Temptation to ePublish

Are you guys thinking about it too?

There's a growing acceptance of self-epublishing. Check out J.A. Konrath, who is a huge proponent of self-pubbing. Many months ago, I left a comment on his blog that self publishing was all well and good for people like him who've been through the process and know what needs to be done, but that a lot of newbies will end up prematurely publishing out of ignorance, and they won't start with a base of readers like he has, so no thanks.

I'm wondering if I misspoke. I'm still not saying it's the way to go- at this point, if an agent called me, this whole idea would probably evaporate. But some self-pubbed authors are doing quite well. (J.A. Konrath has complied a partial list of authors who are self-epublished and are making money. He gives a lot of details, so check out his blog. It's really interesting.)

If anyone else is getting this meme, make sure you know the whole story. Read this blog by Amanda Hocking (self epublished author who just sold some movie rights to her Trylle Trilogy. Very successful, living the dream, etc.) She basically wants to remind her fans that writing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. She's written nineteen books and self epublished only 9 of them. The other TEN aren't ready, she says, and some of them never will be. Holy crud! That's a lot of dues. That's a lot of work.

I'm kindof a do-it-yourself-er in many areas. I taught myself to install light fixtures and do wiring (the building codes in rural PA were a bit lax, so I didn't need to be a licensed electrician). When I want tile, I put it in myself. So it's natural for me to think "I could do the whole marketing/cover/hire an editor thing." I probably could. Not saying I'd be as good as the people that have been doing this for 20+ years, but I could do something above the rank amateur level. (For the record, my book trailer WAS rank amateur, and just for fun. I was learning about the process because it interested me.)

In favor of traditional publishing, I want somebody objective on my team (agent). I want a second (editor) and a third opinion (??? publishing committee co-chair???), because as a writer, I'm still a baby. I've always loved to write and made little picture books and stories as presents-all that stuff- when I was younger, but it's only been the last two years that I've been serious about it. That's really not a long time.

I don't think this is about rejection for me (I don't feel beat down or fed-up or ready to throw in the towel) as much as it is about wanting control and that I have concerns about the changing market. I think a lot of the ebooks (big 6, I'm looking at you) are overpriced, and that it's hurting those authors to not be able to compete. I also worry that a lot of authors are going to regret selling their digital rights, that many will not have rights revert to them after a specified period of time, etc. Lots of stuff I don't *entirely* understand since I'm not a lawyer, but I know enough to be concerned.

What do you guys think? Have you ever been tempted to go out on your own? Is it all about wanting to have a hardcopy on your bookshelf? (That is part of it for me, I'll be honest.) What am I missing?
Glutton for Punishment?