The Self-Publishing Delusion

In “The Sixth Coming of Harry: Book Publishing's Rejection Culture,” C. I. Chatell writes, "Big publishing houses are beginning to lose their cache as more and more authors are learning how to break through the medium using creative devices to publish and promote their book."

Yeah? Which authors? Ah, bullcrap. Why doesn't Stephen King start his own publishing company, then? He doesn't have to roll the boulder uphill from being an unknown to becoming a name. He's already famous. All he - or his marketing apparatus - would have to do is announce the imminent publication of a new title to the major media outlets. With his own one-author imprint, he could keep a lot more of the profits that he gives to his current publisher. Then why doesn't he? And if he doesn't self-publish, with all his advantages, then it's a delusion for any unknown author to expect to self-publish and succeed, unless lightning strikes. Nobody has yet figured out how to achieve success without advertising a product, and that takes resources - money and marketing expertise - that are simply beyond the reach of most writers. I remember the big optimism and euphoric stories about how artists of all kinds were finally going to be able to attract an audience without a corporate intermediary by using the internet. That was back around 1996, when the net was new for most people, including me. The revolution didn't happen. It's not going to happen. The internet, ebooks, POD - what have you - don't change anything.