That is true. We no longer have to play the gatekeepers' game if we want to have a career, as opposed to a little hobby for our spare time (which isn't spare any more if someone else has something "better" for us to do with that time). The biggest thing that one gains by playing that game is discoverability -- the person who read your story in a magazine or anthology may like it well enough to look for the rest of your work.
You can just release the story as a stand-alone ebook.
I find that collections sell better than the individual stories, but stand-alone is an option.
That is true. We no longer have to play the gatekeepers' game if we want to have a career, as opposed to a little hobby for our spare time (which isn't spare any more if someone else has something "better" for us to do with that time). The biggest thing that one gains by playing that game is discoverability -- the person who read your story in a magazine or anthology may like it well enough to look for the rest of your work.