Self-publishing is something that speaks to our current age, when people want to connect with others directly. Authors have much more contact with their readers this way than they do with traditional publishing.
As self-published author Hugh Howey wrote in an essay on self-publishing in Salon, “With self-publishing, you … Read more   

Many e-commerce sites are cutting out the middlemen and passing savings onto customers.

… Read more   You’d think that publishers would have done that long ago.
But no, its authors who are doing that. Self-published authors, of course.
Publishers still consider themselves gatekeepers of quality writing. And they continue to work with booksellers,

Although it’s easy to do-it-yourself in publishing these days, that doesn’t mean that you should do everything… Read more    yourself.
Yes, you’ve got more control over the product. But the product still has to look professional. Even as more self-published authors get respect, critical notice and generate a lot of sales, the