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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...

A Mother's Violence

In American Horror Story: Coven, the Supreme, the leader of the group of witches, saw her own daughter as a vision of her death. Because of this, she abused and neglected her, trying to preserve the delusion that she was going to be powerful forever,...

Tips for Choosing a Theme for Your Story That Makes it Shine

Choosing a recurring theme for your story is very important. A story is incomplete without a theme to give it depth and allow the characters something to hold on to. A theme has a huge impact on the characters as they will grow, develop, and...

A Study of Evil

Many people have wondered about the psychology of evil. Could it be due to their living situations? Circumstances they can’t control? Or could it be due to certain genes they were born with? Is there a trigger for that evil? Or are we just mislabeling...

The Rise of Literary Fiction

For the last decade, popular fiction, also known as genre fiction, has enjoyed mainstream success with modern audiences. From the terrifying If It Bleeds by Stephen King to Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas, it’s abundantly clear that genre fiction has a very warm place in...

Writing the Author Bio

We’re writers, right? So, in theory, we should be able to write. About anything. Or, just about anything. Including about ourselves. The author bio is an important component of the author platform. What’s that? The means by which we promote ourselves and our writing. The author...

Teen Fantasies

In the song, Teen Idle, by Marina and the Diamonds, the narrator wishes she did more with her youth. The song illustrates the tumultuous emotions that a teen may go through, even using religious imagery to integrate with the pressure teens face everyday. They may...

Historical Romances vs. Regency Romances

You’re an avid fan of romance. You’ve devoured every romance book you’ve ever come across, from classics such Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to more modern romances like Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas and The Happy Ever After...

Writing Tutorial for Beginners (Part 1)

So how does one teach the fundamentals of writing? In most cases, instructors avoid bombarding the student with grammatical rules. The goal is to make the student kick-start with the writing process. For primary levels, it begins with a fun sentence construction activity by letting...

Writing Tutorial for Beginners (Part 1 of 2)

Writing is a discipline that will remain in demand until Judgment Day. Writing events, personal stories, and documents are indispensable tools for reference because, in order for civilization to get a better grasp of where it wants to go, it must learn from the successes...

What’s in a Point of View (POV)?

Establishing and maintaining a constant point of view (POV) in your story is important to keep your readers engaged. If the POV is frequently changed or inconsistent and the author jumps from the first person to third person and even second person, the reader will...