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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...
Flashback or Recollection?
Some beginner writers are confused between flashback and recollection. A flashback is a full scene from the past that a character returns to. It often has something to do with an episode in his life. A recollection is a fragment of the past brought back...
Multiple Viewpoints in Fiction
Point of view determines the writer’s relationship to the story. What viewpoint to use can also be dictated by the pervading taste in reading fare. The first-person narration became popular with the advent of young adult supernatural romances. Along with it is the choice to...
What to Do While Waiting for a Publisher's Response
One of the most mentally excruciating experiences in a writer’s life is when he finishes his novel. He has edited and polished it to perfection and sends it off to a publisher. While waiting for a response, his mind is beset by thoughts and notions...
Cutting Long Speeches Into Manageable Chunks
I am an avid supporter of self-published authors. Everyone has a story inside their heads, awaiting transition into book form. Self-published authors are aware that they need to produce quality material to be competitive. Sadly, some technical aspects of the craft remain elusive to them. I...
9 Reasons to Write About What You Don't Know (Part 2 of 2)
4. You become a versatile writer. You set yourself free from your tedious engagements of usual themes or topics. If you have chosen a particular genre, you can find different angles to tweak it according to how you want to present ideas. For example, if...
9 Reasons to Write About What You Don't Know (Part 1 of 2)
Gillibrand drops from the presidential bid. The Stromboli volcano erupts. The US-China trade war pushes Asian nations towards recession. A golf ball has 300 dimples. Elephants can't jump. Earth will collide with a giant asteroid according to NASA. The world is ever-changing. The fast tempo of...
Chapter and Space Breaks
A chapter is the main division in a book that separates a time or an episode. These separations are emphatic and shift the story from one place and event to another. Readers often use chapters as a reading break, as chapters end a scene to introduce...
Universal Feelings in Fiction
What’s your favorite story? What genre? Why is it your favorite? Did it move you and in what way? Regardless of the genre you are writing, whether it is set in the past, present or future, readers must be able to identify with characters through...
Thinking of Becoming a Digital Nomad? Read This Before You Leap (Part 2 of 2)
3. Do you have travel insurance? Let’s face it. It’s hard to move these days without insurance. Accidents and illnesses happen when we least expect it. With the world as your office, health and safety should be a major concern. Good insurance must cover you wherever...
Thinking of Becoming a Digital Nomad? Read This Before You Leap (Part 1 of 2)
Becoming a digital nomad is all the rave, especially for millennials and people who are tired of being confined inside a cubicle for eight hours. If you look at your social media feed, you could swoon in envy watching your friends working on their laptops...