For many years publishers have held the trump cards when it comes to book publishing. They like proven authors, they're a bit afraid to take a chance on the unknown. It's easier to be wrong in choosing a book than in sending yet another REJECTED slip.
Now we can have books printed by the dozens rather than by the 100,000s - we can even publish it ourselves as an e-book and let the reader download it and print it on his own paper.
There's no longer a reason not to publish. Have a good idea? Write about it. Create an e-book. Share or sell it. Even Seth Godin publishes e-books. Sometimes he publishes it a chapter at a time. What a great way to get reader comments to improve it even more.
The buck no longer stops at the publisher's desk - it stops at yours.
Sharon, have you, or are you considering publishing a book? Take a look at BookSurge (booksurge.com). Good luck.
Leon - short term, no; long term, yes. I looked at and bookmarked BookSurge. Very interesting, especially the $99 rate when you have already done the layout. I'm fortunate to have a daughter who is a great graphic designer, so have an aversion to templates. Thank you for caring, and sharing that information.