Once upon a time, people went to bookstores when they wanted to buy a book. Or at least, that was the theory. Actually, non-bookstore channels have been a big part of book sales for decades-at least since people like Joe Karbo ("The Lazy Man's Way to Riches") back in the 1960s. For my own books, whether they were self-published, done with a small commercial house, or by a New York conglomerate, I've found that selling direct is more secure, more financially rewarding, and far less hassle than sweating out the returns game with the bookstore channel. All along, I've sold through speeches (I love getting paid to do my own marketing), over the Web (the first of my four websites went live in 1996), to clients at my office, who stare at a rack of my work throughout their entire appointment, and through

or not I sell a lot of books directly through these interviews, I definitely create a lot of buzz (search for my name at Google and see for yourself)--and the best interviews sell a number of books through my websites or toll-free numbers. Here's my "secret weapon" for getting coverage: a service that sends source queries from journalists working on

and participate often. I currently participate in three groups for small

press publishers (a primary market not only for my books but for my copywriting services, a group for Internet marketing professionals, three for professional PR and copywriters, and several others. Yes,

I spend an hour or two per day keeping up with--and participating on--these lists, but the impact on my business is huge.3. Distribute content. Articles, book excerpts, blogs...if you write often enough about a subject,

you become an expert. And you can find dozens of websites, discussion groups, print newsletters, 'zines, even radio shows--all hungry for well-written, informative material. You get "paid" with a

few lines of blurb and contact info. For my new book, "Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First," I am adding two things to