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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...

Writing Young Adult and Children's Fiction: Avoid Parenting Your Characters.

When writing for kids, your parenting instincts might take over the story and lead you into policing your characters. Parenting characters is brought on by the natural instinct to protect. Policing often leads to adult characters taking over the story. This is usually because you...

Create The Ideal Heroine And Draw Readers In

First things first, there is no such thing as a perfect heroine. What you should aim to create is a believable and relatable character - not perfect, just believable. There are no clear cut rules on what the ideal heroine should look like since every...

What Is The Throughline? And How Is It Used In A Story?

A throughline is that invisible glue that binds your story together. It is like a thread that ties your narration together to form a story and keep it on track. It refers to the critical elements of your story that must be kept consistent throughout...

Why Your Heroine Should Have Flaws

The ideal heroine is one that embodies the concept of perfect imperfection. The best heroine is one that is strong but with flaws. No one wants a perfect heroine or a perfect character of any form for that matter. A flawless character is seen as...

Gambling Games in Fantasy Novels

"It was another rowdy night at the tavern. Sirin made his way though the throng of drunken patrons, intent on finding a game of Atsar in the hope that he could replenish his dwindling funds." Almost every sword and sorcery or epic fantasy novel I've read has...

Dragons in Fantasy Novels

Fire-breathing, winged lizards have long been one of the mainstays of fantasy novels. Dragons have been part of many a mythical world and will probably continue to become so as more and more writers build upon the popularity of recent fantasy offerings in books, film,...

Sins in Horror: Gluttony

In the game Little Nightmares, guests enter a terrifying world where they gorge on the remains of children and other fellow guests. The protagonist, Six, isn’t faring so well either, considering the fact that her appetite becomes darker and more monstrous as the story continues. In...

Sins in Horror: Wrath

In Xenon Phobia, by Sterling Emmal, a doctor decided to hunt down her mother's boyfriend for abusing her sister and her unborn child, Molly. She became so wrapped up in her anger that she couldn’t see the monster slowly trapping her, until finally she became...

Sins in Horror: Pride

How many times have we groaned at a character who refuses to listen to the protagonist? How many times have we shuddered at the sight of a corrupt leader who leads his people into a chasm of death, so much so that once they climb...

Writing With Character

When you read the James Patterson’s Alex Cross series, A Great Reckoning by Louise Perry or The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy, what stands out about each book or author? Can you guess? Do you give up? It’s the characters that they each created...