I don't think there is anything wrong with doing an Amazon.com best seller campaign to promote your book. These campaigns are done all of the time and there are courses taught on how to go about it. I am doing my own Amazon.com best seller campaign on April 12th,2007 for my book "Seven Secrets to a Successful Divorce". I am donating 100% of the profits to The Child Support Disaster Relief fund (A.C.E.S) on that day. I am also giving away over $700 in valuable gifts. http://www.secretsofdivorce.com/freebonuses.htm

Many authors have donated the money from these best seller campaigns to charity and it is a great way to raise awareness and money for a good cause.
The strategy used by most authors is to have joint venture partners email their lists and promote the book on the day of the campaign. There is no deception here, because people have the choice whether to buy the book or not. I do not think
most authors have access to hundreds of employees like Mr. Whitney. While I agree that forcing employees to buy a book to achieve best seller status is manipulative, most authors do not employ these kinds of strategies. It is simply a matter of promoting your book to as many people as possible, encouraging them to buy your book on a certain day.

Christina Rowe

As the author of the Surgical Tech Success Handbook, http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com , I think new authors have to do what they have to do in order to get recognized.

Hey, if the book adds value or a service to a person's life, and the marketing campaign is legal, ethical, and done with integrity, why not~

As for the free bonuses, GREAT IDEA! I too offer valuable FREE bonus downloads with the printed copy of the Surgical Tech Success Handbook and believe the bonus material is my way of over delivering http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com

Best Regards!

Robert Prince, CST - Board Certified Surgical Technologist
http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com

As the author of the Surgical Tech Success Handbook, http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com , I think new authors have to do what they have to do in order to get recognized.

Hey, if the book adds value or a service to a person's life, and the marketing campaign is legal, ethical, and done with integrity, why not~

As for the free bonuses, GREAT IDEA! I too offer valuable FREE bonus downloads with the printed copy of the Surgical Tech Success Handbook and believe the bonus material is my way of over delivering http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com

Best Regards!

Robert Prince, CST
Board Certified Surgical Technologist
http://www.SurgicalTechSuccess.com

Whether an author campaigns or not, he/she has spent perhaps two years writing a book. It is a lifetime investment of time and usually money too. A first edition hardcover retails for around $24.95. The average person will not buy this book based on ratings alone. This is why the book's publishers avidly advertise a new seller via the media--tv, magazines, etc.. I myself am an independent reviewer of diet, health, and nutrition books. I also complete personal author interviews--I speak with these authors.
Kelly Jad'on
http://www.BasilandSpice.com

As a self published author of two books, "The System" and "Daydreams and Nightmares," I can thoroughly understand the frustrations of getting a publishing company to even consider reviewing any material that they might consider worthy of their publishing and distribution. Only a person like Russ Whitney would have the ability of recognition for Amazon to even consider advertising his book. I commend him for taking the initiative to come up with a plan of action that would potentially skyrocket his book to somewhere near the top of the charts.
All though this recognition doesn't necessarily mean that people are going to jump up and buy it, it certainly does put his book in front of a lot of others that won't get anywhere near the same recognition.
Writing a book is indeed time consuming and expensive and trying to recoup that investment often times does not occur, especially for a new author.
I wish I had the personnel that Russ Whitney has to get my books that "shot in the arm" that is so vital to the success of any author's writings.
For this reason many new authors are turning to vanity presses to at least get their books in print. How they manage to advertise their books is totally up to their own personally resources and expense. Getting any publisher to pursue a new author is next to impossible. I wish Russ Whitney well and hope that he attains the most from his book both personally as well as financially.
I too donate 10% of any profits from the sale of my books to my church where I think it would best be used for local people who need our support in many ways, including a vast amount of financial support. Being a new author does not give me the exposure so that I could potentially contribute even more to worthy charitable causes.I would hope that Russ Whitney would find some generosity in his heart to contribute to a charitable cause. After all, does he really need to personally gain from the financial profitability of his book with all the moeny that he most likely has now?
www.buybooksontheweb.com

So what happens the next hour when the book drops back down to the basement? What does this one hour of fame get you when the hour is over?

An Amazon.com best seller campaign is an effective way to promote a book. I think donating 100% of the profits to a charity is a marvelous way to let people know about a great resource while supporting important charities.
I am the author of over 15 books and travel nationwide sharing secrets of how to educate and inspire children to become extraordinary, contributing adults that are successful, happy and satisfied.
Thousands have benefited from my books Greatness and Children: Learn the Rules, and Entitled to Fail, Endowed to Succeed: America's Journey Back to Greatness, as well as my son Corbin's books (Corbin was the youngest professional motivational speaker in the history of the National Speakers Association and got 169,000 trees planted when he was only 10 years-old.
He wrote 4 books by the time he was thirteen (The ABCs of Becoming Great, The ABCs of Peace and Compassion, The ABCs of Great Leadership, and What Have You Got to Give?) that sold all over the world and we gave all the profits from our books to charities that were involved in healing the air on the planet. You can learn more by visiting
http://www.DawnBillings.com

As one of the comments said earlier: It is simply a matter of promoting the book or books you believe have the power to touch people's lives in ways that can change the direction of hearts and create a better world.
If you are an author like myself, that has spent years researching and compiling information that makes a difference in people's lives, you should feel compelled to let as many people know about your work as possible and do it as creatively as you can dream.
Dawn Billings
President of The Joy of Connecting
www.TheJOYofConnecting.com

As the author of Telemarketing Success for Small and Mid-sized Firms http://www.amazon.com/Telemarketing-Success-Small-Size-Firm/dp/1413464416/sr=8-1/qid=1157146569/ref=sr_1_1/104-8299354-2232713?ie=UTF8&s=books and The Single Person's Cookbook https://xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=37199 I understand the need to keep your book's in front of potential buyers. PR is everything!!

I suppose that all this works just fine for books that promote snake-oil remedies, crash diets, bodice rippers, or "how to" sexual advice. But if your topic is about anything academically serious then don't do it: your book as well as your work will instantly lose any credibility.

Clearly, it is market manipulation in its worst form and will only invite government regulation.
We are a culture of deception with rampant cheating from grade school to adulthood becoming a conspicuous alternative to skill, quality, merit, and competitiveness. If you doubt what I say you probably further doubt the way meaningfully educated persons in places like China and India are cleaning out clocks. You're enslaving America.
Robert Lockwood, author, SHADES OF DECEPTION

This is an interesting concept. Yes, it's manipulating the Amazon stats but, in reality, the "typical" promotion works great for the customer.

The example in the story is not the norm in how this is done. Typically, someone does an email campaign offering a bunch of bonus products to anyone who purchases their book during a specific time period.

Granted, depending upon what lists you're on, this may be a little overdone but it's still a great deal for the buyer and, for that reason, should be left alone.

For example, on April 19th, I'm rolling out a campaign for "This is Your Life, Not a Dress Rehearsal," a simple book to help people create the life of their dreams.

There will be numerous bonus products, offered as an added incentive for people to buy the book that day. yes, it will put a bump inmy Amazon ranking but so what? The customer will get an incredible offering of bonuses for a $12 book.

Greetings: An interesting conversation - as an author "Police Technology (Prentice Hall)" I am always on the look out for creative ways to market my work. Indeed, that is what led me hear. I am the editor of http://www.police-writers.com and was research "joseph paul" for inclusion (there are over 450 police officers listed on the site). BTW, my bio is at http://www.police-technology.net/raymond.foster.cv.html. Anyway, the police-writers site is a loose community of cops who have written books and work to promote their own work, as well as other cops - so, hey, joseph, email me.