I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta. I wouldn't want to be an Alpha, because they have to work very hard.

Oh no, I don't want to play with the Delta children, they can't even read.

Just like AJWM, I completely disagree.

The best new authors are proving themselves first in self-publishing in order to create an audience. Then they walk into multi-million dollar deals with a traditional publisher. Compare this with the obscene terms publishers are offering new writers who aren't proven yet, and you'll see the writing on the wall.

More fundamentally, you should understand that publishers don't do any real marketing any more. Since the authors have to market themselves anyway, it's much more reasonable to start with self-publishing and get all the e-pub returns.