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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...

How to Submit Your Manuscript

In writing a book, the struggles that you have to face as a writer are divided into parts: the first has to do with the actual writing process itself, while the other has to do with having your final manuscript published. Both entail time and...

How To Best Approach a Literary Agent?

If you are serious about having your manuscript published, one of the best ways to go about it is by getting the services of a literary agent. Although you can either elect to submit your manuscript to different publishers on your own or simply choose...

The Benefits of a Literary Agent

So, after long sleepless nights and tremendous hard work, you have finally finished your manuscript. You think it's ready for publication, preferably by a major publishing company. What do you do now? The first and most practical thing is to get a literary agent. Although you...

Why You Should Consider a Literary Agent When You Self-Publish

Literary agents act as the middlemen between you, an unknown writer, and the major publishers. The agents have contacts in the publishing world to help you get published and to get your book sold. They are the ones who will negotiate publishing agreements, sell sub-rights...

If You Self-Publish Do You Need a Literary Agent?

If you are planning to self-publish your book digitally, the quick answer to this question is no. However, if you want your book to be published in a traditional publishing house, it will be hard for you if you do it on your own. You...

How Do Literary Agents Fit Into the World of Self-Publishing?

During the early days of self-publishing, book authors felt that they didn’t need literary agents. Even at present, there are lots of self-published authors that prefer to release their books on their own, because they don’t have the budget to pay the fees if they...

Four Sure-fire Tips on Finding a Good Literary Agent

Publishing agents, also known as literary agents, are professionals who send authors’ literary compositions to different editors. If the editors like what they read, the agents will negotiate contracts that will allow publishers to print and distribute works written by authors. For aspiring writers who want to...

Agents/Publishers 101

Most of the time, the act of writing is a solitary exercise. For many writers, the writing process is a way of getting in touch with their thoughts and ideas, weaving all these things together into a single, cohesive whole. But once they're done with...

Why Some Authors Choose Not to Have an Agent/Publisher

Many, if not all, writers dream of having their written works published. Having your book picked up for publication and distribution, preferably by a major publishing outfit, is a great way to have all your hard work and sacrifice validated. There's also the glory of...

Do You Need an Agent/Publisher?

For many writers, having an agent or a publisher is very important in having their works published. In fact, for these writers, the completion of a manuscript is almost always followed by the search for a literary agent to represent them or for a publisher...