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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...

Developing your Supporting Characters - Part 3

Develop the secondary characters too Supporting characters should not appear from anywhere in the book and then disappear just like that. Even though the main characters appear in more scenes, the supporting characters’ backgrounds should be explored too. If possible, let them appear in every major...

Developing your Supporting Characters - Part 2

Clearly define their role in the work The reason most characters’ stories go on for longer than they should is because the writer has not established a clear reason why they should appear in the story in the first place. The role of the supporting character...

Developing your Supporting Characters - Part 1

Though not commonly spoken or written about, supporting characters are as integral to your book as the main characters are. Even though their role is not central to the plot, supporting characters make the work complete. However, creating secondary characters is not as easy as...

Why Keep a Diary?

Samuel Pepys elevated it into an art form. Anne Frank made it famous. People keep diaries for different reasons, but often, it is rooted in something deep and personal. While many of us keep a diary to keep track of our own affairs, others keep...

Thoughts on Hemingway

Who does not know the name, Ernest Hemingway? The man is a literary fixture whose work has become recommended reading in schools, and his works are easily found in libraries. He is no doubt one of the greatest American writers who ever lived. However, like most...

Writers and an Education

Are you reliable? Do you produce quality work? I feel this is better than a degree. I disagree about needing a degree. Do you have plenty of examples of your work to provide? Make a resume with your portfolio and move your tush onto websites...

Steps to Follow While Writing Your Memoir

Writing your own memoir or a memoir about someone you love is exceptionally difficult. You have to open old wounds or talk about difficult things that can leave you exhausted for days. However, more than that, most authors experience self-doubt about writing their stories and...

Excessive Adverbs and Qualifiers

Most of the time, when we talk of overwriting, it means repetition of scenes, excessive descriptions, narration, and dialogue. In the Elements of Style, Strunk and White advise that concise writing is like a car, that it should never have unnecessary parts. Other than the components...

10 Strategies to Finding a Killer USP – Part 3

Welcome to the final part of my mini-series on finding your killer USP. Step 6 – Creating Personas Anyone who is authentic, who is true to themselves, will not have any competition. You don’t have to believe me though. Scott Stratten, popular speaker, social media authority and...

10 Strategies to Finding a Killer USP – Part 2

Welcome to part two, let’s just jump in where we left off. Step 5 – Stating the Obvious Let’s say that you sell wireless routers. Prospective customers may own Windows Pcs or MACs. Or they may own both. If that is the case, they want to know...