[dylan604]

Would publishers be willing to go to the level of pulling a Milli Vanilli where they hire people to make appearances as the author? Or would a litmus test to see if an author has attended any book signings be valid?

[close04]

That sounds like a cost of doing business so the question is whether using this method increases profit more than any other.

[jambalaya8]

Removing book tours increases profit once people know your name.

[jambalaya8]

Fewer and fewer author appearances are in person. Book signings are being limited more and more to the author's name and are done via pre-order, with the readings and chats done online (especially with well-known authors). Book tours are much more rare than they were. Book tours are expensive.

[pessimizer]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JT_LeRoy#Exposure