To New Authors Who are Planning a Book Signing: You Gotta Get Outta the Chair

To new authors who are planning a book signing, hear me now or hear me later: you can't just sit there. If you're scheduled to read or talk, that's a different deal, but if just sit there like a lovely accessory, you will sell two books, and one of them won't count. If you're happy with selling two books, good for you. If you'd like to sell more than that, you have to get on your feet and talk to people.

I was signing books in Fredericksburg, VA on Saturday, on a custom-ordered day. It was be-...