Are you in the database?

This goes out to small presses, or self-published authors, but even those of us with large publishers might find the exercise of use, too.

Recently one of our clients visited a location of chain bookstores; he wanted to check shelf placement. After checking several possible locations, he could not find the book. He asked a store associate to enter the book's title into the database. No go. How about the author name? Nope. The publisher's name. No go. Not even the ISBN #.

And this was for a book produced nearly exclusively for this chain.

So. Mr. Obie Joe says to make sure your book is in the book. If your book is carried by a major wholesaler -- Baker & Taylor, for example -- then you should be OK.

But to be safe, travel to your local independent bookstore, B&N, and even the library, and see how your book is listed. If it isn't, ask how to rectify the neglect.