I know, I know, the title is inappropriate, but I could not resist.
This question:
Are agents too busy for new clients? What should I do next?
was closed and I think it should be reopened. It addresses one main problem in traditional publishing.
The major publishers delegated the screening of their slush piles to the literary agents. Now the agents are drowned in manuscripts like the publisher were before (or still are). So now instead of winning the lottery at the publisher, you have to win the agent lottery and must hope, that (if you win) the agent can sell your work.
There are people out there, who question the role of agents in publishing/selling your book. There are also people questioning the traditional way of publishing. Many wannabe/aspiring authors will struggle with this problem and I think this question would help to address this issue and give some hints how to get around it.