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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...
Building Your LGBTQ Genre Marketing Platform
Simply put, a platform is a writer’s capacity to help promote and market his/her own work to potential readers. It’s a writer’s ability to attract a fan base of their own. It’s the writer’s ability to get the book’s message out to the world. Ideally a platform has...
Using Keyword Tools for Your Book
There’s no doubt that SEO techniques are important for marketing books. Not only does it help you narrow your focus on your audience, but it also helps save you time by ensuring you can write your book without the hassles of going through other inefficient...
Marketing a Children’s Picture Book
I remember in elementary school when I first had to write and illustrate a children’s book. I took a concept from one of my older brother’s video games, put it into picture book format, and then subsequently got in trouble for using the word “kill” in the book....
How Blogging Can Help You Market Your Book
Nowadays, many indie publishers expect authors to market their own books. This can present a unique challenge to authors, giving them the opportunity to fine tune their business skills, make connections, foster their self-esteem, and even provide different career opportunities for themselves. Other times, however, marketing...
Why Images Should Be Part Of Your Book Marketing Strategy
We all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Well, that’s true in theory, but practice is another thing entirely. Great images grab attention – you only have to look at social media sites like Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram. If we see...
3 Questions To Ask When Writing Your Book Marketing Plan
Writing a book marketing plan isn’t always the easiest thing to do; you get distracted, you head off in an unnecessary direction and you forget where you are. This is why, when you are trying to build up an online following, you need to have...
Why Podcasting Is The Perfect Book Marketing Tool
There is a strong belief that once television became popular it was the only broadcasting tool there was. Wrong. The radio is as, if not more, popular than it has ever been and, in the same way, creating a podcast to market your book is an amazing way...
Influencer Marketing: Why You Need It And How To Get It
Think about commercial products that you have seen advertised, using celebrities to endorse them. This is called Influencer Marketing and it's all about convincing another person to use their credibility to sell your product – provided they have enough of an audience. Your message will...
How To Write A Book Marketing Plan In 13 Easy Steps – Part 3
Halfway there now, just 6 more steps and you have your book marketing plan. Step 8: Decide on a Book Trailer Are you having one? A decent book trailer can make a huge difference and it will boost your marketing campaign into going viral. First, decide how...
How To Write A Book Marketing Plan In 13 Easy Steps – Part 2
Have you completed step 1? Take your time, get it right and then move on. Step 2: Track Your Audience Down Online I don’t mean stalk them! Look for blogs or forums that your audience may frequent. Find out if there are any associations that they may...