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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...

Useful Websites and Resources in Your Search for a Publishing Deal

Before you publish your books, there are important factors that you need to consider, such as the services of publishing companies, your marketing strategies, your agent-hunting techniques, and some other related things. That’s why you need to know where to look for information. You also need to learn about things related to publishing a book, like the qualities that lead to success. Therefore, you need to have access to websites and resources that provide reliable facts about publishing.

Well, to make things much simpler for you, here’s a list of websites and resources that can serve as your guide in publishing your work:

P&E Website

Preditors & Editors keeps a list of reputable literary agents. Interestingly, it also keeps a record of publishing firms that aren’t so reputable. The information the site provides is up to date and is good for writers who are trying to learn about the best literary services. Although this website does not keep track of agents’ addresses, it presents truthful information about the affiliations of those agents. This will give you an accurate idea as to which agent you would want to have a deal with, as well as which ones are questionable.

Publisher’s Marketplace

One of the most trusted resources for writers, Publisher’s Marketplace offers a massive collection of publishing-related information to its subscribers. It offers information about which agents have the highest sales. It also gives insights on the reputations of those agents.

Poets & Writers Magazine

If you want to be updated about the hottest publishing news and the latest contests, as well as read informative articles and check important conference dates, then this magazine is a must-read. By the way, it is important to know the latest news, so that you’re always in the loop when it comes to the various developments in the world of writing.

AgentQuery Connect

AQ Connect is an online community that keeps every writer updated about the most current agent submissions. It also offers tips on how to get an agent to help you in publishing your works. The best thing about this site is that it’s free and yet it offers a vast array of information to all writers who have questions about publishing.

Absolute Write

Just like AQ Connect, Absolute Write has members mostly composed of newbies looking for fresh ideas and current information regarding the publishing industry. It has background-check features that keep everyone up to date when it comes to the newest publishing scams on the internet.

Writing World

If you want to land a publishing deal, then you could get solid advice on how you can launch your writing career or get your books published from this site. New informative articles are posted every week, and there are tips for newbie writers who want to get a good grasp of the most important things about publishing. Information such as publishing rights, contracts and payment issues, copyrights, and plagiarism are discussed in Writing World as well.

All these websites and resources can help jump start your writing career. With the right information and the latest updates about publishing, you are sure to succeed in your quest to become a professional writer.