By Rodney Ho

NASHVILLE—Author Criswell Freeman sold 330,000 books last year, and he's on track to double that number this year. Normally, a tally like that would put a writer on the bestseller lists. But Mr. Freeman is hardly a household name. "I'm one of the best-selling unknown authors in the world," he jokes.

Mr. Freeman writes quote books, if write is the right word. Since 1995, he has produced 40 titles, Including "The Rook of Stock Car Wisdom," "The Book of New England Wisdom" and "The Gardener's Guide to Life." From a grungy prefab warehouse in south Nashville, his company, Walnut Grove Press, sells 85% of its copies outside of bookstores, targeting gift shops, convenience stores, even car-wash waiting rooms. His success offers a reminder that the book business can flourish in the most unlikely niches, far from the mainstream world of New York publishers and chain stores.

A psychologist and admitted workaholic," the 45year-old Mr. Freeman has scribbled down tens of thousands of quotes over the years. He writes them on 3-by-5 notecards that he keeps in plastic holders, wrapped by topic in rubber hands. These days he often compiles three or four books at once once, scouring the Internet, newsstands, libraries and used-book stores for material.

He’s modest about his books' literary merit: "They're bathroom books, pure and simple," he says. "As an aspiring writer. I wanted to he on the bestseller list. Now I'm satisfied being on somebody's toilet lid."

Jeffrey Himmel, who heads a New York marketing company, was hooked the minute he read two of Mr. Freeman's hooks "The Wisdom of the Midwest" and "The Book of Football Wisdom—at it Kansas City airport gift shop. "'They really struck a chord in me," Mr. Himmel. He later ordered several dozen to hand out as presents, and he keeps a printout of his favorite quotes in his briefcase.

Many gift books can trace their lineage to Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, first published in 1855 with just 258 pages of quotes. Publisher Little Brown & Co. says the 16th edition, with more than 20,000 quotes, continues to sell well. But Mr. Freeman, citing Bartlett's tiny print and often lengthy quotes, says he considers the collection is "a snoozefest."

The gift-book niche blossomed in 1991, when advertising executive H. Jackson Brown Jr. hit a nerve with "Life's Little Instruction Book," a 4-by-6-Inch book offering 511 tips, such as "Be loyal" and "Compliment three people every day." Since then, the industry has exploded, with certain topics emerging as favorites. "We call them the usual suspects: mothers, friends, daughters, cats, dogs and golf," says Tom Thornton, president of publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing in Kansas City.

Mr. Freeman stumbled upon the market. In the 1980s, he ran a sizable real-estate firm. But changing tax laws, plunging real-estate prices and suffocating debt sent him hurling into corporate and personal bankruptcy in the late 1980s. Seeking an inspirational quote each day kept him from giving up on life, he says. To change his career, he got a graduate degree in clinical psychology and began seeing patients. But he wanted to have a broader impact, so he self-published a book of 18 simple vignettes titled "When Life Throws You a Curveball ... Hit It!"

That taste of publishing inspired him to write his first quote compilation, "The Book of Southern Wisdom." It sold far faster than his self-help book. So he decided to start a company focusing on quotes. And he went solo, noting, "I don't have to pay royalties to myself."

As he tried to sell the titles, Mr. Freeman was largely ignored by large bookstore buyers, so he targeted gift shops. "We don't have to compete with 150,000 titles," he says. In addition, while bookstores traditionally return unsold copies, most gift shops buy books outright.

Mr. Freeman says he tries to make his books "timeless" by using lots of philosophical quotes. The quotes are grouped by themes, with brief essays at the beginning of each chapter. "The Wisdom of Old-Time Baseball" includes chapters on "The Mental Game," "Hitting" and "Hard Work."

The formula appears to be working. Mr. Freeman says he's adding 30 to 40 new stores a day and now sells his books in more than 5,000 locations. Sales hit $1 million last year with positive cash flow, he adds, and Walnut Grove will probably double revenue this year. Profit for the year was between $50,000 and $100,000, he says.

Mr. Freeman spends only a couple of hours a day at his warehouse, leaving day-to-day operations to former pastor Jim Gallery and 13 other employees. The books are printed to his specifications by a variety of printers. He no longer sees patients. Instead, he’s usually hunting for quotes.

One recent Tuesday morning, flipping through USA Today, Mr. Freeman happened on an interview with Joe Namath. "He went to the University of Alabama. Perfect!" Mr. Freeman exclaimed, noting that he's updating "The Wisdom of Southern Football." He jolted down a pithy comment from Mr. Namath: "Football kept me grounded"—and then noticed a paragraph on Mr. Namath's work ethic that referred to Bear Bryant. "'That's the piece de resistance," Mr. Freeman noted. To save time, he snipped out the paragraph and taped it on a sheet of paper. "This is not rocket science," he added apologetically.

Indeed. But Mr. Freeman's work is reaching the highest places. Last October, President Clinton, at the Chicago Cultural Center gift shop, saw Mr. Freeman's "Wisdom Made in America" book, whipped out a $20 bill and bought the $6.95 title, according to sales staff there. The book features such useful quotes as "Ask yourself, 'What's the worst that can happen?' Prepare to accept it. Then improve upon the worst" from Dale Carnegie, and "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said" from Mark Twain.

Says Mr. Freeman: "I hope it helped him."