A study published in The New York Times(March 9) about how fake news spreads a lot faster and wider than real news shows one clear thing:  The more sensational, unbelievable, controversial, or outrageous something sounds, the more willing people are to retweet and post it on Facebook. This is a lesson for authors promoting their books.

So how can you capitalize on this?

Simple:  Create news about you and your book in the style of fake news.

So how does one do that?

When writers have a book accepted for publication by a publisher they feel excitement, relief, and anxiety.  They are happy to know their book will be published, relieved that the search for a home is over, and anxious because now they have to actually write the book.  But what authors really need to do once their book is scheduled for publication is ask to speak to their publisher’s publicity department to ascertain exactly what the publisher plans to do – and not do.