Publishing a book is difficult. I've heard the story about how JK Rowling had to send the manuscript of the first Harry Potter book to approximately five million publishers before one of them gave her a chance enough times to know that getting a book published at one of the big five publishing houses is a nearly impossible feat, even if your work is good. It takes incredible perseverance not just to throw in the towel and self-publish your book on Amazon after sending it to hundreds of different literary institutions. However, there are very valid reasons why one might not want to do that. Even if writing is your passion, you might want to make money on it further down the line. It isn't easy to get into traditional publishing if you've already gone down the self-publishing route.
One clueless husband tried to push his wife toward self-publishing her book in a move so foolish it probably should end their marriage if it hasn't already.
