OK, there is really no secret, but lith printing taught me something that helped my standard printing. And it is something that every book on printing will tell you: prints (generally) need a solid black and a solid white. I've never been a fan of this approach, but there is a bit of truth to it. For my priniting, I've always been OK with a bit of solid black with no details, but I can't stand solid white with no details so that is how I print. In lith you expose for the highlights and develop for the shadows. Straight printing can be similar. You expose for the midtone and adjust the contrast to get the highlights and shadows correct. If you look at the black church image above, you can see what I mean.
That's it.
That's it.