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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27293
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27293
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Publisher do two things for you, other than those you have listed, and they are things that you absolutely cannot do for yourself.

1. They provide provenance and branding. Once published by an established publisher, your book enjoys the provenance that comes with that publisher's name. More people will buy, more publications will review, more foreign publishers will consider, more libraries will purchase, more book clubs will read, more movie studios will consider, a book with the imprimatur of an established publisher than one without it. You may have your own brand, of course, but then if you publish with an established publisher the power of their brand is joined to the power of their brand, so you are still better off than with your brand alone. 

2. They provide access to channels. They have a channel to bookstores, a channel to review editors, a channel to libraries, a channel to book clubs, a channel to the foreign market, a channel to the studios. They can get your book to places you cannot, and can do it much more economically. Yes, Amazon is a major channel, but actually not the most effective one by itself, because it is terribly non-selective and does no promotion. But Amazon is only one of the many channels that a publisher can get you into, and your performance in those other channels can boost your performance on Amazon. Remember that while many books are purchased on Amazon, reader first discover those books on other platforms, and publishers have channels to those platforms that you do not. Again, even if you have better access to some of the newer channels than they do, that simply adds to what they can do for you. 

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