The Moment I First Realized Booksellers Are Not Always Excited To See Authors: I spent the better part of the 11 years between 1983 and 1994 working as an independent bookseller. My manager liked to tell the story about how, when she was still green in the job, a local author came in complaining about the placement of his book. My manager watched as the owner took the author by the arm and led him to the center of the store. “You know?” the owner said, one arm around the author’s shoulders. “You’re right. We should have a big pyramid of your books right here.” With his free hand, he traced a shape in the air to illustrate what he had in mind; the shape he traced was large enough to rival the pyramids in Giza. The author was thrilled and left happy. A moment later, my manager appeared at the owner’s elbow, a pile of the author’s books extending from her hands to her chin. “Where do you want these?” she asked. The owner looked at her, stunned and disgusted. “What are you, crazy? Put those back – that guy’s not getting a pyramid!”