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You*re an aspiring author but honestly don't know where to begin when it comes to writing a book or maybe you are intimidated easily or truly fear the unknown. Those are some of the issues that keep many talented writers from following their dreams of writing their first book which is exactly why author T.L. Moore is offering these useful tips and some encouragement to you, the aspiring author.

1. The first thing you have to do is of course is write your book, but the main thing is that you have to do is believe in yourself. Why should anyone want to publish your book, or even read it if you don't believe in yourself as an author? Keeping your faith in the big man upstairs helps more than anything.

2. Get use to having doors slammed on you by agents and publishers. If you are not Stephen King or someone who has sold thousands and thousands of books, doors will be slammed right in your face. Keep in mind that it only takes one person to read your manuscript and really like it. I believe you are not a real author until you have been turned down multiple times. Not only does this help you understand the tricks of the trade, but it helps *toughen your skin,* a little bit as well.

3. I cannot say this enough, but promote, promote, promote! If you are like me, promoting yourself is difficult to do due to lack of funds. Don't let that stop you! There are creative ways you can use to promote your book for free or very little money. One of the ways to promote is to make flyers and place on windshields of cars that are parked in store parking lots, and places like that. You also need to get a website up and going and use methods to promote that as well. Get some business cards made and pass them out everywhere you can. Last but not least, family and friends are excellent resources for promoting yourself as an author. Word of mouth travels far and it's free, and if you have a mother like mine, then you*d have half of the U.S. covered in no time! Do some searches on the internet for free places to advertise and you will find, there are many, such as adpost.com which I have found to work fairly well.

4. Never give up your quest to succeed and be discovered as an author. Remember, it took some famous authors such as Stephen King a long time to become who they are today!

5. Get that manuscript sent in to every agent and publisher you can find that will accept the subject material. If you get rejected, wait a while and send it again. Keep in mind that it only takes one agent to see that you have great talent as an author.

6. Patience is a must. The world of writing takes time which can be quite frustrating. So many talented people just *throw in the towel: because everything is not happening for them today! Hang in there, keep the faith and things will work out. Take it from someone who knows, I am still in the process of fine-tuning my ability to be patient. My friends, if you have a dream, pursue that dream and make it happen. God helps those who help themselves.

You must realize and recognize that there will be challenges in your pursuit, but those challenges will help guide you in the right direction. Get busy and start writing that book! The world is waiting on the next great author and it might just be you!