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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

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)

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...

Social Circles

The social aspect of being an author is a much wider scope than simply posting information and advertisements about your work on social media. Sharing advertisements is important but there are other things a writer can do that will help an author become a better...

Women Writers Dressing Professionally While On A Budget

While some writers have the luxury of dressing in their jammies, there are some who need to dress professionally on occasion or always. In this article, I would like to focus on women writers and the dilemma of finding professional clothes on a budget. Clothing exchange...

About Writer's Retreats

Wouldn’t you just love to get away from the day-to-day humdrum? Maybe a writer's retreat is just what the doctor ordered. A writer's retreat is an option writers with money and without money can do. Whether you are a people person or would rather be alone,...

Book Signings - Are they worth it? And how to survive yours

Your first book signing can be a stressful and intimidating time, but public events like this can be crucial to you as an author. This article is designed to give you some pros and cons of doing book signing events, as well as a few...

When Writers Volunteer

There are benefits volunteering can do for a writer, mentally, physically and spiritually. I can give you a few examples of my own. In the past, I was a volunteer for a religious newspaper as a writer. Doing this made me grow spiritually in my...

Ways For Writers To Broaden Their Horizons

Broadening is all about your horizons, stepping out of your comfort zone completely. I have prepared a simple list for you to browse. Maybe you might choose one or maybe a few. I hope this list helps out. First, find a job totally unrelated to writing....

How to Create an Appealing Author Facebook Page

Despite the recent scandals that continue to cast a negative light on the social media platform, data shows that the number of active users on Facebook has continued to grow. Facebook now serves more than two billion people worldwide, making it the largest social network...

Small Talk Techniques When Networking

As a writer, one of the most nerve-racking things you will have to do is network. But sometimes this simple task can be worse than having a writer's block. Does the thought of small talk at networking events fill you with anxiety? While trying to...

Writers And Day Jobs

As a writer, have you ever been told to get a “real” job? Me too. Have you been ever asked, “You’ve been keeping busy, haven’t you?” Me too. It’s like the word “writer” means that hey, I am lazy, sit on my butt, daydream and...

The Benefits Of Being A Freelance Writer

Working as a freelance writer has so many benefits. Kind of like the smorgasbord of all jobs. You can be a jack of all trades. I have briefly listed what I think are the top bonuses of being a freelance writer.   You are your own boss as...