Here's something from the New York Times on virtual book tours. This piece lays out very straightforwardly the constraints small publishers are under. Book tours are next to impossible for us to finance and coordinate unless the author is willing to foot part of the bill and do a lot of the legwork. When you're running a one- or two-person shop, that's just the cold reality. But then, this virtual tour idea gives you hope that we're going to be able to find alternative avenues for marketing our books. Maybe we should create a Sumie Kawakami avatar, put her on Second Life and have her give advice to distraught couples.