Po-Book Publ'ing

Seems that over the last generation or so there have been five main options for a poet to publish a first book: 1. enter a contest, pay a fee; 2. submit to an "open submission period," pay a fee; 3. enter a slush pile (if the pub even still allows one); 4. make the poetry scene; 5. self-publish. It's impossible to see why self-publishing should be any less legitimate than the others, except maybe the slush pile route, but the odds there aren't as good as chasing a gut-shot straight. If you're going to self-publish poems in 2007, there are really only two ways to go: 1. make the book itself an art object; 2. publish it online—not because more people will read it (not necessarily), but because you can easily make minor revisions, you won’t have to pay for postage, and you won't have to cram under your bed all of the extra copies you're not sure how to get rid of.