Unless You're Already Famous, "Signings" Are Better Than "Readings"

I've just come off the first leg of what David Terrenoire aptly dubbed the "Hell On Earth Tour 2006" and I've got this observation to make:

Unless you've got the kind of name (King, Grisham, Clancy, et. al. ) that can pull a crowd in, "signings" (where you sit behind the desk and work on charming random passers-by) are better than "readings" (where everyone's supposed to show up at a specific time and listen to you bloviate about your books, fiction and life in general).

The places where they've parked me near the door or the sales desk behind a pile of my books, I've found, have been a much more fertile ground for sales than the ones where I'm supposed to stand behind a podium and speak. The latter, I'm afraid, tend to draw only family and close friends (and again, thanks to David Terrenoire, my other friend Dave, Kim, Nan, Katy, my Aunt Brenda, and...well, that's about it. )

But give me a chance to accost random strangers, and I'm in my element.

Discuss.