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Luckily I don't have to worry about this problem at all really because I have way too many well-known, i.e. publishers', books I want to read so for the vast majority of the time I don't even think about it. Really the only time I do think about it is here, since so many on Mobileread do like to read self-published authors and discuss the nuances of the trade. The only rare time I would bother with a self-published book is if it were highly recommended from people I trust, and then I would expect it should be well enough written to warrant the praise. For instance, I did read 'Wool', I think before it was picked up by a publisher but I'm not certain.
But my opinion on the 'problem' of self-published dreck is that we're in the Wild West phase of it. I don't think it will last like this forever. Like the Wild West, people are lured to become a self-published writer by a chance at freedom and riches and the 'anything goes' atmosphere that currently pervades. The Wild West eventually faded as the area grew and matured. I think something along those lines will happen with self-published authors eventually. Though there will always be authors trying to make it, my best guess is that the free-for-all shiny and exciting allure will fade for whatever reason and less people will be interested in trying to write and publish their grammatically challenged masterpieces.
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