Local bookstores like to be able to demonstrate that there is demand for a book. And since a book on display helps create demand, a ripple effect begins. This is why it is so important that authors make themselves the center of all local attention. Face it, you're no John Grisham or Nora Roberts, not yet. So you must not only beat the drum, but be the drum major as well.
All successful marketing begins at home.
If you own a business, do what Illinois author Jim Pomerantz does. And Cathouse is clearly displayed and visible to all patrons. It sells with gusto. We are very conscious of that fact. No book was written overnight.