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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...

What Writing Style Do You Have?

For writers, it is important that they find their own style in writing. Without a specific style, it will be harder for them to create their work and find a genre that they will love. In this post, you will learn about the different variations of writing styles and their advantages so you will know which ones suit you best.

1. The Florid Author. If you enjoy using a formal tone of language whenever you write, then you must be a florid author. These people use flowery types of words that are commonly used by literary novelists and poets. Flowery diction is best paired with a formal tone.

Florid authors usually aim to win prestigious awards. To learn more about this style, read the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Eliot, and Edgar Allan Poe.

2. The Descriptive Type. This type of author knows how to create good mental images by just weaving words together. They can paint detailed descriptions of landscapes, weather, and various types of surroundings using similes and metaphors. The characters always come alive because their personalities and appearances are finely crafted.

Just check out Charles Dickens’ works like Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield. Because of fine use of adjectives, he was able to paint the pain and anguish of marginalized people who were looked down on by society.

3. The Journalist. These writers use very clear and concise sentences when they create a story. Although they do not use flashy or flowery words, their advantage is that they deliver their messages straight to the point, making it easier for readers to digest the information.

In addition, their strength lies not in the quality of the words that they use, but by the message they are trying to say. Eric Arthur Blair, more commonly known by pen name George Orwell, was able to show his strong opinions about fascism and communism using simple words.

This type of writing style is perfect for writing news. In fiction, this is effective when your characters need to express their opinions or explain about heavy topics like politics.

4. The Technical Writer. As the name implies, you are an expert writer who uses esoteric and technical words that will make your readers grab the nearest dictionary. Although you use these difficult words, you are still beloved by readers because you can write a compelling story. Novelists who are popular with the use of obscure language are Vladimir Nabokov and Zadie Smith. You should read their works if you want to improve your style. Genres like science fiction and fantasy will definitely suit you because jargon is usually found in those works.

To wrap things up

Every writer has his or her own style of weaving words. But no matter what style you have, you can always shine as long as you know how to develop your craft. If you are still not comfortable with the style that you have, keep writing every day and try various writing methods. Once you have found it, read the works of other people who use the same techniques and learn to create your own masterpieces.