Author Services
Author Articles
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...
Are Bookstores Still Relevant?
One of the developments that caused an instant negative reaction from people in the publishing industry is the introduction of eReaders. Millions of readers protested, claiming that they like the smell of books, their weight in the hand, and the familiar gesture of flipping through...
The Business Of Author Exploitation
If you are on the outside looking in, you might be thinking how writing is a glamorous occupation. However, most people who depict the writing profession leave out some important bits about what writers face. Think liver failure, carpal tunnel syndrome, madness, and penury. So,...
Do Traditionally Published Authors Work Harder Than Indie Authors?
According to bestselling author Sue Grafton, authors should not worry about the process of getting published. Grafton believes that if an author has a good story, then he only needs to worry about writing it. If it is a good one, the universe will automatically...
Five Publishing Predictions
The publishing industry is full of surprises and many authors, readers, and publishers can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them. Anything can happen in publishing but there are some changes that can be reasonably predicted based on the trends of...
What The Mega-Merger Between Penguin And Random House Means
In July 2013, two of the world’s biggest publishing houses came together in a merger that created ripples all over the global publishing industry. The two companies, Penguin and Random House, joined to create a mega publisher called Penguin Random House. The new publishing giant...
Is Self-Publishing Success A Myth?
According to John Kremer, book promotion guru, the works of self-published authors could be used to stock an incredible book store or superb college library. Kremer proceeded to name 52 writers who decided to self-publish their books. Among the names mentioned by Kremer are: Mark...
Is New Adult Fiction The Next Publishing Breakthrough?
Although new adult fiction was first proposed in 2009, it is making headlines now a lot more than it did then. More publishers are recognizing that new adult fiction deserves to be on a category of its own. Since the category was introduced, many people...
Young Adult And Adult Audiences: How To Appeal To The Masses
There is ALWAYS a primary audience. Even when an author wants to write a book with mass appeal, the author must know that there is always a primary target market. Usually when a book targets young adults, it is more readily bought by adults as well....
Writing For The Market: What’s The Importance (If Any)?
Regardless of whether an author is writing to cater to the needs of an existing audience or to carve out a niche for himself, he is bound to have many questions. Authors have a hard time understanding genres and sub genres. When agents change their...
How to Approach Non-fiction Book Publishers
So you have written your non-fiction book and you feel ready to have it published - what is the next step? How do you go about getting it published? One really good piece of information is that many book publishers of non-fiction will accept an author...