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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 Write A Book Marketing Plan In 13 Easy Steps – Part 1

It couldn’t be simpler – if you want your book to be successful, the hard work happens before the book launch. Yes, you could wait until the day of launch, but you might be scratching your head in bewilderment – why didn’t all those sales...

Should You Market With Amazon KDP Select?

Nowadays, many authors have the choice to self-publish across various platforms. Although many traditional publishers hold the distinction of being better prepared than their other publishing counterparts, a lot of readers are gravitating towards other markets. Many indie publishers are popping up, ready to publish...

Paid Book Promotion: Is It Really Worth It?

Nowadays, with the increasing plethora of self-published books gracing Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and any other sales platform you could think of, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. And with some of the more popular genres such as horror, fantasy, and...

Top 4 Book Promotional Sites

Book promotional sites are an excellent way to stand out from the crowd. Whether it be through free or paid services, there’s no doubt that these sites have an important place in the book marketing industry, especially when authors are writing in competitive genres like...

How to Start a Podcast!

Creating a podcast to market your genre is a great marketing technique. Anchor.com provides easy access to the podcast world. It can record from a phone or computer, and suprisingly does have great sound quality. Otherwise, the technical devices such as a microphone and software...

Paid Book Promotion: Is It Worth It?

Nowadays, with the huge plethora of self-published books filling Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and any other market you could think of, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. And with some of the more popular genres such as horror, fantasy, and romance,...

Useful Marketing Terms Explained

If you are trying to market your novel, the whole process can be a minefield. There are so many marketing terms that experienced marketers assume you understand. So I thought I would compile a comprehensive list of the most common terms used. You will soon...

A Logline Needs Conflict

If your logline does not mention a main conflict, then it must be presumed it is because it does not have one. If a publisher is sent your logline and there is no mention of a conflict, then he will come to that conclusion also....

Learn To Market Yourself

Too many writers focus on becoming a successful author, in comparison to the hard work that actually goes into completing a well structured and compelling manuscript. It is vital to understand that the process is a very long and gradual one. Ask any famous novelist about...

Simple Ways to Increase Your Chance In A Fish Eat Fish World

Be Uniform. Be uniform in your writing. Readers like to notice author's patterns. Use the same hashtag in every single blog post, Facebook shout-out, and Twitter shout-out. Use the same author image in all of your social media outlets, and the same symbol to represent your work. Be Professional. I...