world.”
The setting is awe-inspiring but rooted in concerns we face today, like sustainability, innovation, and survival. This makes the world relatable, even if it’s set in the far future. If you’re writing futuristic or sci-fi settings, tie them back to current concerns. This not only grounds your world but makes it easier for readers to connect emotionally.
Try it:
Link to Current Global Concerns: Base your futuristic world on today’s real-world problems, like climate change or societal inequality, so readers can draw connections.
Show the Evolution of Today’s Tech: Incorporate familiar technology that’s advanced, but recognizable—drones, AI, or environmental tech—to make your futuristic world relatable to the needs humans have and predictably would have in the future.
Demonstrate Human Adaptation: Show how humans in your world have evolved to survive (mentally, physically, or culturally) in a new environment.
Highlight Cultural Continuity: Even in a futuristic setting, include remnants of today’s culture to ground the reader—traditions, pop culture, or language changes.
Effective world-building in YA fiction is about more than just creating a backdrop. It’s about immersing readers in a space that feels as dynamic and complex as your characters’ emotional lives. Remember to let your setting shape the story just as much as your characters do!
Resource List - YA Novels List
The books used in this deep dive in YA series were chosen based on popularity with students (determined by how often they were checked out and how many copies were in circulation). These titles are all within the YA bounds primarily because of the main character's age, but also for the themes, topics, and other important aspects of Young Adult writing. See the details below for each novel.
Title
author
year pub
genre (ya)
One of Us is Next
Karen M. McManus
2020
MTS
All The Bright Places
Jennifer Niven
2015
contemporary YA
I'll Give You the Sun
Jandy Nelson
2014
contemporary YA
Shadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo
2012
Fantasy
Burning Bright
Alexa Donne
2018
Sci-fi, gothic mystery, romance
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
Jennifer De Leon
2020
Contemporary YA
The Last True Poets of the Sea
Julia Drake
2019
Romance
Just Listen
Sarah Dessen
2006
Contemporary YA
The Mary Shelley Club
Goldy Moldavsky
2021
horror, mystery, romance
Gravity
Sarah Deming
2019
sports novel, contemporary
A Girl Named Disaster
Nancy Farmer
1996
coming-of-age, survival fiction
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Patrick Ness
2008
Sci-fi
Creating Worlds That Teens Want to Live In (Or Escape From)
World-building in YA is about more than just describing a place—it’s about creating an environment that feels as emotionally rich and complicated as the characters themselves. Whether you’re crafting a dystopian society, a fantastical kingdom, or a high school filled with secrets, your world should be vivid, immersive, and reflective of your story’s deeper themes. Keep these examples in mind as you create your next YA masterpiece, and let your setting become a character in its own right!
About Kris
Kris Maze is an author, writing coach, and teacher. She has worked in education for many years and writes for various publications, including Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish and the award-winning blog Writers in the Storm where she is also a host. You can find her horror stories and young adult writing on her website. Keep up with future projects and events by subscribing to her newsletter.
Find her newest collection of spooky stories HERE .
A recovering grammarian and hopeless wanderer, Kris enjoys reading, playing violin and piano, and spending time outdoors. And sometimes she chaperones a Homecoming dance.
There are times when a piece of writing moves us at a deep level.
This writing, poetic prose, is a combination of sound, rhythm, and sense imagery that pierces the heart.
Rhythm
Composing poetic prose isn’t only about imagery and word usage. The rhythm of a piece is equally important.
Sentence length, internal rhymes, syllables, assonance, and alliteration all affect rhythm.
Sentence length and syllable balance
The sentence length and the number of syllables can vary the way a reader paces a paragraph or stanza in their mind.
Long, breezy sentences may impart a feeling of peacefulness.
Short, choppy sentences send a sense of urgency.
Your word choice and sentence length contribute to the pacing and mood.
Reading your work aloud helps you have a clearer feel for the pacing of your writing.
Example:
“I took a breath. The rippled concrete poked my bare feet. I grasped the ladder and grit my teeth. The crowd hushed as I stepped onto the diving board.”
“I took a breath and focused on the rippled concrete poking at my bare feet before grasping the ladder and pulling myself onto the diving board.”
Both examples are of the same event, but the pacing is different.
Alliteration, assonance, and rhymes, oh my!
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of alliteration is “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Alliteration is the use of the same consonant sounds in consecutive words or syllables at the beginning of a word.
Example:
All the characters in my children’s chapter books have alliterative names. This was purely accidental, or perhaps a gift from the muse. Frankie Fish, Gary Gecko, Boris Bunny … Boris happens to be a bully, by the way.
Alliteration in popular culture:
Best Buy
Door Dash
American Airlines
Frosted Flakes
Weight Watchers
Fantastic Four
Krispy Kreme
House Hunters
Assonance uses the repetition of similar vowel sounds in two or more words close to each other within a line of writing. Internal vowel sounds are often repeated in words that don’t have the same ending. This helps the writer stress important words while setting the mood and creating a sense of rhythm.
Example:
In John Updike’s poem, Player Piano the line “never my numb plunker fumbles” is a great contrast to the poem’s title. Clunky, not melodic.
Everyday assonance phrases:
Son of a gun
Dumb luck
See you later, alligator
Chips and dip
Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite
Winner, winner, chicken dinner
Motion of the ocean
Keep your eyes on the prize
Rhythm is measured motion, based on patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables and sounds. Writers use rhythm to control what syllables are stressed in their work, creating feelings of varying movements in the writing—almost musical.
Example:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Psalm of Life uses a pattern where the first syllable is stressed, and the second syllable is not.
“Tell me not, in mournful numbers”
Here is a delightful excerpt from Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery. This piece of writing nearly sings!
“A great, pulsating star hung low in the sky over Indian Head. Emily gazed on it and recalled Teddy’s old fancy of his previous existence in a star. The idea seized on her imagination and she spun a dream-life, lived in some happy planet circling round that mighty, far-off sun. Then came the northern lights—drifts of pale fire over the sky—spears of light, as of empyrean armies—pale, elusive hosts retreating and advancing. Emily lay and watched them in rapture. Her soul was washed pure in that great bath of splendour. She was a high priestess of loveliness assisting at the divine rites of her worship—and she knew her goddess smiled.”
Final thoughts
Here are some exercises to help write poetic prose:
Flip through the Norton Anthology for opening lines that interest you. Choose a line whose theme matches what you want to write next. Use that line as a quote to jumpstart your writing.
Scan anthologies for poems that use the word voice or include the sense of sound. Find the musical feel that you can use as a model in your prose.
Peruse poems for first/last lines and titles. Look for the unity of these three elements. How do they connect and how can you use this in prose?
The sparing use of the literary elements—alliteration, assonance, and rhymes—in prose can make it musical. Poetic. Too much might be distracting, but don’t shy away from playing with word sounds.
Do you add elements of poetry to your prose? What would you add to the lists for everyday assonance an alliteration in popular culture?
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About Ellen
Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.
