Publishers as gatekeepers

I read an article today that said publishers were the gatekeepers to what we got to read. That started me thinking. Way back when, when I decided to write my own story because I couldn't find any "good" books, I was hostage to a whole line of gatekeepers. First line was the publisher, second line was the bookstore or library book buyers.

There might have been plenty of books to satisfy my taste, but they weren't accessible at the time. Now with the internet and self-publishing, there's more out there than I can handle.

I have to admit, I still look on the self-pubs a bit dubiously. They haven't been given the imprimatur of a publishing house. All the while, I am researching how to do it myself.

A bit hypocritical, I know. It's a confusing time.

If I have to do as much work with a traditional publisher as with self-pub, and the royalties are drastically different, why go the traditional route? The more I read, the more it seems that publishing as an industry is in dire straits.

Luckily, the question is moot at the moment. I don't have a manuscript ready to go. But soon, and I hope things haven't completely change again by the time I'm ready.