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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...

Why Writing In The Morning Is Perfect

What is the one thing you want to achieve tomorrow? Maybe this is the most important thing you want to achieve this year? If you are a novelist, or a creative person of any kind, then the one ambition you may have is to finally...

How To Write Science Fiction

Science fiction novels represent probably some of the most famous books ever. Why would that be? This could be because the genre of science fiction enables you to transport the reader into a bizarre and weird world with a brilliant creation of characters, the kind of...

Italian Monsters

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching...

Give Your Pen a Chance to Dance!

Setting aside time to write is a quintessential trait of any author. It is easy to get caught up in the social media/marketing aspect of being an author, but producing quality work is the most important aspect. Constantly improving one's craft is the trademark of...

Why Do Talented Writers Fail?

They say there is a book inside us all. So why do most writers fail to complete their novels? Why do they fall by the wayside when other writers gallop across the finishing line? Here I will list some of the common roadblocks that effectively hinder...

Creating Memorable Supporting Characters

Once you have thought of an interesting idea for your novel, and you have completed the backstory for your main character, do you feel that something is missing? When you read the treatment, do you feel your story is lacking something? Is your story losing pace...

Monsters and Creatures of Canada

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching...

Write A Novel In A Month

Once you have the basic idea for your novel, it is time to start writing it and putting all your ideas on paper. The misconception most people have is that the entire process takes months and even years to complete, but if you have planned...

Creating A Memorable Character

A memorable novel needs to have an excellent range of characters to keep the reader engrossed in the story. That is the reason you ought to invest energy in creating good, strong characters. When you begin your novel, you have to consider the characters that will...

Writing An Engaging Sequence

The more you know about writing a novel, the easier it gets to dismantle the core areas of the manuscript down into bite-size moments. A novel breaks down into chapters, and those chapters into scenes. The scenes can then can be broken down into sections of...