/lit/ - Literature

Has anyone thoroughly researched the publishing industry and become increasingly discouraged about the traditional route? Bad enough my book isn't a great fit for the current market, but I've been reading about how most novelists only get a 5-10K advance and sell 200-500 copies, never earning out to get royalties. What's more, apparently the publishers leave a lot of writers in the lurch to advertise/promote themselves nowadays. Having them handle that part was one of the most appealing points of going traditional for me.

For over a decade I've had the common writer's aspiration of going into a bookstore and holding my book in my hands one day. Yet, now it seems like even if I leap through every hoop and reach that dream, barring a miracle, I'll be left with little to show for it. As if I wasn't depressed enough.