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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...
Creative Literary Campaigns to Develop Interest in Reading
Encouraging literacy among the youth is challenging. Love of reading must be developed during the early stages of childhood. Parents and teachers are encouraged to introduce kids to picture books and reading material during their early stages of learning. However, as they grow older, kids...
The Roots of Poetry in Modern Literary Culture
Poetry in modern literary culture emerged even before the First World War began. It was Virginia Wolf, an English novelist, who declared that the change came about on or before December 1910. The fervent desires of artists to break free from traditions were evident. They...
Keeping Up with Current Trends in Children’s Literature
Even children’s literature is not immune to change. It is not surprising since new writers emerge and societies present new interests and ways of doing things. Changes in children’s literature are aimed to keep kids interested in reading. Television and computers have influenced their interests,...
The Rise in Fan Fiction and Can It Outsell More Traditional Books?
Readers today are contemplating questions about the rise in fan fiction and asking if it can outsell more traditional books. One of the most interesting news items on this subject was the outselling of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series by E.L. James’ 50 Shades Trilogy....
Publishing Predictions for the Future
The book publishing industry continues to change. It is important to know what publishing predictions will hold so that consumers and publishers alike can prepare for different possible outcomes or change any potentially bad predictions to become better for those affected. Big publishers may start to...
What Are the Current Book Publishing Trends?
Book publishing continues to evolve and while that is good, it is also important to answer the question: what are the current book publishing trends? There are a lot and they can vary as time passes, but below are some trends that are worth taking...
Literary Agents’ Perspectives on the New Trend in Young Adult Writing
Young adult writing is taking the world by storm. The growth of young adult writing has become stronger in the past few years. Young adult books are mainly for teenagers as well as pre-teenagers. The ages are usually in the 12 to 18 category. Strangely,...
How Will the Current Trends in the World of Digital Publishing Evolve?
Digital publishing has come a long way. People would argue that going digital is the future of publishing and that print publishing is dying. That is actually not the case. Although there is a small decrease in paperback sales, the digital format has just seen...
When is Reading Fashionable?
Reading is a passion. Too much reading, though, can make you look too nerdy or being a bookworm and may not exactly come off as cool in the eyes of others. The question in many people’s mind today is: “Is reading fashionable?” There are a...
An Indie Taste in the Bestseller Market
Until recently, publishing a book could be extremely difficult. You'd have to deal with the extensive marketing necessary to get your book seen and bought. You'd have to pay for exorbitant printing costs that only become cost-efficient if you print many, many more books than...