The self publishing contraction

I never thought I'd have 4 clients at once who were in many ways self publishers. It's a question of degrees; one client isn't a self publisher, per se -- they have some backing and a pretty talented author who gets the first book, but there's a serious, ongoing plan to continue publishing real books, and these people are doing it right. (Note initial post about people who AREN'T doing it right!) I'm also involved, to varying degrees, with an earnest writer who has a real love - I could say "thing" but it just doesn't sound right -- of the writer Frank Yerby, an African American thought of as a costume drama potboiler 1950s era mass market ubiquitous churner of tales - remember those florid covers? But there's much to learn here, not the least of which is how much respect it's possible to develop when people follow their dreams...and then there's the Iranian immigrant who has built up a very successful business, gotten a Master's degree in Economics and written a rather autobiographical novel about some aspects of her childhood (nothing unusual about that, is there? -- "real" publishers have been putting these types of stories out forever) and her concerns about how women are treated within some aspects of Islam. But this woman is determined to make it work, and since she has the resources to make a genuine effort, it might really happen. And later today I am meeting with a guy who's published what may be the gem of the bunch - a terrific little book about anger management. It's literate, it's helpful, it's goddam intellectual yet it cuts to the core of anger issues and offers tangible ways to calm the hell down. I'm especially excited about this one...
Do I want to make a career of helping self-publishers? Resoundingly, uh-uh. But sometimes these things come along and it's hard to resist. I see cracks in the armor everyday - and considering the utter lack of imagination and creativity coming out of New York these days, I've changed my tune: Whip it up self publishers, (once-in-a-great-while) hallowed be thy name.