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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...
Writing the World We Live In: The Art of Pop Culture References in Fiction
The highly popular movie Fight Club makes references to popular culture figures quite often. It has references to Gandhi as well as Martha Stewart, both household names, but you won't hear Brad Pitt referenced in it, for obvious reasons, and also you’d probably never have Brad Pitt...
Your Fantasy World’s Most Popular Sport Could Change the Plot!
Ever notice how a simple game can turn a whole story upside down? In real life, people go wild for football, cricket, or basketball. Fantasy stories aren’t that different. But your made-up sport shouldn’t just hang out in the background like set dressing. It can...
From Page to Heart: Why Colloquialisms Matter in Writing
Simply put, colloquialisms are words, phrases, or expressions that are used in everyday speech in a specific culture, religion, or community. Using them in stories, poetry, and even nonfiction books makes your writing authentic and alive, as well as relatable to readers from the specific...
A Schizophrenic Muse: How Writing Becomes a Compass in the Chaos
There are days when my mind feels like it’s running in ten different directions at once. Thoughts collide, voices overlap, ideas come in like a flood without warning. It can be overwhelming, even frightening at times. But then I sit down with a notebook or...
Burning the Midnight Oil: The Writer’s Balancing Act
It is eleven o'clock on a spring evening in the warmer Limpopo province of South Africa. I've had a day that has had big downs, but mostly an exciting and exhilarating up. The platform on which you are most likely reading this article, Readers' Favorite,...
Before Page Two: The Secret Power of a Killer Opening
As with first impressions of people we meet, the opening line of a novel is very powerful. Let's face it: we often judge a book not only by its cover, but especially by the first few lines. How many times do we decide that a...
Dancing With the Devil: How to Create a Supervillain Readers Secretly Love
It's a universal truth that a story is only as strong as its villain. What would Batman be without Joker, Harry Potter without Voldemort, or Star Wars' Luke Skywalker without Darth Vader? Supervillains like these often shine even when paired with forgettable heroes. But what...
Writing a Wizard Who Can Only Cast Spells After a Nap!
Have you ever wished magic worked like coffee? That instead of waving wands or chanting Latin, wizards had to curl up for a twenty-minute power nap before summoning fireballs? Strange as it sounds, writing about a wizard who can only cast spells after sleeping isn’t...
Designing a Monster That’s Terrifying… Until It Talks!
Have you ever run into a monster in a story that scared you half to death, right up until it opened its mouth and ruined the mood? That switch from bone-chilling to oddly funny is one of the best tricks in storytelling. A creature that...
Cross Pollination: How Other Art Forms Can Make You a Better Poet
A splash of color from a brush stroke on a blank canvas is comparable to a singular word on an empty page; one stroke opens up an infinite possibility of creation. Although poets and authors often have doubts about how the power of a few...