This year, 150,000 authors will finish their masterpiece, but most of them will be horribly disappointed with their sales--only about one-third of new titles sell more than 100 copies. Most books fail in the marketplace simply because they never had a chance: Nobody ever heard about them.
Traditional marketing and advertising is less effective than ever; people aren't paying attention to it. But _free _ advertising is alive and well. The catch is, you can't manufacture free advertising; you must get it the old-fashioned way--by earning it.
Now for the first time, authors and readers can ignite word of mouth using online communities to spread the word about good books. Anyone with the skills to write an e-mail can publicize their book worldwide, effectively and economically.
Internet publicity isn't the only way to promote your book, but it's a great way to start--it can open doors you never dreamed of. The real value of online publicity is that it endures, and spawns more publicity, the kind that can't be bought. More than ever, journalists and producers of radio and television programs use the Internet to find expert commentators and new story ideas.