Of the prints I've sold lately, all the images were heavily manipulated. And the people who purchased them all knew that. In some cases, the manipulation was done to make them look more believable and realistic. In other cases, to look purposely surreal.
The last print I sold was shot and processed on commission, and I was ordered to specifically put my kind of "look" on it. I guess, in a way then, digital has become something like painting.
I know I can't compete with the great photographers, either in skill or vision. So I just concentrate on shooting things that look interesting or unusual to me, and then manipulating the image in a way that expresses how I feel about the subject, or what it was like to have been there at that moment.
I won't be quitting my day job of course, but I do have fun.