@joylovestowrite @dustysharp, this is a great discussion and @dolphinschool, thanks for creating the opportunity for it! :)

I too have a similar opinion to both of you regarding self and traditional publishing. I read a great book on both called A.P.E. by Guy Kawasaki, plus spoke to a couple of authors and heard horror stories from them about the publishing world.

That being said I also found similarly about Amazon, that everyone and their dog can publish a book there (and on iBooks and the other guys. BUT... there are some really good indy writers. The key is that self-publishing has become one of those almost dirty words because of its access and a percentage of its content, just like Youtube. There's great content there, but the access also allows excruciating content, which is probably the majority by sheer volume.

Regarding publishing @dustysharp, I found this site about it and agents (gatekeepers), maybe you've seen it already but if not, have a read if ever you're interested in it. http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/agents-advice.html Very helpful!

But I too would like to publish some fiction here; you don't get the 'prestige' but you can get a following I think and if you're fortunate, some livelihood, and it's a great social-tech experiment. So I appreciate super @dolphinschool for the article above! Definitely on the money!