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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 “Bang, Bang, You’re Dead!” Just Doesn’t Cut It Anymore
As a writer of murder mysteries and suspense, I’m a huge fan of modern-day police procedural shows like Elementary, Bones, Forever, the CSI franchise, and the NCIS franchise. All of the shows are somewhat predictable in that there’s a crime – usually involving a murder or two – and the police and/or...
5 Great Books to Research Your Historical Fiction: 1930's
Historical fiction is a great way to capture an era, whether it is the elegant Victorian era or the swinging pace and sizzle of the Jazz era. Unlike contemporary novels or even fantasy where all a writer needs is their imagination, historical fiction requires meticulous...
Essential Writing Tips for Aspiring Authors – Tips That Help You Write Better (Part 2)
Aspiring authors have a lot of things to consider before they can even start writing. Although there are no sets of rules that new writers can follow, there are tips from seasoned authors who have decades of successful writing experience and their advice is always worth...
Essential Writing Tips for Aspiring Authors – Tips That Help You Write Better (Part 1)
There is a reason why F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath." There are no rights and wrongs when you write; every writer has their own expression, their own style and their own reasons to write. No...
Witches in Horror: The Macabre of Magic
Even before the European Trials, witches have remained a mysterious force of nature hidden within our imaginations. With blood sacrifices, familiars, and hexes at their disposal, the witch has remained a staple of the horror genre. Even with authors such as J.K. Rowling, Kami Garcia,...
Tips for writing survival horror
Some of us have read about humans being hunted for game, a zombie apocalypse or two, or even a government from a faraway planet gone awry. Whether it be a group of people struggling to survive in an unknown environment, or an individual fighting against...
Why Children Are Used in Horror
Whenever we think of kids, or even teenagers, we don’t think of murderers or monsters (not usually anyway). We might reminisce about when we were young, swept up in the follies of youth and young love. We might even try to relive our dreams through them,...
Creating Your Masterpiece
Everyone has a story to tell - from how to start your own business and expression through poetry to memoirs. For authors to create their best selling masterpiece, they must not only have a compelling story to tell, but they must write it in such...
Overcoming Your Block
It is important to give a voice to matters that concern and interest you - from homelessness and making others happy and laughing through humor to educating our children. You may have already begun to create the message that you want to convey through either...
First or Third Person?
When writing your book, which do you think is best? Is it more effective when you’re reading from the mind of the character, or from the narration of the author? What grips you from start to finish? Knowing that you’re listening to the character share...