[Havlen]

There are some good reasons for self-publishing. Two good examples are when the author has built-in marketing, such as someone who gives speeches at businesses for improving customer service who writes a customer service book and sells it at these speeches, or books with regional-at-best interest. Also, books such as family histories that are printed mainly for family and friends are good for services like Lulu.com.

For those wanting mainstream distribution, personally, I think it would be better to table the manuscript if all possibilities are exhausted, write a new novel, get it published, and then take the manuscript out of the dustbin. I think that would give far better oppurtunities for the book than going the self-publishing route. (I believe Carrie was a dustbin book by King that was picked up after he had other books published.)

While there are some success stories, the percentages are in the same area or worse than the percentages of being picked up by a slush pile.

Personally, I have a novel I feel strongly about that might have a hard time being picked up because it is set in a world with superheroes and superhero books that aren't based on comic books are probably a hard sale, but I'll be resisting any self-publishing route in favor of trying to write a book that might attract attention and then selling them on the superhero book later.