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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...

Japanese Folk 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...

Tips on Making Illustrations Stand Out

A picture is worth a thousand words and, as every author of children’s books knows, illustrations can make or break a book. When creative illustrations are woven together with an amazing story, the book becomes simply outstanding and is more likely to captivate its target...

Tips on Choosing a Title for your Non-Fiction Book

Any author can attest to the fact that choosing a title is not as easy as seems, whether in the case of a non-fiction or fiction book. In many instances, authors may grapple with the best title to give their book, bearing in mind that...

Writing Sequels

There are many reasons that drive an author to write a sequel to their earlier books. Some of the reasons oscillate between an author’s passion for new ideas and a deep-rooted interest in an original book. While some readers love sequels, others avoid them completely (you...

Writing A Novel Using A Beat Sheet

Writing a novel is much like building a house. It takes time, careful planning, and your undivided attention. There are many tools readily available for the new author, one of them being the beat sheet. What Is A Beat Sheet? A beat sheet is a segmented break...

Is Word Count Important?

One of the many contentions of novel writing is word count. There is a rumor that publishers, editors, and agents won't even look at your manuscript if the word count is too high or too low. How then do we manage to write and keep...

The Four Draft Plan

You have just finished the last words of your book. You are singing and doing a happy dance. You have done what many have not; you have written a whole novel! After a celebratory dinner, a glass of wine, or a box of chocolates, it...

Important Elements of Extraordinary Plot Endings

It is said that the end of a matter is greater than its beginning and so is the case in the world of literature. As an author you want the reader not only to be attracted to your book at the beginning, but to remain...

Horror History: The Royal Bethlem Hospital

Mental illness has always existed in the back of the horror genre’s exploits. Whether it be the psychotic mindset of Hannibal Lecter, or the monstrous killings of Jack the Ripper, the human race has proven itself to be the most frightening character in history, at...

Time to Start Writing Your Christmas Story… For Next Year

That’s right! What better time to work on your Christmas novel or how-to or whatever genre you write in than at the time you can take in the sights, smells, and aura of the Christmas season. Even if you are writing fiction, you still want...