Guidelines
Our goal is to highlight authors of the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres and connect readers to books and authors they might like.
Author highlights are posted each Monday. Posts are assigned on a first-come-first-serve bases. We’d love to be a part of your virtual book tour, but we fill up quickly, so please plan in advance as much as possible. You can check our list of scheduled highlights by clicking here. Authors have the option to write their own formal introduction or to answer interview questions. Authors may mention as many books as they like, but are required to choose only one book to feature in detail.
Urban Stars accepts the following fictional genres only:
- Urban Fantasy
- Paranormal Romance
- YA Urban Fantasy and YA Paranormal Romance
- Erotic Urban Fantasy and Erotic Paranormal Romance *All Erotic books will be labeled with an adult content warning. All Highlights, cover art, excepts, video trailers, and other media used must be PG13. We will not take any book glorifying rape, sex with minors, bestiality, or any other such fetish or act that could be considered degrading or offensive.
Urban Stars does NOT accept Horror, Thriller, Paranormal Fiction, Non-fiction, or any other genres. We also do not except Screenplays, poetry or unpublished manuscripts – all books must be under contract or in the process of being published with a pre-determined release date at the time of submission to Urban Stars (we will try our best to assign you a date as close to your book’s release as possible, but it is not guaranteed). If you are unsure if your book is right for us, please go here to contact us with information about your book and we will make a decision. All other genres can still be highlighted at our main site at http://HighlightedAuthor.com
Getting started:
If you would like to be highlighted on Urban Stars, please begin by filling out and submitting the Submission Request form. We will contact you within one week of your submission. If you do not hear from us after one week, please try submitting the form again, as technical issues can sometimes cause submissions to get lost. We will email you an introduction letter along with your post date and further instruction.
While you’re waiting to hear from us, please take a look our Advertisements Store. You may like to purchase an ad space for the cover art of your book or your own author page to display more information about you and your writing. Author pages stay on Urban Stars for a minimum of one year, and allow readers to learn more about you.
What goes on my highlight post?
Authors are required to introduce themselves and their featured book. You may choose to do this either by writing your own formal introduction or by answering interview questions. We ask that all authors provide a picture of yourself and a copy of your featured book’s cover art (.JPEG works the best) as well as a link to your website and a link where your book may be purchased.
The following are optional:
- An excerpt or sample chapter from your featured book, not to exceed 2,000 words.
- Your featured book’s video trailer
- One or two short reviews for your featured book.
- Mention any rewards or contests your featured book may have won.
- Give-away a free copy of your book (print or ebook) to a lucky commenter.
All materials and content must be PG13. We read all materials before posting them. We will contact you if we feel any part of your post is inappropriate and will allow you to change it. HighlightedAuthor.com and Urban Stars stand neutral when presenting material pertaining to religion, politics, rights, etc. The views expressed in the spotlights are that of the author.
All submitted material must be the author’s own work. Co-authorship is accepted. Copyright laws exist. Any reproduction of work presented on Urban Stars without the permission of the author is prohibited.
Urban Stars has the right to be selective with the material we showcase and turn away any materials we feel are not suitable with or with out proper notification.
How do the ads work?
Your featured book’s cover art will be showcased on your highlight post for free. The ads are additional and feature your book’s cover art on the site’s right or left sidebar for 30 days. One book and one purchase link is shown per ad space.
Once payment is received, we will contact you via email for a copy of your cover art and link to your book’s purchase page. Ads will be posted within 24 hours after all materials are received and will be deleted after 30 days. Please visit our Store to purchase an ad.
How do the author pages work?
An author page is a profile-style page on Urban Stars that includes your bio and credentials and holds a maximum of five (5) books. There is space for cover art, a short (300 words) blurb, and a purchase link for each book. It can also include up to three (3) personal links – such as to your website, blog, facebook, etc.
Author pages stay on Urban Stars for one year/12 months. After payment is received, we will contact you via email for all materials to be used on your author page. Your page will be posted within 48 hours after all materials are received. You can email us at any time to update the information or add a new book on your author page once the initial page is set up. We will email you about 30 days before your page expires with the option to renew it.
There is a limit of one author page per author/pseudonym per year. Please visit our Store to purchase an author page.
