I have several books I want to write - I'm definitely bursting with idea, intent and motivation, and not just idea as a concept, but rather fully fleshed out. The hardest part is fighting ADHD or whatever and actually doing the work.
These days if I were to publish I'd probably setup an LLC as a publishing company, do a little work to make the company look a lot bigger than it is and try to find some bookstores to sell to directly - in addition to selling online of course.
Interesting, thanks for the info and link. So what, it would be basically impossible to get a distributor to take books from a new publishing company? Or is it that they could be convinced to do so but likely if the new publishing company made a deal where they picked up more of the costs and/or risk than usual?
Any reason the new publishing company couldn't just be a distributor themselves, and make deals with bookstores allowing for discounts and returns?
I have no issue with the idea of taking losses before making a profit, and if anything I produce is good, I would have faith it would sell eventually. Any returned copies are copies that could be donated to various places, which might hopefully allow word of mouth to spread.
ingram is about* the only game in town. it's very hard to get them to take your books as a small publisher. you'll be stuck with their terms. your venture will need a backlist and proof that you can move books, otherwise it makes no sense for them to go into business with a small publisher who doesn't move much product. you'd be better off using ingram spark if you're a self-published author who wants to be carried in bookstores.
*asterism books is trying to fill the void left by small press distribution. they distribute independent presses. but they're picky about who they carry, and also require you to have some semblance of successful sales.
you can certainly diy distribution, but some bookstores don't want to work directly with small publishers unless they're a fan/friends of the press. they already have business processes in place for handling distribution. they don't want to deal with a bunch of self-pubbed authors who created a brand to self publish their books. it's too much work for something that most likely won't sell enough to make up the cost of doing business with the press.
bookselling is a low margin endeavor (like a 2% profit margin according to one recent ABACUS by the american booksellers association), so it makes sense for them to be this way.
> try to find some bookstores to sell to directly
bookstores don't wanna carry your book if they can't buy it from a distributor with standard discounts and the ability to return. good luck getting your books from your brand new publishing company carried by ingram. (see https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/p..., which would've been the best chance you had at being distributed, and even then they weren't easy to get into)