hi
i found the nomediakings site through the danforth review site (danforthreview.com) and i am putting in my two cents because i am a woman and i self-published back in '98. reason: no university or publisher or magazine or any other authority impressed me at the time and i had no desire to submit my work to them. i shared my work live in cafés, pubs, festivals (a la gary snyder: "I'd emphasize... the need for the poet to identify with real people, not a faceless audience. There should be less concern with publishing, more with reading. A reading is a kind of communion. I think the poet articulates the semi-known for the tribe.")eventually my friends & acquaintances asked me for more and so i made a book and a cd for my friends, with a help from my friends. simple as that. it was fun and i highly recommend it. however, if ever i were to publish again, like many canadian writers, my dream publisher would be coach house press - a small press located on bpNichol lane in toronto (chbooks.com).
meanwhile, the cheapest ways to express yourself and be heard are open stages in real live reality and online in virtual reality.
[this applies for those interested primarily in expressing themselves and being heard, of course, not to those interested in "careers" as writers.]
best
kris
(krisnorthey.com)