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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...

Literary Inspirations: Mary Shelley

Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, was a classic that many have read through dark and stormy nights, and retold as a cautionary tale against the domineering nature of science and the fragility of religion. Mary Shelly was the architect of this masterpiece. Not only that,...

Political Correctness

Nowadays, you might hear the words “political correctness” get thrown around here and there. Normally, it’s used to address those who are either too offended or not offended enough. But more than that, it’s used to purposefully choose language that won’t exclude, marginalize, or insult...

Literary Inspirations: E.L. James

We all remember a time when Twilight was a really big thing. When teen girls and moms would gush over who Bella would choose; either the creepy stalkerish vampire, Edward, or the equally creepy werewolf, who apparently had imprinted on her daughter before she was...

Literary Inspirations: J.K. Rowling

I remembered picking up and reading the now famous Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in middle school. I remembered watching the movie, and how enchanted I was seeing all of that. I remembered reading through the other books and watching the other movies with...

Philosophical Ponderings: Existentialism

There are times when our characters are strong enough to drive the plot on their own, regardless of any conflicts. There are times when it seems that our fictional universes revolve around our character. At the same time, our characters have some knowledge of this....

Writing Social Horror

With the increasing interest in movies such as Get Out, The Purge, and Us, many people are turning to the ailing conditions of our society for horrific inspirations. From religious decadences to psychopathic cults, social horrors have had a prominent place in literature for centuries....

Killers of Creativity Every Writer Should Watch Out For - Part 3

 A negative mindset Optimism breaks the barriers for creativity to set in. If you have a negative mindset, it will destroy creativity. To develop new styles and ideas in your writing, you need to have a positive perspective so that you can allow yourself to venture...

Killers of Creativity Every Writer Should Watch Out For - Part 2

Pride To be good at what you do you have to be open to learning new things and ways of writing. The worst aspect of pride is that it confines you to only what you know yet you could learn so much more from other writers’...

Killers of Creativity Every Writer Should Watch Out For - Part 1

When I first started writing, it was a dream come true. I was excited to finish my first piece and any encouraging feedback I got, I held on to it so hard that I can remember some of those early responses. Along the way, my...

Quiet Place

There are times as a writer when you have so many ideas running through your head that you feel like you’re going to explode. Then there are times when you stare at a blank computer screen, begging the universe for inspiration. All writers have experienced...