I went to see Douglas Adams once, my Dad and I were the only ones there. That was in 1998! So not a new problem really. I felt bad for the guy but we did get to hang out and talk, which was very cool. So if you're a big fan of an author definitely go to these things, there's a reasonable chance you'll be making their day less boring and you might get to actually hang out a bit rather than just have your book signed.