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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...

The Importance Of Morality In Your Writing

Every story that has been written, whether for stage, screen or as a novel, has had a fundamental morality underpinning the story. If you can master morality in your story, it can help you: Illustrate the main conflicts and subplots in your story, giving the whole...

Writing Lessons We Can Learn From Ferdinand The Bull

The Story of Ferdinand was written by Munro Leaf and it remains, to this day, a classic. It was written in 1935 on a Sunday afternoon and was published in 1936. Soon the story was selling at a rate of over 3,000 copies every week....

Grab These Opportunities – Increase Productivity Without Writing a Thing

Every writer has an ideal world; some would have others do the writing for them while others would wish for more hours to write in. The reality is that writers tend to grab an hour here and there to write, missing out on sleep, exercise,...

How to Create The Perfect YA Character

As an adult writer, it isn’t always easy to write characters for young adults, even more so if your young days are a dim and distant memory. There are ways to do it and I’m going to present you with four tips to follow to...

Monsters and Creatures from Greek Myths Part 3

Mares of Diomedes The mares of Diomedes were a group of four female horses who ate human flesh instead of hay. Heracles once captured these monstrous horses only for them to eat one of his companions. In order to avenge his fallen companion, Heracles defeated the...

How to Submit Poetry or Short Fiction – Part 2

Submitting work for publication is a minefield to new writers; in the first part, we looked at how to find publications and what you, as a writer, should do. Now, the last three of the most common questions asked by newbie writers. Should I Submit My...

How to Submit Poetry or Short Fiction – Part 1

If you write short literature, such as fiction or poetry, submission of your work can be very positive. It is a way of sending yourself a powerful signal that you think enough of your work to let the world see it. And, if your work...

Monsters and Creatures from Greek Myths Part 2

Cyclops The Cyclops were one-eyed, viscious feral monsters with no use for kindness, manners, and laws. Many of the cyclops were shepherds out of necessity as they needed to eat and if they wandered to close to a human village, the villagers would come together to...

Creating a Writing Schedule that Works for You

It is excruciatingly hard for me to stick to my writing schedule. I started a book ages ago and I was stuck in the first chapter for quite some time. Somehow, I do not seem to have enough time to focus on my manuscript. Until...

On Writing Science Fiction… (Part 2)

(Continuation from Part 1…) The Deftly Paradox by Matt White is another book whose theme I loved. The plot follows the invention of an earth-ruling machine. Humans institute the machine to govern the whole universe. At first, the idea seems outrageous but with time, many people...