In yesterday's post on the question of self-publishing, I noted that "real" publishers still have an advantage in terms of being able to get their books into major bookstores, and that self-publishing authors might be more realistic to focus on a "long tail" approach that doesn't require coast-to-coast ubiquity. But an email from publishing industry consultant Marion Gropen told me that self-publishers don't necessarily have to abandon those
dreams of becoming a national breakout.

"It is possible for a self-publisher, even one that intends to publish only one book, to get distribution and to be stocked in major stores," Gropen writes. "It's done all the time... If you go to the effort and expense of buying your own ISBN block, putting together a solid book and packaging it well, then developing a reasonable marketing plan, you can get distribution from the likes of Midpoint, IPG, or NBN... as well as smaller distributors like Beagle Bay, SPD or Tuttle... You can also act as your own national accounts rep by approaching the Small Press Department of [Barnes & Noble]."

"If you actually self-publish, and if you take the time to learn how to do it right, you can play on the same field as the bigger publishers," Gropen assures. The problem, though, is that all publishing is a gamble, and while big publishers can weather the losses until they win a big hand, "a single title doesn't allow you to spread the risk, and most individuals are not comfortable making a big enough bet (in time, in effort or in money) to give their book a chance." Maybe they could succeed, but they can't believe it, and that is why they fail.