diff --git a/src/database.c b/src/database.c
index a62d7ff..54d4431 100644
--- a/src/database.c
+++ b/src/database.c
@@ -162,7 +162,10 @@ int imdb_write_rec(imdb_t *db, imdb_rec_t *rec)
   DB_SEEK(db, rec->num * IMDB_REC_LEN);
   DB_WRITE(db, rec->data, IMDB_REC_LEN);
 
-  return bytes / IMDB_REC_LEN;
+  if (bytes != IMDB_REC_LEN)
+    return -1;
+
+  return 1;
 }
 
 int imdb_read_blk(imdb_t *db, imdb_block_t *blk)