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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...

6 Tips on How to Start the Next Chapter

Avid readers and writers alike know the exact origin of the line, “Call me Ishmael.” The opening lines of books garner a great deal of attention in academic discussions, but how many remember the opening line of chapter 23? In the grand scheme of academic...

To Edit or Not To Edit

It goes without saying that all writers must edit their work and all written work must be edited. But where and when and to what purpose? This was a conundrum that I faced early in my writing career when I received my manuscript, returned from a...

The Where, When, How, and Why to Begin That First Novel

Where does one begin the first novel? Or any novel for that matter? Well, on the first page, of course. But, face it, there’s no place better to write than where one is right now. When should one start writing it? Nothing like the present....

Fiverr for Freelance Writers

Fiverr is a global website that acts as an online marketplace where buyers and sellers can exchange money for gigs (tasks/jobs). The name Fiverr comes from the fact that the starting cost of all jobs is $5. There are many different categories of gigs offered...

How to Choose a Topic to Write About

Deciding what to write about is almost never easy because either there are way too many options or there are just not enough options. This is made harder for blog writers who need to keep their writing confined to one topic in order to attract...

4 Tips to Boost Your Writing Productivity and Finish Your Book

Starting a book is always a lot easier than finishing one. The excitement and intense inspiration which motivated you at first tends to fade and you push your book aside as reality shoulders its way into your busy day. If you are truly serious about...

How to Find a Topic to Write About to Get Views

One of the biggest problems writers, bloggers, and freelancers struggle with is finding the right topic to write about in order to get their writing seen by as many visitors as possible. The first thing most writers try is performing Google searches on phrases such as:...

HubPages for New Writers

HubPages is a site that allows writers of all skill levels to publish their own original content online and be paid for it. HubPages operates on a revenue-sharing system that pays writers based on the number of views their content receives. New Writers While HubPages welcomes all...

Freelance Writing - The Dos And Don'ts

There are too many freelancers and not nearly enough freelance jobs. So how do you make sure that you stand out from the crowd and get the good jobs? Here are some tips to help you get started or up your game. DO Have An Impressive Profile:...

How To Handle Rejection

No one looks forward to having their work rejected, but as a writer, you should accept that rejection is part of the process. There are not many writers who will tell you that their work was accepted on the first submission. However, even though it...