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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...
How to Write and Structure a Story for your Local Newspaper
If you’re looking for a good way to put your writing talent to work, try writing for your local newspaper. You’ll sharpen your skills, make some good contacts, and perhaps earn a little money, too. Many small newspapers, especially weekly papers, are crying out for...
Insights About Writing Historical Fiction
Two things drive our lives: Facts and Feelings. History gives us Facts, staid old historical dates, places, and things. Humans give us Feelings, emotions, reactions, relationships. My historical fiction novel, CHARLOTTE: Beauty and Tragedy, is an example. But the book itself is not the point – the genre...
Creative Editing Techniques: Keeping A Good Pace
The expression ‘in medias res’ is all the fashion in commercial fiction nowadays. It literally translates as ‘into the middle of things’, and it’s a technique that plunges readers right into the action. This means no boring bits between the important scenes. This doesn’t necessarily mean...
Creative Editing Techniques: Dealing With Dialogue
Have you ever had feedback that your dialogue isn’t realistic? Some writers get their dialogue described as ‘flat’ or ‘heavy’ or are told that all their characters sound the same. The truth is, perfect dialogue in the first draft is a rarity amongst many writers...
Creative Editing Techniques: Removing Authorial Voice
In the old days of literary fiction, the voice of the author was always present. When you read Dickens or Austen, you can feel the presence of those writers in the work. Commercial fiction doesn’t work like that these days. Pick up any Stephen King...
Creative Editing Techniques: Pacing and Punctuation
This article looks at a technique you can easily develop to analyze your own sense of pacing and check that your punctuation reflects that. Before we begin this exercise, it’s important that you double-check your knowledge of punctuation. Be sure you know that the following marks...
Creative Editing Techniques: Cutting Out Adverbs
It was Stephen King who first coined the phrase “the road to Hell is paved with adverbs”, and this prolific master of horror fiction was not wrong! I’ll confess this: the first time I was advised to get rid of adverbs in my work, I...
All About Stereotypes
It takes the mastering of many concepts in literature to come up with a good narrative. Mastering particular concepts of literature will help you as a writer manipulate them and effectively use them for different purposes. Let’s get started with the definition. The definition of stereotypes Stereotypes...
Visual Irony
Are you trying to get your readers hooked on your work? Do you want your audience to be intrigued and entertained by your work? As a writer, you cannot underestimate the power of humor to lure an audience to stay hooked on your work. Humor is...
What is Sibilance?
What is Sibilance? What do you know about sibilance? Some writers may argue that sibilance involves the use of the consonant letter “s”. Other writers may argue sibilance involves the use of the consonant sound s. Who could be right? Let’s find out. The definition of sibilance Sibilance...