oday, an author and publicist gave me the heads up that her client (her handsome hubby) would not be available for a tour in about four weeks. Their holiday schedule pushed everything back.

At first blush, you might think this is a terrible tragedy. After all, I have to fill that day with some sort of content. But as a seasoned virtual book tour host, I can tell you I was in heaven.

This author/publicist had the common sense to understand that VBT hosts need plenty of advance notice if a tour need to be canceled or rescheduled. With nearly a month, I have plenty of time to find an author to fill the slot. It also allows me to bump up another author and give them plenty of notice to change their promotional lists with the new date.

I e-mailed back with a reschedule date and a big KUDOS for telling me well in advance. What I learned next was interesting, and why I decided to pen this post. These authors had tried virtual book tour stops with other authors. What they learned was that many authors don't show up. They are disorganized, ineffective and simply do not understand VBT deadlines.

These authors vowed not to fall into this category. I guantee they will not. I respect them for telling me and have no issue rescheduling their booking. Other authors who fail to follow up don't get the same treatment.

I cannot blog about this enough. If you set out to promote yourself and book virtual tours, you MUST be organized, efficient, and communicate with your hosts.

You have got to be willing to do the back work to get it in on time – ON DEADLINE – to your virtual book tour host.

You have got to be willing to show up to respond to comments, or do live chats are required by virtual book tour hosts.

You have got to be willing to participate in a big way to connect with fans, new readers and other professionals in publishing.

If you cannot buckle down to organize yourself and be responsive to requests, do not bother booking tours.

If you want to do it, but are overwhelmed, or if you have booked some and become overwhelmed, ask for help. Get friends and family members involved. Ask other authors for advice if various forums like bookblogtours or get advice from pros.

If you want to do this, but none of the above works for you, check your budget and research VBT firms to help out. But he warned: You still have to produce something for tours, even if you hire a virtual book tour promotions company. No one can do it all for you.

The purpose of VBTs is to allow the author to express personal views, share stories about their novels and their heart as a writer. No one else can do that but you.

HOT TIP: Think of your virtual book tour as a series of deadline-oriented articles due to a paying employer. As a freelancers, you have 10 articles lined up with 10 different magazines. You have different sets of facts to collect for each article. Then, you must put them into one cohesive piece that the editor will love – so much so they will want you back.

Carry this analogy over to VBTs. Each tour stop has its own set of facts to report – i.e. materials requested. These "facts" must be put into some kind of order to send into one e-mail to your virtual book tour host. Keep a close check list handy that you can follow to meet the guidelines of each tour – or blog pitstop.

If this were a paid assignment, you would NOT want your editor to have to track you down to complete it. Would an editor hire you again if they had to do that? I don't think so. A virtual book tour host isn't going to give you a second chance if you are lazy and disorganized. We simply do not have time to do so, and with so many other authors out there willing to take time to do it right, why should we?

CAVEAT: This post sounds harsh, I'm sure, but these are tough lessons you need to learn and accept as authors vying for the attention of readers with small pocketbooks and lots of choices. Good virtual book tour hosts will make exceptions for deaths, natural disasters, childbirths or other life happenings that get in the way. Sometimes lifes curveballs simply cannot be predicted or helped.

 Recently, several authors asked me for links in advance of posting their virtual book tours. I am reluctant to provide advance links for a variety of reasons:

1. I could change a title or a tag that creates a different live link.
2. The posting system could change the link to something else.
3. The post could be lost, need to be reposted and, again, the link would change.
4. My editor could change something, without my knowledge, and change the link.
5. A page redesign could configure the links differently.

See a pattern here?

The fact is, virtual book tour hosts can never be 100 percent about what the live link title will be. There are too many unknowns in cyberspace. When touring, you should take the time to visit the sites to pull correct links. 

Some authors say they want the links in advance for advanced promotions. Here is what I say: In the Web world, we have short attention spans. Web surfers will not remember to visit a site for a tour you announced a week in advance. Your best bet to catch fans in cyberspace is to pull links the day you tour, and publicize them on your social networks and via e-mail that day. People are more likely to click and view if they know it is new.

Visiting the sites on your tour date also ensures that your host did, in fact, post your items at the appropriated time. You will know right away if your items are not up, and be able to correct that immediately.

HOT TIP: When promoting, send your readers directly to your virtual book tour page, not just to a general site. Some people could get your announcement well after your tour. They do not want to have to search a site to find you. In fact, most won't. Be as specific as you can. Also, ask your virtual book tour hosts if the address will be the same when the post archives. If not, find out how you can get the updated address and when it will archive.

President-elect Barack Obama's campaign speechwriter is an intelligent person, right? I mean, he has to be. He helped the Democrat pull in enough votes to win the White House for four years. Right?

Based on his social networking prowess, I'd say, NO.

Jon Favreau posted pictures from a party on his Facebook page. As you can see, Favreau posed for a pic with a cardboard cut out of Obama's heated rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, with his hand on her breast.

The photographs were pulled within a few hours, but the damage was already done. Once something is in cyberspace, is it there for a lifetime. Even when you take images down, change designs or text, it is still available in archives. And if you have enough power to pull those archives, then I guarantee someone has saved it on their harddrive, or blogged about it for all the world to see – or they have posted it to their own photo albums on their social networks.

This is an excellent example of how stupidity resounds online. Too many people – especially 20-and30-somethings – do not think about employers seeing their Drunken Photos album on Facebook, or consider the ramifications of having an inappropriate MySpace photo icon. They think their friends will find it funny. In a digital age where there is no longer Six Degrees of Separation, more than just your close buddies will see your stupidity. It could cost you a job, fans, or cause embarrasment to your family.

When you are posting to your social networks, as yourself, How stupid am I? This will go a long way to helping you keep a clean image of yourself when using the net for business. You can be fun, silly, show off your smart-mouth side, but keep it clean. And if you are running for office, or want to work in the White House someday, keep your hands off of your rival's breasts. It is quite unbecoming.