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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...

Heightening the Senses: Has the Lockdown Made You More Aware of Your Surroundings?

I stood outside the other night, soaking in the cool night air, waiting for my dog to finish his business. Usually, it’s quick out and in and off to bed. Not tonight. The clear night sky was sparkling with stars, scattered across the distant universe,...

Character Names: Choosing the Right Name

I was reviewing a novel recently and the protagonist’s name just didn’t sound right. Jordan – the character, to me anyway, wasn’t a Parker. It was more a Rachel. At least, I thought so. I had a difficult time writing the review and using the...

Why Romance is the Genre For You

If you are passionate about writing and would like to make some money with it, then you might want to consider romance as the genre to go with. Romance is consistently a bestseller and the genre rakes in a billion dollars a year. Other genres...

The Seven C's

All good stories follow a typical pattern or structure and there are many well-known and well-regarded styles of structure promoted by story experts and experienced editors. If you research the subject you will find a reference to the way stories are divided into “Acts” –...

How Many Edits Does a Good Book Need?

How many edits does a good book need? Good question. And the answer is: More than you can possibly ask for or imagine. One of my avid readers (my fan club) is a retired English professor. I have asked him to edit my stories on...

Where To Find Story Ideas

A young relation once asked me where I found my story ideas. He was thinking of going into journalism at university. He was good at writing, but only when given an assigned topic. He had no idea where to begin, where to find his own...

Redefining Writing Success

I write a book every year, so why is it that I only have one traditionally published book to my credit, and that was way back in 2017? If I dwell too long on the amount of time that elapsed between novels, I feel a...

What Are Your Writing Goals?

Do you have any writing goals? Other than becoming a best-selling author earning big royalties, do you know what your writing goals are? Have you listed them somewhere? Or is this list in a constant state of flux? Well, for me, yes, I have to put...

The Personal Essay

Journaling has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. My grandmother kept a journal, using whatever notebook was handy. When she passed away, we found these notebooks in various different drawers and cupboards in her apartment. A real...

It’s Time to Write

“I don’t have time.” How many times have we heard that excuse? Perhaps we’ve used it ourselves. Here’s another one: “I’m too busy living life to write about it.” We are writers, creative individuals. It’s small wonder we’re also creative in our ways to avoid doing...