Thank you Therese for sharing your thoughts.
My articles also have been rejected by a Publication because the photo I added was clear and Upto their standards. I also faced a situation when the Publishers took days to publish. I can completely understand your situation, thoughts and feelings. Keep self publishing and share in the social media that you are comfortable like WhatsApp, Facebook or LinkedIn or even as your email signature
Here is my latest article published in Medium.com

Now you can start your own publication.