Thanks again to everyone who's responding. One observation I can't resist, in reply to one of Quincy's:
Quote:
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The thing is, Maryann, it's harder to not buy a book with the author looking on than it is online...
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Yes, of course this is true, and it's part of what Marybeth has remarked on: it's rude not to buy.
And that reminds me of nothing so much as the Tupperware parties and jewelry parties and neighborhood Avon ladies that my mother so abominated because she felt she was being forced to spend money on things she didn't really need.
The day will probably come to all of us (and has already come for some of us) when we have to rely on this effect. But must I like it? All my early training teaches me to loathe it. I'd rather take Susan's approach when I buy. So I guess I'd (we'd) better learn to read so compellingly that listeners will genuinely want the book(s).
Of course all those other ways Q. mentions are valuable too, as are Bill's points about mindshare. (And I learned my loose-meter terza rima from Jacqueline Osherow!)