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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...

Incorporating Jargon in your Work Part 2

What if it is impossible to avoid technical terms? In such a case, the most important thing is to ensure that the words add value to the article or book. Some other tips are included below. # Tip 1 - Know your Audience Keep in mind the...

Incorporating Jargon in your Work Part 1

Everyone likes reading something that they can understand unless they are reading the specific work for educational or information purposes. The idea of reading a book with a dictionary close at hand is not an option for many people, myself included. There are many reasons...

Diction in Dialogue Part 2

There are several ways to make your writing authentic, but the one I would like to touch upon is the way characters speak.  Mixing English and another language is not anything new or groundbreaking in literature. Take Agatha Christie's detective, Hercule Poirot.  To begin with, Poirot is...

Diction in Dialogue Part 1

The authenticity of language in dialogue is not something one often thinks of when they sit down to write their story. First, the most important thing to a writer, especially first time writers, is writing to get from Point A to Point B. Then draft...

How To Eliminate Dialogue Tags

What is wrong with “he said”, “she decided”, “he replied”, and the rest? They slow the pace of the story whereas emotion and action drive it. The first example occurs early in a sequel, so the scene is being set for new readers.      Bill...

Some Travel Writing Basics

Travel has become not only a major part of our lives today but almost a basic one. As more young people put their resources towards experiences as opposed to possession of material things, there is a growing movement of travelers wishing to explore the world...

Creating A Memorable Monster

With Halloween fast approaching, many writers will be thinking about creating a memorable spine-chilling story to entertain their family and friends. The main element of any horror story, of course, is the villain who brings terror to the other characters. As you decide on the characteristics...

Building A Strong Foundation For Your Story

Once you have the basic plot for your novel in your mind, with an interesting main character, the next thing you must do is begin to build the story layer by layer. A good guide to ensure your story and characters are compelling enough to...

Why You Should Write

Like many other art forms, writing is inspired by different reasons and it comes with various benefits. One of the most straightforward and common reasons for writing is that it is an avenue for expression. Through writing, there is the possibility of sharing your story...

Playwriting Tips

There is no specific way of writing a play. Plays tend to adopt creative aspects and not necessarily industry set norms. That said, a play’s format should be familiar even if some elements may be different. When anyone else picks the script, they should be...