The IndieNext list published by the American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a fantastic sales tool. At the very least, you should make the brochure available to your customers and put the books on display. (You don’t have to read all of the books… trust your fellow booksellers!)

It would be good for your bookstore, however, if you submit nominations to the ABA, because to have your nomination featured is another selling point to your customers.

Looking at the nomination deadline schedule’s timing is a little difficult to get your head around. From what I can decipher, the deadline for the monthly blurb will fall on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th of the month… whichever of those days falls on a Friday or Tuesday. The next deadline is for March 2014, and nominations are due tomorrow, January 3rd. But don’t panic! If you’ve read something that will be published in March or after, write a couple of conversational sentences and send them to indienextlist@bookweb.org or complete the nomination form. The folks at the ABA will even take care of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

For future nominations, rather than trying to figure out the new deadline each month, I recommend thinking about the nomination the month prior. Many of us are deadline oriented, and the end of the month is easier to remember than the beginning. Or better yet. Are you reading a book right now that’s not due for a while? Write it up and send it early. It’s off your plate, and the ABA will be hold onto it until the appropriate deadline. Then the next time I send a reminder, you can pat yourself on the back.

Remember to remind your staff of the deadlines as well. If they’re daunted about writing a nomination, ask them to tell you about the book and jot it down for them.

Finally, remember to copy your rep when you press send.

Here’s a complete list of 2014 Indie Next List Deadlines.