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@janeshuff said much of what I would have done. Basically, going it alone means a biggish up front investment by you, and it also means you have to be prepared to invest the time into marketing and promo without the support of a publisher. The plus is that you have full control, and don’t have to wait/hope/get lucky enough to find a publisher/agent who falls in love with your book enough to take you on.

I’ve had an agent (briefly), and I’ve had a couple of experiences with contracting directly with independent presses (a couple not so great, one wonderful). Either route involves a lot of rejection & a lot of time (and the need to do a lot of research). Personally, I think independent presses are doing far more for diversifying the industry, both in terms of who the authors are, and the stories being told. If your writing doesn’t fit the big publisher marketing brackets, an agent & big pub are less likely to take a risk on you. Where-as a lot of smaller presses are actively looking for writing that crosses genres, tells new stories, etc. THat said, they also have a lot less to invest in you, so you are less likely to sell millions (!) or see your book on a shelf in waterstones.

Personally, even though my current publisher is amazing & I feel like they are the right home for that book, I would still rather get an agent again as I want the security of knowing I have someone in my corner to advise me and negotiate in my best interests. I am not brave enough, business savvy enough, or willing to dedicate the time or money into to self pubbing, but people who approach it in the right way are definitely able to do amazingly well.