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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...
Understanding Cognitive Psychology and its Research Methods
In my “Need for Psychology Understanding” article, I wrote about how almost all fiction writers need at least a basic understanding of psychology in order to write realistic content, dialogues, characters, and relationships. A lack of psychology understanding also sometimes causes writers to use a...
Four Things to Consider When Creating a Book Series
Readers love book series. Publishers do, too. For the author, this could mean creating a world that will engage characters, a giant puzzle that has to be solved, one created with clues. For the author, it also means creating characters that readers will want to...
Understanding Memory Loss, Impairment, and Memory Improvement Part 1
In my “Need for Psychology Understanding” article, I wrote about how almost all fiction writers need at least a basic understanding of psychology in order to write realistic content, dialogues, characters, and relationships. A lack of psychology understanding also sometimes causes writers to use a...
Handling Character Dialogue (Part 2 of 2)
4) Silence speaks volumes Sometimes silence is the best response. Silence creates tension and makes the reader anticipate what will happen next. Silence is powerful because the reader has no idea or can only guess what the character is thinking. Silence can set the mood for...
Handling Character Dialogue (Part 1 of 2)
My officemate Jan loves to play Magic: The Gathering digital collectible cards. He’s very competitive and has earned money from national competitions. I can sense the passion in the way he explains the rules of the game to dunces like me. He talks about his...
Learning to Take Constructive Criticism
When I first started writing, I had a handful of beta readers, all related to me. They’d read my work and say, “I loved it! It was so good!” I’d walk away and pat myself on the back. I’d think, “Well, what can I say?...
Why We Love Dystopian Fiction (Part 2 of 2)
Dystopian fiction sees our present conditions as the roots that could bear the fruit of dystopian trends and practices in the future. Dystopian fiction encourages us to guard our freedom Dystopia is a popular theme among young adult fiction these days. This is because it teaches the...
Why We Love Dystopian Fiction (part 1 of 2)
Depictions of the future abound in popular culture. This is because it’s fun to predict what the unseen holds. We love to speculate on the outcomes of our present actions. We are all fascinated with what the future holds. As a young boy, I enjoyed...
Painless Writing Revisions (Part 2 of 2)
You don’t need to revise chronologically Our brain is conditioned to read stories in the beginning, middle, and end frame. However, some writers find it easier to revise if they start working in the middle or at the end of their manuscript. Revising from the middle...
Painless Writing Revisions (Part 1 of 2)
Revision is painful for some writers and often they try to pass off the first draft as acceptable. It’s more convenient this way. The writer operates on the assumption and hopes that his first draft passes standards. If you’re writing for a living, you’ll never be...