[icelancer]

They MIGHT get your book into B&N and other large bookstores (Walmart is a different story). But so what? It just sits on the shelf. Is that really worth giving up 2-3x more royalties to be able to say your book that might sell 1-2 copies in physical stores is available down the street? (Which it often won't be.)

If you self-publish and are wildly successful, you can always sign with a publisher to get an in-store deal later when you have more leverage.

I've been through both paths. James Altucher also wrote about it on his blog and I totally agree with him.

[clarky07]

If you have a platform like James you should absolutely self-publish IMO. If you are an unknown trying to break into it, I think you should go with a publisher if you can get one to take you. It very much depends on where you are. Publishers have value, it just depends on where you are in your writing career as to how much value.

And if you are going to go the self-publish route, you really need to have someone help you with the roles a publisher traditionally fills, such as editing. I say this as someone who has self-published a book. I didn't even consider traditional publishing, but I did use a professional editor.