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Book Review & Contest Insights from Real Reviews and Submissions

What separates great books from the rest? Below are articles with insights from real reviews and contest submissions—what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your book. You’ll also find a wide range of articles covering writing, publishing, marketing, and more. Each article has a Comments section so you can read advice from other authors and leave your own.

Why Some Books Win Awards (And Most Don’t) — Insights From Real Contest Submissions New!

What separates award-winning books from the rest? After evaluating contest submissions across a wide range of genres, certain patterns become clear. Some books consistently rise to the top. Others, even with strong ideas and clear effort behind them, fall short. The difference is rarely dramatic—it...

What We’ve Learned From Reviewing Hundreds of Thousands of Books (And Why Most Don’t Stand Out) New!

After reviewing and evaluating books across thousands of submissions over the past two decades, certain patterns become impossible to ignore. Some books immediately stand out to reviewers. Others—even well-intentioned ones—fade into the middle or fall short. The difference is rarely luck. It comes down to...

Five Best Social Media Markets for Authors

As wordsmiths living in the digital age, social networks have become important virtual communities that let you broaden your influence and continue to experiment and improve your craft. That is why one needs to find the best platforms for their writing endeavors.

Check out five of the best social media networks that are designed for writers. You may not have heard of all of them, but they are still great because you can gain useful feedback from peers, gain a lot of writing exposure, and evolve as an author.

1. Trigger Street Labs

If you are interested in writing screenplays and television scripts, then this social media network is perfect for you. Trigger Street Labs is a platform for writers and filmmakers to showcase their audio-visual masterpieces. You will receive constructive feedback on your work and gain the latest news in film making and Hollywood. In addition, talent scouts and agents also hang around in this site, getting you closer to your dream of producing a major motion picture.

2. Twitter

This is one of the big leagues in the field of social media. The reason why Twitter is one of the most recommended websites for authors is that it is easier for them to reach out and connect with other people. Hashtags make it simple for readers to locate you. It is also a useful website to learn the different literary trends, news, and helpful tips on the genre you are working in.

3. Google+

The first benefit that Google+ has to offer is that it has a brilliant way to showcase your book covers and you can do it as many times as you want. It is also beneficial for writers who manage blogs. Google+ allows you to post links from your blogs, and you will also get a higher Search Engine Ranking from posts that you add to your Google+ page.

If you want to meet with your readers in real life, there is the Google Hangouts feature for planning your book reading and signing event.

4. Gather

True to its tagline “Fresh Perspective,” Gather offers a voluminous array of information posted by journalists from around the world. Here, you will find millions of users who actively participate in group discussions regarding various topics. It also offers a hub for freelancers to pick up interesting writing gigs.

5. Goodreads

This social media website is a haven for bibliophiles and wordsmiths alike. Goodreads boasts millions of readers, and thousands of groups for every genre that you can think of. Here, you can post book covers, trailers and quotes on your author’s page. Updates about book launches and events can also be shared here.

To wrap things up

These are just some of the highly recommended social media networks for authors. Although all of them are effective, your success will only be determined by how you use them. Study their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, be active in each website so that your online profile will be more visible to other people.

It also helps if you interact with your fellow authors and followers.