I'm afraid I don't know anything about the distribution side of my book (and I don't know anything about Checker), but I'm wondering if you could try ordering from the publisher. When I've ordered copies, I've called Random House directly. There's an 800 number for this. (And I'm so sorry, I've been combing through my emails and cannot find it, but I'm sure if you called their main switchboard, they'd direct you.) I was able to order as many copies as I needed, and they wanted my resale number, so I assume other resellers can order there, too,

I hope that helps.

Embarrassed as I am to confess to a complete lack of talent, I have fallen at your social media wise feet! I am currently researching this new marketing craze and would be very interested in following you. I am a Facebook addict and have been looking for you on there but can’t seem to find you. Do you have a page I can follow or any key word to narrow down the search?

Thanking you in advance!

Clara

Good luck with your shop!

There's an interesting difference between being contacted by another
blogger and being contacted by a marketing intern. The blogger, at
least, usually has a genuine passion for his or her project. For the
marketing intern, in many, many cases, it's just a job.

I've had so many pitch emails from “professional” marketers, where
it's extremely clear that they don't care all that much about what
they're promoting, and my blog is just one more on a long list they
have to get through. I want to shout from the rooftops: What's the
Point?!

Perhaps some of this disconnect comes from the fact that many
professional marketers are still operating under the protocols they've
used for decades to communicate with traditional media.

News flash, though, Pro-Marketers: bloggers are very often unpaid
human beings, blogging from a place of passion, and we need to be
treated differently.

I once sent a reply to a very heinous marketing email which was basically just a press release with no salutation at all … not even a “Dear Blogger” … and was accompanied by a pdf price list. It was material aimed at book buyers, like for book stores, not book reviewers. In my reply, I complained that the person was spamming me. The person (a marketing intern) replied saying my About page said I was, “interested in all sorts of crafts” and that putting my email on my website gave her permission to send me anything she wanted to send me. We got in an email mini-battle.

I now think of these people as trolls, even though they might not have the same intent (although now that I think about it … they are more similar than one might imagine at first). And, I do my best to follow the sage wisdom, “Don't feed the trolls.”

Ack, I sound like such a bitter, yucky person. They really get under my skin, don't they? ;)

Thanks for stopping by. That question of the etiquette of linking to
other people's blogs is a tricky one. There's no universally agreed-
upon procedure.

For my blog, you're always welcome to post links, and there's no need
to ask my permission. If you wanted to republish one of my images, or
any part of my post, however, I would want to be asked in those cases.

Hope that helps! And, welcome to the blogosphere!