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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...

Onomatopoeia

You have an amazing story. But then, when it gets to the point where you want to tell your reader about the distant barking of dogs in the neighborhood, the sound of the live engine of your truck in the garage, or the sound made...

Similes

Similes are very common in our daily conversations and the content we read. Similes are one of the most-used literary devices in the English language. But it won’t surprise me that you don’t know the definition of a simile. It’s common for most people to...

About Hyperbole

You may have heard the word hyperbole once or twice as a writer. But what do you know about hyperbole? Allow me to tell you all you need to know about hyperbole. One of the most important things you should do when learning a new word...

Personification

Writing can be so exciting and fun, especially when you have fully mastered the skill of clearly expressing yourself to your audience. Mastering the clear expression of your thoughts and ideas entails a lot of things, one among them being the ability to correctly use...

Creative Mindfulness: Mark-Making

We all have worries. Big or small, they get in the way of our lives constantly, either by creating moods and emotions or by directly interrupting our concentration. This article looks at a technique for stress removal using basic art skills. The Theory When we engage in...

Creative Mindfulness: List-Making

Mindfulness is the act of focusing your brain in a relaxed manner and allowing yourself to notice sensory experiences as a means of reaching a state of peace in your own head. This is particularly useful for people who are prone to stress and negative...

About Alliteration

As a writer, it’s good that you learn something new every day, or at least once in a while. What comes into your mind when you see the word alliteration? Yes, it is a literary device. But what exactly is alliteration? I know some writers...

How Suspense Applies in a Romance Novel

Suspense in romance is not the same as what is obtainable in crime or mystery novels; there may not be shooting, fighting and running through dark alleys. These elements may be present in romantic suspense, but in romance generally, suspense is the general kind common...

Identifying Creative Ideas for Your Romance Novel From the World Around You 

The truth is many authors have trained their subconscious to recognize story ideas. For them, it seems as though ideas just come from nowhere. This could be you, or you may need to train yourself to find ideas when and where you need them. The...

Concrete Methods to Crafting Compelling Romance Characters

The key to making compelling romance characters is the same with every genre of fictional narrative: you need to know your characters inside out. Of course, so much of what you find out about them (especially the secondary characters) won’t make it into the story,...