Before I took a social networking class to learn how to start and manage blogsites and “connect” to promote my books, I spent little time online trying to market my books. My royalty publishing companies did most of the work, which included posting my books on Amazon and getting the books reviewed. So, I took quite a long time to make some plans of my own to get the word out.
One thing I did that proved to be very successful was contact Choice Books, the Christian book distributor that is responsible for placing Christian books in all Wal-Marts, hospital gift shops, truck stops, and other similar places of business in much of the northeastern USA. Choice Books picked up my books for over a year, and that attributes a LOT to the 250,000 sales of this series.
A little background on how this all happened: When my first two Keystone Stables books were released, I naively went to our local Wal-Mart and asked to speak to the manager. Of course, I had this big spiel ready to try to convince him to place my books on his shelf. What I was expecting was for him to tell me that I had to contact the store’s headquarters in Arkansas. Remember, I said I was naive?
He told me that Wal-Mart is not responsible for placing any books on their shelves. That decision is made by the distributors, the Christian books done by Choice Books. Okay, I got it and left red-faced.
I went home, went to Choice Books website, and emailed the company, telling them about my books.(Unfortunately, Choice Books no longer accepts proposals from authors. Rather, the publishing company must approach Choice Books.)
Well, miracle of miracles, shortly thereafter, I started to see my books on the shelves of Wal-Marts and gift shops up and down the northeast coast. How did I know the books were in more than our local Wal-Marts? Friends and relatives were telling me they saw them on the shelves.
Wal-Mart carried my books for a little over a year, which thrilled me and helped make the first one a best seller. Every time I went to any Wal-Mart anywhere, I hunted out my books, autographed them, and placed an “AUTOGRAPHED COPY” sticker on the front of each one. Ask me if that was exciting. You bet cha!
I did some research and found that in K-Mart and some large stores in other parts of the country, a company named Anderson does the Christian book distribution. I also contacted that distributor, but to no avail. They never returned my email, snail mail letter, or phone call.
But I am pleased to say that one email to Choice Books helped get my books a place on some frequently visited shelves for over a year, and for that I am quite grateful.
Marsha Hubler
Best-selling Author of the Keystone Stables books
(Web) www.marshahublerauthor.com
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Marsha Hubler: Author of THE KEYSTONE STABLES BOOKS 
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