No.

Thanks for asking.

Usually, when an author publishes a book, his publicist will arrange a book tour. During the week or two after the book is published, or slightly before, a review comes in from the New York Times Book Review; radio and TV hold interviews with the author; things will be happening. Crammed somewhere into these press appearances, which are proven tools for spreading the word about a book, the author will stop at the Barnes and Noble at Union Square, at Powell’s Books in Portland, at Politics and Prose in D.C., and he will crack open his book under a banner bearing his name, and he will read with florid hand gestures (see footnote #1). When he is done, there will be questions, signed copies of the book in a neat pyramid. Audience members will be encouraged to approach the table—like children in line for communion. A smelly young man with a fake cough will be nowhere in earshot.

Does this ritual really help to spur book sales?