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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. Below that are hundreds of articles on topics all authors face in today’s literary landscape. Get help and advice on Writing, Marketing, Publishing, Social Networking 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...

The Rules of a Writing Group

You might think that setting up or joining a writer’s group is easy, free of rules. You just meet up and chat, drink coffee and pass the time, don’t you? Well, no, not really and, like any group, a writer’s group needs rules for all...

Literary Prose

The novel is a challenging art form. It demands adherence to the rules of usage and style. It is a discipline that molds writers to becoming better with every book that they create. Every writer has his style, but one thing they have in common...

Adventure or Tragedy? What's the Difference?

It is possible to understand the genres of fiction without putting too much weight on literary merits. This weight is better left to scholars, academics, and critics. A simpler view and reading books will allow for a better if not a broader view of what...

Guideline for New Fiction Authors for a Successful Writing Experience – Part 3

An enjoyable and successful fiction novel has to have many elements that not only click but also add to the story. While making your characters believable, being descriptive, remembering your plot and pacing the progress of your characters is important, there are other certain aspects that...

Guideline for New Fiction Authors for a Successful Writing Experience – Part 2

While knowing your audience, choosing your genre and making your characters relatable are very important, there are some other factors that can either make or break your impact on the audience. Although authors who are new at fiction writing may think that writing such a...

Guideline for New Fiction Authors for a Successful Writing Experience – Part 1

Fiction writing is not easy, especially for those who have never stepped into these dangerous waters. New authors may feel the process daunting and a little difficult, but writing fiction can become easy if they follow certain guidelines. The author will still have to come...

How to Begin Your Book

How do you pull in a potential reader to consider your book over another book? Never an easy task, because as an author you want to tell your story in such a way as to pique the reader’s interest from the very beginning. Page one...

Using Description to Shift Viewpoint, Place and Mood

"Shifting" is defined as “to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance.” As a verb, it means “a slight change in position, direction, or tendency.” In writing, we shift tenses, viewpoint, setting, and voice. Much like grammar and syntax, style plays...

Engaging Your Readers

Winning a reader’s attention is one of the most gratifying rewards any writer could have. On an emotional and intellectual level, the writer succeeds in connecting with his reader. He has made a new friend, a new ally. The writer is no longer a stranger...

Self-Help Books-What Works and What Doesn’t?- Part 2

Offer practical solutions that are well-detailed. The main aim of a self-help book is to help. If it is not helping the reader, it is not serving its purpose. There are many books out there that claim to belong to the self-help genre but barely...