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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

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)

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...

Creating A Character With Post-Natal Depression

How many novels have you read where a character gives birth and immediately is overwhelmed with maternal instincts, and they all live happily ever after? Sadly, most romance novels do not delve deeper into the reality of giving birth for many women. If I were a...

The Importance of Voice and Tone In Writing

While writing my article recently regarding tips and techniques for new writers, I began to wonder about voice and tone, and why it is important to the process of writing. It may come as a surprise to many people, but your voice and tone will influence everything you write. So, what...

How to Review a Short Story Collection Part 2

Third Step: Writing the Review By the third step you should have finished the whole short story collection and you should have a decent note sheet in front of you to use for the writing of the review. The review is generally made up of three...

How to Review a Short Story Collection Part 1

All book reviewers know how to review paperbacks, hard copies, and digital copies, yet many reviewers hit a road block when it comes to reviewing short story collections. This road block is generally caused by not knowing what to write about or include in the...

Character Inspiration: Books

The first step in writing a book is always the inspiration; the book starts with the author becoming inspired to write their book. Once the writer has become inspired to write their story, they generally begin by writing an outline or a rough draft and...

Ideas For New Writers Part 2

In the first part of my article covering tips for new writers, I discussed the importance of reading plenty of books on the subject and practising the art of writing, people watching to get ideas for characters and most of all not being afraid to follow your passion. There are other points that I think that are important too, which...

Ideas For New Writers

Deciding to become a writer can be quite frightening, especially when you have little or no experience and skill. What is more important is that you have the drive and passion to learn. Over the years, I have managed to gather together some tips and techniques which I have found invaluable. I have described...

How To Develop A Strong Female Heroine

All women love to read a novel where the female characters have strong and vibrant personalities. We all have our favourite heroines in literature, a female who inspired us not to be afraid to have our own values and beliefs. So, how can you create a true heroine in your story, and not...

Literary Tactics Used In Copywriting

Copywriting is something that most novelists avoid like the plague because it can be so boring and they feel it is a pointless exercise. I agree it can become soul destroying, but if you want to have a greater reach to your potential audience, and urge them...

Perfectionism Kills Creativity

Perfectionism; does it even exist, and even if it did, would it be something that would hinder you or propel you into success? Being a perfectionist is something that most people regard as a flaw in their personality, and it is right for them to feel this...