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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...

Notebooks and the Writer

I believe Ernest Hemingway said it best in A Moveable Feast: “I belong to this notebook and this pencil.” Okay, so we don’t all use the real paper kind of notebook anymore and many of us probably don’t even own a pencil, but the value...

Your Character Must Change in the Process

Part of character development is your character changing as your story progresses. If your character doesn’t change, readers will have no reason to understand his sentiments and motives. However, changing a character just because he should without the proper circumstance to trigger this might throw...

Cinematic Battle Scenes

Lawrence of Arabia, The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator. What do they have in common? They have epic battle scenes that will knock you off your seat. In any sub-genre of action films and novels, battle scenes involve many characters, both major and minor, coming...

7 Tips for Writers for Starting Remote Work

You’ve always considered working in the comforts of your home, but aren’t sure if you are ready to give up the statutory benefits, free coffee, and Friday hangouts with colleagues. At the same time, you relish the joys of not dealing with a snarky boss,...

Making Your Words Dance: Does Listening to Music Inspire Your Writing?

What inspires your writing? Is it the lyrics of a popular song? A specific tune? Do you need music playing the background while you write? Or do you require complete silence that sends you into the deepest depths of a great scene? As a retired music...

Boogey Words: Syllabic Consonants and the Writer

A friend recently asked me, “Why does the word rhythm have two syllables, but only one vowel? And the vowel y is only a sometimes vowel, so barely a vowel?” I paused, during which time my friend laughed and said, “It defies logic and rules...

Resolving Your Story

The excitement in the plot is magnifying as the story reaches its climax. You’re at the pinnacle of your latest achievement. Now you have to resolve the story without letting it fall flat or, worse, carry on with additional tangents and innumerable epilogues. Face it,...

Where Does the Climax Fall?

I read somewhere that the beginning of the novel makes the sale, but the power of the climax sells the next. The climax is the pivotal point of the novel. It is the moment when the decisive event occurs, the turning point that all of...

The Curse of the -ly Words

She walked gingerly to the corner, sighing contentedly while avidly glancing around. She spoke softly, whispering wishfully. All the while, thinking succinctly about something else. Too many adverbs? You know, those -ly words that are supposed to add dimension to the description in a narrative passage...

The Value of Inventiveness

Inventiveness is defined as the quality of being creative. Inventiveness is not only important to every writer; it’s a virtue. Inventiveness is what makes a writer look at things from a different perspective. It’s what makes him formulate “what if” questions and draw a potential...