Nosegay Power Points?

I visited Miami once, years ago. I met a family friend who was aware of my aspirations to become an author. He arranged for us to go to a bookstore to hear an author. I was looking forward to it. Then I got there. He read some pages from his book and then it was cocktail hour. I kind of felt like I was missing something. It seemed somewhat shallow and pompous. Now that I’ve read this article by Joanne Kaufman called Rethinking the Familiar Book Tour (here), I see that I’m not the only one who feels this way.

The best quote of the article is this:
“We want them to leave the event saying 'wow,'" said Ms. Jennings, who'd like to say something similar when she looks at the cash register receipts after one of these events. One recent example: a visit from Vanessa Diffenbaugh, who spoke about the foster-care system—a theme of her debut novel, "The Language of Flowers"—and who gave a PowerPoint presentation about the significance of particular nosegays in the Victorian era.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time believing that I’d leave a reading with a nosegay power point as the kicker saying “wow.” But, there could be some out there who would.

Additionally, was this line:
At Boswell Books in Milwaukee, the store's owner, Daniel Goldin, suggests a hybrid: a talk (what inspired the book? is the protagonist based on a real person?) sandwiched between the reading of two brief passages. In lieu of readings, Roxanne Coady, the owner of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Conn., will sometimes conduct an interview with an author. "Audiences feel they're getting something unusual and intimate, and sales of the book go up," she said.

How many readers would I win over when I tell them my inspiration . . . to make money and to eventually quit the day job. Hardly enough to inspire folks to part with their money.