the Wacky World of Self-publishing

Once upon a time, a would-be author would have been at the mercy of the established publishing houses if he wanted to get his work out there for the world to see. It wasn't fair, really; very few previously unpublished authors were accepted, and producing your own work was cost prohibitive. A lot of talented writers, (and film makers, and musicians), remained unread and undiscovered. The personal computer has changed all that. Today, an investment of a couple of hundred bucks
provides the wherewithal to produce and distribute your own book, movie, or record. With a little savvy or luck, anyone can become an overnight success.

Or not.
The spectrum of  available media, good and bad, is overwhelming. If you are a devotee of the web, and bored with YouTube, or tired of inevitably drifting into the weird videos, Amazon Books can provide a startling and unexpected alternative. I had no conception of the full range of material available for the non-discriminating reader's pleasure. And it's all for sale over the Internet.

I've had one memorable run-in with the world of the vanity press. (I recently found myself extensively critiqued in the memoirs of a self-published acquaintance. That book, which will remain unnamed, is for sale on Amazon.)
There are some really, really, really badly written books available on Amazon. Some of them are so awful that they're giving them away for free. A few are so appallingly terrible that they have gained notoriety and sell out as soon as they're made available.

I was surfing the web last night and discovered an article, devoted to The Best in self-published tripe, which directed me to one success story that never would have been possible without widespread Internet access, a spectacularly amateurish coloring book for children,  Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs. The title says it all. Just check it out. Check out the prices, too.
A dramatic reading  is available on (you guessed it!) YouTube. If you google "naughty horse" you can find and read a complete version in scanned jpg form (on flicker). Reams of hilarious satirical commentary has been inspired by the book. A Wikipedia entry has links to a copy of a lawsuit the author filed against Amazon;  who knows what else is out there?

I found myself in the weird-self-published-book section of Amazon. Adult favorites among the offerings I discovered are  The Big Coloring Book of Vaginas and How to Live with a Huge Penis , but there is plenty of g-rated material available for the younger or less world. None of these fascinating finds would have been possible before the advent of the relatively inexpensive vanity press.