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When I first approached publishers (and agents) about my books, I was not rejected. In fact, I was told not to bother to submit anything. Anything at all. They were "full up," they didn't even want to see anything new.
The traditional publishing business has become too insular and exclusive to those who are already on the inside to even allow those on the outside a chance to get in. It's a "castle" mentality: Those on the inside consider themselves the elite, those on the outside are considered to be peons, and the longer the elite stay inside and keep the peons outside, the better off they'll be. This is one of the main reasons self-publishing has come so far... or did you really think all of those self-published novels were from people who have already been told they are no good?
In the past, those who were summarily ignored by the industry had no choice but to twist in the wind. Today, they have the means to put their own material out. Quite a bit of it has never been seen by the traditional publishers, by their own choice. Assuming all of those self-publishers are no good, simply because a traditional publisher hasn't vetted and altered their material to maximize profit, is a mistake.
That means we need new ways of separating the wheat from the chaff. Sites like this one, commercial e-book sellers and other sites where e-book aficionados meet provide that service... you only have to find the voices that resonate with your own, just as you did in the past with book and newspaper reviews. And of course there's word of mouth. Don't assume e-book readers are all idiots whose opinion is not worth anything. Find the ones who like what you like, and go with their recommendations.
There's good stuff out there, and there's crap... just like with printed books. But it is possible to find the good stuff. It just takes some effort.
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