Why “Being in Ingram” Is Not a Strategy

One of the most common phrases we hear from authors is, “My book is distributed through Ingram.” It’s usually said with relief, sometimes with pride, and often with the assumption that a major hurdle has been cleared. However, that’s often not the case.

A book does not move from author to bookstore shelf in a straight line. It moves through a layered system: publisher to distributor to wholesaler to retailer to reader. Each layer serves a specific function. When those functions get conflated, authors mistake access for traction.