Positive stress

What does it mean when something has been self-published that on its face has no literary merit? Does it mean:

a) the publishing world is f&%$d?

b) readers have no interest in something deep and pensive, but will buy whatever is simple and clich’d?

c) self-publishing really is a vanity backwater and should continue to be ignored by anyone interested in decent fiction?

d) there’s no hope for a writer looking to “wow” an agent because self-publishing has saturated the market and rendered agents obsolete?

e) churning out content has more chance of success because it’s just a numbers game?

Oh, I don’t know. I want to know that the publishing world is FAIR and selects the BEST new work out there, that if I just put in the time on the manuscript, all will come out okay. I am learning how VERY wrong that perception is.

Here’s a blurb from Amazon (edited for length) for a book written by a friend-of-a-friend: “L’s life was comfortable and safe in her suburban New York home. She was smart and beautiful, and attracted more than her fair share of attention from men. However, she felt that there had to be something else out there for her other than her well paid but predictable job in her home town. L had always been fascinated with far away destinations. She sometimes wondered what path her life would have taken had she followed through with her application to enroll in the Peace Corps. In an uncharacteristically impulsive decision, L books a safari to Kenya. She decides that this is the perfect opportunity to spice up her mundane life. In Kenya, L is transported into another world when she meets a handsome and charismatic man; L is at a crossroads and has to make some potentially heart rending and life-changing decisions.”