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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. Below that are hundreds of articles on topics all authors face in today’s literary landscape. Get help and advice on Writing, Marketing, Publishing, Social Networking 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...

Key Advice For Beginner Writers

So, you think you want to be a writer. Well, why not? It’s a learnable skill. But it’s not as easy as one might think. And, there’s a big gap between the wannabe writers and THE WRITER! You can attend seminars, workshops, writing classes, and read...

Is This Pandemic Situation Slowing Your Creative Juices?

It’s hard enough to be creative, to come up with a unique idea and see it through to completion. Add to the equation this unsettled era, the concerns of the crippling pandemic, and you might find your creative juices totally stalled, stunned into silence by...

Write Something Different For a Change

Do you always write the same genre? Are you stuck in the need to compose the next best-selling romance novel? Or perhaps your preferred genre is nonfiction? Have you ever thought of writing something different for a change? About expanding your repertoire of writing experience...

Improving Mundane Sentences and Paragraphs

It’s hardly necessary to say that dull writing doesn’t sell. For example, who would want to read this? Sam took off his sneakers and waded into the water. Susan took off her flip flops and also waded in. Steve took off his sunglasses and watched from...

Selecting Photographs for Your Memoir Part 1

The impact photography has on any story cannot be underestimated. Pictures illustrate people and events, they capture emotions and bring scenes to life. If you have a large photography collection, you may struggle to select those that should go into your memoir, especially if you...

Selecting Photographs for Your Memoir Part 2

4. Include photographs that show the settings in your memoir. Adding photos that show the settings in which scenes take place is helpful to readers for them to be able to visualize included backgrounds. If you have multiple photographs of the same background, select those with...

Your Responsibility to Editors

Some writers think that the only consideration they owe editors is the money they’ll pay. Not so. Sure, you’re paying them, but that doesn’t mean you can treat them unprofessionally. You owe your editor these courtesies: Be realistic in balancing time, money, and quality It’s said there...

The English Language is Forever Changing

I had a gay time at the party. I felt so gay. A hundred years ago, and even as late as the 1960s, the definition of gay was happy. It was also used to describe having fun, enjoying oneself. Today, however, if you want to express these...

“Fair Use” and Why Writers Need to Know About It

The concept of “fair use” isn’t often addressed, but it’s important. That’s because if you violate fair use constraints you might end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit and accused of plagiarism. Besides the legal hassle, accusations of plagiarism damage a writer’s reputation....

When to Break the Rules

Generally, writers need to follow the rules. Thanks to rules, writers write clearly, editors edit consistently, and readers read with comprehension. Some rules are, of course, strict and non-breakable. But others are breakable, and violating them permits us to write with clarity and power. Here are...