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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...
Surviving the Writing Rollercoaster: Learnings from Successful Authors
Stephen King is known worldwide for his horror novels, but few people know that he was once a struggling writer, dealing with rejection and criticism just like many others. When King was starting his writing career, he received dozens of rejection letters for his short...
Mental Health in Literature and the Media
With self-care becoming more prominent in society, many readers have taken an interest in how to take care of themselves and their loved ones mentally and emotionally. If you go to your local bookstore, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of books detailing different psychological...
Of Tenderness in Stories: Revisiting Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk's Nobel Prize 2019 Speech
"I write fiction, but it is never pure fabrication. When I write, I have to feel everything inside myself. I have to let all the living beings and objects that appear in the book go through me, everything that is human and beyond human, everything...
Creating Captivating Worlds: Tips and Tricks for Sci-Fi World Building
World-building is a critical aspect of sci-fi storytelling. It is the process of creating an immersive and detailed universe that can transport readers to a different world. The key to successful world-building is to start with the basics. Start with considering the following 4 aspects...
Staying Creative
Have you ever heard someone say that there’s no such thing as writer’s block? I have. I have also been told on several occasions that writer’s block is nothing more than the author choosing to stop being creative. As a writer, I can tell you this...
Do Your Readers Recognize Your Characters Easily?
Of course, they do! You use their names… But every single time they speak? Not unless you slow the pace of the drama with too many dialogue tags. I ran into a problem with this when I was writing a short story. I intended it to...
Quora – An Online Cornucopia of Information
The nature of Quora The social question-and-answer website, Quora (as in quora.com), is a valuable treasure trove of information based in Mountain View, California, USA. Having first come into being on June 25, 2009, the website has grown from strength to strength ever since. With...
Writing a Book for English as a Second Language Learners
When writing a book geared toward English as second language learners, a few things are important for the writer to be aware of. A good book can “aid in dispelling what are often myths about other cultures, and replace those myths with an accurate understanding of...
Writing Advice You Should Ignore
Writers are bombarded with advice on how to write stronger, better, and faster in their quest to bring the next great American novel into the world. It’s easy to drown in the motivational speeches and quotes out there, and it’s a personal responsibility to filter...
How The 4 Types Of Therapeutic Writing Benefit Writers
We all know that writing is a creative activity. But did you know that it is also a therapeutic activity to help us deal with trauma and hardship? When I use therapeutic writing, it enables me to distance myself from my thoughts and feelings and...