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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...

How to Spot a Literary Agent Scam – Part 1

You are ready to start looking for a literary agent but it’s an absolute minefield. There are so many to choose from and they all seem to offer so much. Where do you start? How do you make sure you don’t get caught in a...

Multiple Agents for Multiple Genres?

One very commonly asked question of literary agents, a question that has a complicated answer, is “Do I need more than one agent if I write more than one genre?” This isn’t an easy subject to address but we’ll have a go. Many writers are...

7 Elements of a Successful Non-Fiction Book Proposal

Nonfiction book proposals are vastly different from those for fiction stories, mainly because you do not write the entire manuscript first. Instead, you are providing the idea, a synopsis of the book and a chapter or two to see if the agent thinks the idea...

Don’t Sign With a Literary Agent - Part 3

These are the last questions that you should be asking a prospective agent before you sign up. If You Move To A Different Agency, Do I Go With You? This is an important question to ask if you are dealing with a large agency. Agents move all...

Don’t Sign With a Literary Agent - Part 2

On to the next set of questions to ask a prospective agent: If Your Chosen Editors Refuse the Book, What Will You Do Next? Or Should I Start on Another Project Instead? There are always agents that will only sell in large deals to well-known editors and...

Don’t Sign With a Literary Agent - Part 1

At least until you have asked some questions of them and are happy with the answers. Literary agents may have connections but that doesn’t mean that the first to accept you is necessarily the best for you. Your relationship with your agent needs to work,...

Writing Your Query Letter – Your Bio Part 2

Welcome back. Now you know what to include in your Bio but what about what you should never say? Let’s see: What Not To Include Never say that your work is copyrighted. All written work is copyrighted and saying so makes you look like nothing more than...

Writing Your Query Letter – Your Bio Part 1

Truly good query letters are written in three separate parts – an introduction, your pitch, and your bio. It is the last part that seems to cause the most issues and raises the most questions so, keeping that in mind, there are some things you...

7 Ways to Deal With Notes From Your Editor – Part 2

Let’s continue with the tips on how to deal with your first edited manuscript. Tip Three – Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions If you really are not sure about an edit and you’ve tried to find an answer on your own, have a word with your...

7 Ways to Deal With Notes From Your Editor – Part 1

It’s here, the day you have been waiting for. Your editor has messaged you that your manuscript edits are complete. Your heart pounds as you save that edited work on your computer and then you open it. You hope to see only a few errors that...