Debut authors have many choices to make, from selecting an agent if needed, to choosing self publishing versus small press or hybrid publishers. That last category can differ quite a bit between providers. One marker to watch is distribution: the channel that gets sales for a book.

Many hybrid publishers—who by definition require authors to pay for services in exchange for a greater royalty share—have slim distribution options. No traditional distribution is a common situation for a hybrid. They can make a book wholesale distributed using IngramSpark. This wholesaling doesn't drive placement in bookstores. Wholesaling makes your book orderable. It doesn't drive sales without your personal investment in marketing.

More importantly, the lack of distribution can keep a book out of consideration for reviews and publicity coverage. It's not an automatic exclusion, but library and trade book resources like Booklist and Library Journal do not make many coverage slots available for books without distribution. The feeling, perhaps rightly so from the trade's perspective, is that a review of a book without a sales force sacrifices a spot Booklist could give to a better-distributed book.

Distribution is crucial for the brick and mortar selling that goes beyond consignment sales. Booksellers tend to order from their regular sources: direct from some select presses, then through distributors like IPG. It’s much harder to get a direct order from a bookseller if you only have print on demand (POD) wholesale distribution. Consignment sales can get your POD book into shops, but usually only for a limited run. If the book is selling, the shop will restock.

Return capability, when a book stops selling, is another crucial piece in getting your book into stores. POD through Ingram Spark does offer a return capability similar to regular distribution.

Generating that initial bookseller order is the biggest hurdle. It’s very hard to sell a book onto a bookseller’s shelves without the ability to return it unsold. The window on those returns is usually in excess of eight months by now. This is why publishers withhold royalties for six months or more. They’re waiting on their distributors to accept copies returned as unsold.

A traditional publishing deal can be worth more than selling your book yourself in some way. Either direct to a press, or via an agent to a larger press, you can move more books to the register and earn royalties.