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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...

Top Web Apps And Desktop Tools For eBook Creation – Part 1

Writing and publishing an eBook is a fantastic way of widening your audience and gaining more loyal followers and, if you’ve got a great idea knocking about in your head, an idea that would help solve a problem with a non-fiction book or provide an...

Top Four Tips For The New Mystery Writer

Mystery writing can be murder and if we aren't organized enough, mayhem! We must create an intriguing plot, develop an endearing cast of characters, and devise enough twists to keep our readers engaged and entertained to the end; not just the end of our book,...

Formatting Consistency

One of the most intimidating aspects of writing any kind of manuscript is knowing how to format it properly so that it is more readable and looks much more professional. Formatting is the term writers use to refer to how a manuscript is written. Letter...

Top Five Resources For The Mystery Writer

Are you a fan of Agatha Christie novels? Would you like to write to the caliber of the Miss Fisher series? Writing a mystery requires a specific set of tools; you must be well organized, understand character arcs, know how to utilize your settings, and...

Importance of Proofreading

Writing a book is a wonderful endeavor regardless of the reasons for the work. An author could write because a general subject means something to them or applies to their life in some way, or to share something specific with the world or just because...

Growth Tips for the Beginner - Part 3

Say yes often Try saying yes to different opportunities. Do not let fear hold you back. There are so many times I have said yes and it has turned out great, better than I had envisioned. Saying yes can be fearful. You do not want to...

Growth Tips for the Beginner - Part 2

Edit, edit again and then again Writing does not end when the book is done; editing should be part of the writing process itself just as actual writing is. It does not matter how great a book is, if the editing is not done thoroughly and...

Read Like A Writer

Some of the best writers I have ever met are people who have English Literature degrees. I do not know whether this is a coincidence, but maybe it is because they have had to read books as often as I drink coffee. There is actually a method to reading correctly that few people know about....

Defining Characteristics

Regardless of what genre you are writing or how long the manuscript may be, the text body is an essential part of the work because it contains the relevant information to the story that will make or break your written work. When introducing a new character...

Growth Tips for the Beginner - Part 1

Everyone has been praising you for your writing, you know that you can write but you are not sure how to grow. There is always fear that accompanies anyone’s first step when they are embarking on a dream. As a beginner, there are a lot...