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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...

Costly Marketing Mistakes That Authors Make

Marketing a book is something that authors should take seriously if they want to enjoy great sales. Navigating the publishing industry is like walking through a mine field and authors must be careful because simple mistakes can lead to the failure of their marketing plans....

How Publicity Fits Into the Book Marketing Picture

Authors who decide to market their own books often think that certain aspects of their marketing strategies are more important than others. Authors have all sorts of ideas about the things that they should do to successfully market their books. Some authors focus on making...

Ways to Promote a Book on a Budget

Some people believe that 10% quality and 90% marketing is the ideal combination for the success of a book. Independent authors usually don’t have the marketing budgets that traditionally published authors have. Chances are that after an author pays for professional editing, printing, and book design, he doesn’t have much...