Guest post by Anne K. Edwards, author of 'Dark of the Heart'

Anne K. Edwards enjoys a life shared with her husband and several cats who rule the household and lives of its inhabitants. She is an avid reader, reviews ebooks, writes in several genres, and enjoys meeting other writers. She’s currently touring the blogosphere to promote her latest book, Dark of the Heart.

About the book
A runaway son has returned to the Tyles family fold after an absence of several years.  A frightened boy when he left, Joey Tyles has returned a bitter man bent on revenge on the family that made his childhood a hell.
Find out more on Amazon.
Guest post
Writing is the hardest part of becoming a published author, for without a written story, publishing and promotion would not exist. After the tale or article is finished and published, comes the second hardest part-promotion.  That is for me and those like myself who may choose to self-publish through one of the many outlets available. While promotion takes many forms, its sole purpose is to get the reading public to notice the book and buy it.  This means promotion is aimed at sales. 

To write a book, no matter the genre or subject, the author must have some knowledge of writing and how to go about turning out an interesting, well written piece that will catch the reader’s attention. Any author must be willing to set their ego aside, to let the characters in fiction tell their own tale, or in nonfiction, keep their opinions out of the work so it is objective and informative. Once a writer can take themselves out of the work, they must be willing to learn the craft without worrying about sales, or if they will be famous. They must also love to read a wide variety of subjects, particularly in the genre they want to write.

Coming to publication, once the author is satisfied thei book is the best they can make it, said author must be willing to accept valid criticisms about the work, whether it is well written, complete, or needs more research or changes, This is when the new author will learn they need a thick hide to endure the often sharpened needles of the envious writers or incompetent reviewers who will shoot darts at them out of pure spite.  Thankfully, they are few and the honest writers and reviewers who will be asked to read the book will give honest opinions and advice if needed to make the book better.  This is part of the learning process that leads to becoming a published and well-read author. This is the time when an author wants to submit to publishers and will often jump at the first contract
offered.  They should do their research on publishers just as they did on information for their book.  That is the way to find the best publisher and have a good working relationship. If they are lucky enough to choose an author friendly publisher that will still be author friendly AFTER the contract is signed, the author is fortunate indeed.

Once the contract is signed, comes the time to research promotion.  Some publishers will agree that pre-publication publicity is a good thing, others will say to wait because readers who might be interested in the book but find it is not available at the time they read the promotion will forget about it and purchase books that are available at the time they are looking to buy reading material.  Generally, the choice is one the author must face for they will be paying for the promotion and have to stretch their promo dollars to get the most out of them.  Here again, research is necessary so the author doesn’t waste their money on scam sights, send books to readers both in and out of the US that will then be resold with no reviews forthcoming.  Those print books which are generally asked for are the preferred targets so ebook reviewers should be considered first. Many reviewers do not keep the books once reviewed, but there are some who will offer copies of the book for sale without permission (they are called thieves.) Do not call them pirates as this tends to glamorize a practice to some. The author must decide whether it is worth pursuing them to stop the practice.


There are many sites on the Internet that are scams or plainly crooked, among them publicity sites and publishers. Ask other authors about honest ones or lists that offer notices of honesty for publicists, agents, publishers and any others claiming to be related to the world of books. Remember authors, both new and published, are the targets of crooks working to steal money, books, or rights. Read that publishing contract word for word before signing and be sure you understand your rights. There are new twists in this business every day that allow even copyrights to be stolen.

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