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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...

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...

Self-Help Books-What Works and What Doesn’t?- Part 1

Self-help books are written with an aim to help the reader solve a personal issue. With many books in recent years falling into this category, it is important to understand what will make your self-help book stand out from the rest. The upside is that...

Tips for Writing Christian Non-Fiction

Christian non-fiction writing is more complex than it sometimes appears to be. The challenge with this genre is that not only do you have to have an attractive theme but it also needs to be accurately and captivatingly written. Most Christian authors make the mistake...

The Grand Scale of the Novel

It is easier to find an excuse than to find a way. Doubts and fears are often disguised in the form of alibis and it can gnaw on any artists, and writers are no exception. There is the fear of not being good enough, having...

Continuity of Scenes

Scenes can sometimes overlap to the next episode of the story. When this happens, regardless of how long or short you want your scene to be, it needs to have a goal and conflict. The conflict can serve as a cliffhanger that continues in the...

Writing That Will Never Get Done

Whenever I meet people and tell them I’m a writer, the most common reaction is to tell me that they wanted to become a writer or at least write something. But they would add that they do not have the time or they feel they...

Why Write?

It’s a question that has been asked many times, yet it continues to persist and it becomes hypothetical because writers know why they write. For the benefit of those who do not understand the nature of the writing vocation, I am throwing in my ten...

How Plotting Helped Me To Overcome Writer's Block

I have always been a pantser in that I tend to write the ideas as they pop into my head and worry about it making sense later. It worked for me in the past before I decided to take things seriously as a writer and...