The image of self-publishing

In the publishing world, self-publishing is pejoratively known as “vanity publishing”. In the past, a writer would only have a chance of being published if his/her book was commercially viable. Being chosen to be published was an honor, since a publisher was basically saying that it thought the work was good and would sell well. When those who weren’t chosen decided to pay to have their book published anyway, it was seen as vanity. I suspect that this stigma will disappear sometime in the future as more and more previously unknown writers produce quality material and become successful.