I've come to tell people who want to self-publish to do the research and understand exactly what you're getting involved in and what the outcomes are. For every success story, there are thousands that are not. Here in the US, there is still the stigma of self-publishing as "less than". The chain bookstores won't carry self-published books, most "mainstream" reviewers won't look at them and even independent bookstores, depending where you live won't carry them.
Also, youcan't approach a traditional publisher with a self-published book to see if theyr'e interested. However, if you're an indie author and you're selling hundreds and thousands (Amanda Hocking and E.L. James come to mind), there's a chance agents and publishers will come to you.
I've just been at a conference for self-publishing and it's really about the marketing and promotion to get these books (the success stories I heard were all ebooks as they are much easier to get to a lot of people as opposed to print books) out to as many people as possible. Of the four success stories I heard, all four of them, after self-publishing, went with a traditional publisher.
I've had two books published traditionally and the first one did quite well. The second came out when Borders was slashing their midlist and very few people even saw the thing. I like having a sales force and marketing department to get the book out to people all over the country and the review in PW and ads wherever the publisher wanted to put them. I simply don't have the kind of money to do that myself.
So I'm going back and forth on what I'm doing with my next book. Both sides (epublishing and traditional (self publishing in print is all right, but where do you sell them?) have some very nice perks, but also some important drawbacks. I can have a book on Smashwords in a month as opposed to 1-2 years traditionally.
Have you tried submitting to agents? Have you been to many writing conferences? They are a great place to meet industry people and in some cases, you can pitch your book to them.
As I said, just understand what you're getting involved in, which ever way you go, and do the research so you're not laying out hundereds of dollars for very little return. Obviously with Smashwords or Amazzon, you're not laying out any money.
Whatever you decide, good luck! And don't hesitate to ask questions. Better to ask what you think might be a dumb question, than not to ask it and regret your chocies.
Peace,
Gary . . .
P.S.: Sorry about typos. I'm at work and typing quickly!