Dependence!

If there was one thing that bothered me about the traditional publishing system back in the day it was how, as a working fiction writer, I was entirely dependent on it. Even the powers that be, the agents, the publishers, the editors, and yes, even bookstore owners, often treated you like a second-class citizen. Like they were doing you some sort of favor by taking your book on. Now with the new indie, "network society" and independent publishing, the old gatekeepers are dying a slow, smelly death which they brought on all by themselves.