Back to book promotion

It's the Monday after the Fourth of July weekend. That means it's back to book promotion. This book publicist is back in full force, and I'm trusting the media decision makers will be back at their desks, too, and gearing up for new pitches.

Here's one promotion opportunity I wouldn't wish on anyone: finding greatly exaggerated rumors of your death on one of the social networks and then refuting those rumors. It happened, according to a recent article on CNN, to actor Jeff Goldblum who, in a promotional coup, was given the opportunity to read his own obituary on "The Colbert Report."

Well, yes, an appearance on "The Colbert Report" is terrific -- and when was the last time you'd heard Jeff Goldblum's name before he made this TV appearance? Still, as much as my clients all want media attention and a chance to be seen or heard in the national media, I don't think any of them would want Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network to prematurely announce their death.

Social networking has become an integral part of book promotion, and the more frequently authors' names turn up on the social networks, the happier they ought to be . . . unless they turn up in social networks in the wrong context, at the wrong time.

But isn't that always the way?