In June of 2018, I attended BookExpo/BookCon in New York and while I was there, I met a rep for a company called DartFrog. DartFrog does a lot of wonderful things for authors in the publishing world, including helping already self-published authors of unique books get into independent bookstores, which I love because I am all about supporting smaller, local businesses. Their rep looked at my book, Piggy and Pug, and was really interested in having me work with them, so I got their contact info and made a plan to get in touch with them when I returned home. But then all of my book promotion plans were put on hold when I discovered black mold in my kitchen and I spent the entire summer dealing with that, as well as some other personal matters that gave me such awful anxiety that I felt like I couldn’t start this next chapter in book promotion no matter how many times I thought I should keep moving forward.
A couple of months ago, I felt like I was ready to get back to it, so I emailed the people at DartFrog to see what I should do to get this ball rolling. The first thing I had to do was send a copy of my book to their editor and book reviewer to get approval, which totally scared me because I thought the woman in New York was the approval person. EEP! But I sent them the book and then heard back maybe a week or so later and was told they loved it and couldn’t wait to have me on board with them. Hooray! I shipped DartFrog a big supply of books that they in turn sent out to the independent bookstores they work with, and then I sent even more books out to a distribution center for Ingram and for Baker & Taylor, who would fulfill additional orders as the bookstores sold them. Once everything was in place (over a week ago) they sent me a list of the 55 stores in 27 states that would be carrying my book.
Holy crap, it’s finally happening! So what do I do? Why, I let anxiety get the best of me and I didn’t tell anyone, that’s what I did! Smart move, Wheaton. (There are many other factors that ultimately led me to seek help for anxiety this past week, which I’ll probably post about another time). I’m starting to feel better now and part of that is because I’m taking steps to move forward with my life instead of being stuck in an anxiety loop. And with that, I am going to list all of the stores by state and city so you can get a copy for yourself or for a little one in your life who would enjoy a story that teaches empathy and compassion with some adorable animals who go on a journey to find family and friendship.
Ready? Here we go!
GEORGIA
-The Book Worm in Powder Springs
-Underground Books in Carrollton
-Wall of Books in Columbus, in Watkinsville, in E. Ellijay, in Perry, and in Commerce!
-The Book House in Mableton
-Gottwals Books in Warner Robins, in Byron, and in Macon!
-E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah
-Hiram Bookstore in Hiram
LOUISIANA
-Tubby & Coos Mid-City Book Shop in New Orleans
-The Conundrum in St. Francisville
OHIO
-Wall of Books in West Chester
-The Book Rack in Cincinnati
ALABAMA
-Page and Palette in Fairhope
SOUTH CAROLINA
-Burry Bookstore in Hartsville
-Fiction Addiction in Greenville
VIRGINIA
-Fountain Bookstore in Richmond
-Book No Further in Roanoke
OKLAHOMA
-Bliss Books & Bindery in Stillwater
NEW HAMPSHIRE
-A Freethinker’s Corner in Dover
NEW YORK
-Battenkill Books in Cambridge
-The Dog Eared Book in Palmyra
-Off The Beaten Path in Lakewood
-Barner Books in New Paltz
NORTH CAROLINA
-Wall of Books in Cornelius
-Sassafras on Sutton in Black Mountain
FLORIDA
-Third House Books & Coffee in Gainesville
OREGON
-Arcade Book Exchange in Hillsboro
MICHIGAN
-Squirreled Away Books in Armada
ILLINOIS
-Wild Thyme Books in Carbondale
-Volumes Bookcafe in Chicago
-King City Books in Mt. Vernon
IOWA
-Plot Twist Bookstore in Ankeny
-Wall of Books in Ankeny
WISCONSIN
-BayShore Books in Oconto
INDIANA
-Main Street Books in Lafayette
MAINE
-The Briar Patch in Bangor
RHODE ISLAND
-Savoy Bookshop & Cafe in Westerly
CONNETICUT
-Bank Square Books in Mystic
MARYLAND
-Fenwick Street Used Books and Music in Leonardtown
-Books With A Past in Glenwood
-Main Street Books in Frostburg
TENNESSEE
-Star Line Books in Chattanooga
-The Reading Rock in Dickson
MINNESOTA
-Valley Bookstore in Stillwater
PENNSYLVANIA
-Cupboard Maker Books in Enola
NEW JERSEY
-Sparta Books in Sparta
CALIFORNIA
-La Playa Books in San Diego
KANSAS
-The Next Chapter Books and Novelties in El Dorado
-Wall of Books in Atchison
***
This distribution list is specifically with DartFrog. However, distribution of Piggy and Pug is not exclusive to them. If you are a bookstore owner/manager, librarian, or work at a school where you have an account with Ingram or with Baker & Taylor, you can just order copies directly from them! If you don’t have an account but do work for a school, library, or bookstore and would like a discounted copy, you can email my publicist, Susan Peters, at susanxpeters @ gmail dot com for a discount code to order from my website.
For more information about Piggy and Pug, visit piggyandpug.com.