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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 Adversity To Develop Characters

As writers, we know that the best, most captivating stories are the unhappy ones, which are full of conflict and obstacles that the characters have to overcome to achieve that happy ending. The key to writing the novel that readers cannot put down is to...

Character Psychology

When you are creating the backstory for your characters, the most important aspect to consider is the psychology of your characters. How do they process information in their minds, and how does this mindset transpire in the actions they take? Once you have this down on paper, then you will know exactly how your character will respond to most given situations or other characters...

7 New Ways to Find an Editor – Part 2

Now you know what to look for as far as the type of editing you need, it's time to look at ways to find the right editor for your book. As with most things, you can never be certain about anything without experiencing it or...

7 New Ways to Find an Editor – Part 1

Most writers don’t tend to concern themselves with too much i-dotting and t-crossing. At the end of the day, your role is to turn your ideas into something tangible and that can make it very difficult for an author to see if their logic has...

Top Web Apps And Desktop Tools For eBook Creation – Part 3

In the final part of this mini-series, we’ll be looking at desktop tools you can use for your eBook. Open Office Of course, you can use Word but Open Office is free and you can convert .doc files to PDF for free. It works in much the...

Top Web Apps And Desktop Tools For eBook Creation – Part 2

Welcome back; by now you should have chosen your format and are now ready to decide what tools you want to use to create your book. There are many to choose from and I’ve narrowed things down to the best of the best. Web Apps and...

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...