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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...

How to Review Poetry

Many writers seek out reviewers for their written works for a variety of reasons ranging from affirmation to advice, yet some written works are easier to review than others. Reviewers know how to review fiction, non-fiction, and audiobooks, yet when it comes to poetry many reviewers...

How to Manage Writing With a Chronic Illness.

Thanks to Arthritis, COPD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder I was sidelined, I could no longer do my job. I was afraid of what would happen to me, I was always working, sometimes two jobs. So, when I had to “retire,” a friend suggested I use...

Literary Inspirations: J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings has entranced the public for years. As a friend of C.S. Lewis, as well as a high officer in the British Royal Army, it’s true that Tolkien had carved a prestigious role for himself in history. But who was J.R.R....

Literary Inspirations: Homer

I remembered reading the Odyssey back in high school. From the somewhat elusive poetry regarding Odysseus’s wife to the fact that the protagonist kept stopping each time he got closer to his home, despite being completely and utterly heartbroken for not being able to go back,...

Literary Inspirations: Ezra Pound

Ezra Pound was a man of many talents. He was a critic and a poet and cemented himself as a prominent figure in the Modernist movement, as well as the Imagism movement. Though he was disillusioned by the carnage introduced by World War I, he...

Literary Inspirations: Oscar Wilde

Romanticism was different from the other literary movements. It had a darker, more cynical undertone, and forced people to delve into the more horrific parts of humanity. And despite writers like William Wordsworth offering his sensitive words to the public, other writers took on grittier...

Writing Good Sci-Fi Romances

When we think of science fiction, we think of galaxies and stars and the occasional misuse of Star Wars. We think of superheroes and their awesome powers, or a dystopia that advertises itself as paradise on earth, even though its own citizens are dying. We...

Literary Inspirations: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalism was a literary movement characterized by nonconformity to contemporary society. Transcendentalists helped shape the individual narrative and encouraged people to find their own relationship with the earth surrounding them, rather than relying on conventional means to do so. It urged people to look out at...

The Illustrious World of William Blake

In Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Blake paired his poetry with several beautiful illustrations such as Titania and Oberon. In this work, both Innocence and Experience symbolize human consciousness, of maturing, whether it be from celebrating innocence or falling from innocence. Through other...

Cliffhangers - Pros and Cons

If you are an avid reader like me then I’m sure at some point you have read a book that has ended on a cliffhanger. The heroine or hero is just about to save the day when something surprising and game-changing happens. Or perhaps they...