Thanks you two. I'm not looking for a particular book. Just a way to see how easy it is for readers to access self-published books.
I think readers access the books they hear about--and this is generally down to marketing and reviews.
With trade publishing, the idea, as I understand it, is that a publisher knows how to bring a manuscript to a certain standard (cover, editing, etc) and knows how to market. There might be an ARC tour, opportunity for people to preorder, buzz, buzz, buzz, other authors and celebrities somehow getting in on the game (like, off the top of my head, the Oprah book club etc); for an established author there will be existing readers (fans), signings, talks, etc, and so on and so forth. The author, in this version of publishing, writes the book and does some publicity events. But the readers find the book because of the buzz. And they order on Amazon. (or they pick it up at B&N, etc).
For self publishing, the author takes on a good deal of that ^^ above ^^ work. There are self published authors here (incl. me) who do some portion of these things --some do ARC tours (advance reader copies), some do signings, and so on.
So, there might be considerably less buzz. Not always--there are self-published authors here with enough books on Amazon that they've built their readership. Those readers just look for the next book in the series. And they order on Amazon. (or they might order it through B&N if the book is also made available through Ingram Spark).
But, in general, there might be less buzz. (but even some trade books do not get the 'buzz-treatment.')
In the end, do your best to write a good story. If you self publish, you will need to do your own 'buzz' but it is possible. It just takes time and effort.
Lots of balls to juggle.