Comment by greenie_beans

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.