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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...

Story Ideas For Children Part 2

There is no better way for your child to explore their creativity and imagination than with storytelling. It not only helps build their confidence and curiosity but also makes them so much more aware of themselves. Please share the following story ideas with your children...

Story Ideas For Children Part 1

As a writer, your love for the written word is probably something that is running through your blood. You will probably agree it is never too early to enjoy creating a good story. Have you ever wanted to share your passion for writing with your...

Other Skills that Modern Writers Must Develop (Part 2 of 2)

4. Share your toys. Gone are the days when you lock yourself in a tower to write and keep your work hidden only to be read and published posthumously. Well, it may be an exaggeration, but if your work is too personal and you have no...

Other Skills that Modern Writers Must Develop (Part 1 of 2)

Fields of discipline evolve with the march of time. Back in my college days during the nineties, we were never taught about looking ahead to how the business of writing and publishing would evolve. Despite the early beginnings of e-book publishing, we merely considered it...

Autobiography Versus Memoir: What's the Difference? (Part 2 of 2)

As for ethical implications, mind your motives before working on your memoir. Why do you want to expose a slice of your life, to begin with? If you’re disgruntled over someone and you want to embarrass this person through your writing, you may be courting...

Autobiography Versus Memoir: What's the Difference? (Part 1 of 2)

I once attended a creative nonfiction workshop and somebody asked, “What’s the difference between an autobiography and a memoir?” While they are similar in tackling the author’s life as the main theme, their differences are often unclear to most. Solid, liquid, and gas are properties of matter....

Effective Ways To Write Books Children Will Enjoy

When I became a grandmother for the first time, I decided I was going to write a children's book. I felt so excited to embark on this new project but discovered to my horror that my book was a complete failure. I found out the...

Ways You Can Improve Your Vocabulary

Having a wide range of vocabulary is the fundamental skill you must have as a writer. After all, the larger the vocabulary, the more descriptive your novels will be. Our vocabulary consists of the words we use every day, they are our very foundation of...

Why Write Nonfiction? (Part 2 of 2)

5) Grow your writing as a business You can profit from a niche and grow it into different revenue streams. For example, let’s say you are writing an article about self-improvement in a no-nonsense approach coupled with a witty, idiosyncratic voice. It receives a good reception...

Why Write Nonfiction? (Part 1 of 2)

Many writers, especially in their formative years, dream of becoming a novelist. And who can blame them? The prestige of tackling long-form fiction has a distinctive allure that draws many writers to pen their own “Great American Novel.” Fiction makes for an ideal exercise in...