I only needed them for bookstore placement (now becoming less and less of a factor). (elizabethspanncraig.com)
When self - published, in order to get major bookstore placement, you have to sign up with a book distributor. (nonfictionauthorsassociation.com)
I think after years of agents and publishers refusing to sell this genre b / c of bookstore placement, it took the self publishing revolution for it to break out. (jamigold.com)