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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...
Why Grammar Feels Like a Friend (Not a Foe) When You Know the Rules
Grammar often gets a bad reputation. It brings to mind red pens, confusing worksheets, and the sinking feeling of getting a paper back covered in corrections. For many writers, especially young ones, grammar feels like a list of things you must not do: don’t start...
How to Write a Villain Who's Right About Everything and That's Terrifying!
Have you ever found yourself nodding along with the villain? Not just because they're charming but because they're right. That's the kind of antagonist that haunts readers—the calculated disruptor who reveals the cracks in everything we believe to be good. A villain like this doesn't just...
From Yawns to Yays: How to Choose a Title Kids Will Love
Choosing the right title for a children’s book is a lot like picking the perfect wrapping paper for a special gift, since it’s the first thing readers notice and sets the tone for the experience inside. As an educator who has spent years reading stories...
The Power of Names in Writing: More Than Just Words
As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by how names shape a story. I first learned this in my 11th-grade English class, where my teacher explained that names in literature aren’t just random; they carry weight, meaning, and often reveal deeper insights into characters. He...
The Writing Process: How Mine Looks Slightly Different from What I Learned in School
In school, we’re often taught a particular version of the writing process (maybe you also remember how you learned it). As I remember, the steps go like this: think of an idea, plan it, maybe with some mind map or bubble chart, write a draft,...
Quiet Spaces in a Noisy World: Why Writers Still Need Solitude
In a world driven by notifications, algorithms, and an unrelenting pressure to stay connected, it's easy to forget that some of the best writing emerges not from noise but from deep, undisturbed quiet. For writers, solitude isn't just a luxury—it's a necessity. In those uninterrupted...
How to Write a Protagonist Who’s One Bad Day Away From Becoming the Villain
Have you ever thought of the differences between the villain and the hero? The character who is usually considered a hero is someone who does the right thing. However, sometimes their choices blur the line between doing what's right and seeking revenge. These can also imply that...
Crafting Realms That Breathe: A Practical Guide To Effective World-Building
If magic, dragons, fairies, monsters, or alien espionage excite you, you are sure to be a lover of fantasy fiction. A genre that excites and enchants, fantasy fiction immerses readers in uncharted worlds of action and adventure. Readers get to detach from reality, as it were,...
Writing a Character Who Speaks Only in Metaphors and It’s Annoying but Brilliant
Have you ever met a character in a book who made you want to scream at them and applaud at the same time? That's precisely what happens when you read a story with someone who speaks only in metaphors. They confuse you, frustrate you, and somehow...
For Love of the Night Shift
When the world around us is quiet and everyone has wandered off to sleep, a particular kind of writer awakens: those of us who happen to do our best work between midnight and dawn. If you call us procrastinators or even introverts, you've got us...