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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...
Who are Gatekeepers? Why are They Important for Publicity-Seeking Writers?
If you want to publicize your story or book you may need to work with gatekeepers. They are agents, web editors, bloggers, podcasters, or anyone with the authority to say “I’ll represent this author,” or “I’ll give this writer some publicity on my web site,”...
Why and How to Freelance for Your Local Newspaper
Freelance writing for small local newspapers is an excellent way to break into the writing business. Most every small paper uses freelancers for a logical reason—they cost less than employees. Newspapers often call freelance writers stringers, and they’re not employees; they're independent contractors. Generally, stringers develop...
Which Was My Best-Selling Channel? An Analysis of 10 Years of Book Selling
After laboring for days, weeks, months, or sometimes even years, the book is finally written and published, and it is actually on sale. One way for an author to get some financial reward for all the time and effort spent on the book is to...
The “Don’ts” of Writing Media Releases
Media releases are promotional tools and are an excellent way to tell the mass media about your book. They’re not difficult to write but must not violate certain rules. As a journalist, I received and acted on thousands of releases. I can tell you that certain...
Can Publishing Short Stories Sell More Books?
We, as writers, all know that books won’t sell themselves. We have to work extra hard at promoting our writing, sometimes harder than the actual writing itself. Why? Because there’s so much competition out there. Just visit a used bookstore and browse the massive collections...
Get Free Publicity By Writing a Media Release
Marketing your book can cost thousands of dollars. But there’s one way to attain publicity at no charge—write a media release. A media release is a promotional tool. Releases attempt to get mass media to take positive action on behalf of their sender—in this case helping...
How To Market Your Book
Your book is finally done: written, edited (many times over), and published. Now what? There was a time when the traditional publisher would take the reins and lead the book (and its author) to success by arranging book tours: signings, readings, etc. Not so much...
Finding Your Writing Niche
Sometimes, finding your writing niche can be elusive and difficult. We all grab the opportunity at any writing chance we can get, even if we know little about the subject. Writing about anything can be great, but it will drain you in the long run. It’s...
Resume Tips for Writers (Part 2 of 2)
3) Include these areas in your resume: a) Your selling points. This answers why you are the best candidate for the position and what you can offer the company. b) A qualifications summary. This presents your career objective and must include your experience in the field if...
Resume Tips for Writers (Part 1 of 2)
Chances are, you’re a newbie writer that’s why you’re reading this. You want to be fully equipped with the necessary know-how in landing your first writing job. Whether you want to take a crack at full-time employment, contractual, or freelancing, a well-constructed resume goes a...