This book is intended to encourage authors to promote their book energetically and ethically. However, on the Internet, remember that tactics that may seem perfectly fine to you could offend someone else. For example, in 2005 an author sent a series of e-mails announcing his book to a list of addresses harvested from Amazon's Web site. Several recipients were angry enough to post critical reviews of the book and lambast the author for "spamming." The headline of the book's top Spotlight Review declares, "this author is a spammer." It's not something that will favorably impress potential readers.
Many book-marketing consultants advise authors to enter articles about themselves and their book in Wikipedia.org, the popular online encyclopedia. However, the site's guidelines clearly state that Wikipedia is not to be used for personal promotion or to popularize products or Web sites. Articles that are deemed self-promotional are deleted. Likewise, many books are promoted on Craigslist.com, an online classified service operated by eBay, in apparent violation of the site's terms of service.
Plug your book relentlessly. But don't do something in the heat of the moment that could damage your credibility. The biggest asset authors and publishers have is their credibility with the public.