For anyone interested in self-publishing (which I know very little about but is much discussed here at SheWrites) there is a wonderful summary of the options in The New York Times "Tool Kit": The Joys and Hazards of Self-Publishing on the Web, by Alan Finder. He says the average self-published book sells less than 100-150 copies. So I continue to think (for the moment, anyway) that the better gig if you can get it is to be published by a commercial publishing house or an established small press. For most writing (with a few exceptions, such as perhaps romance novels), the first step to getting published in this more traditional way is to find a good agent to represent your work. If you're interested in going that route, I have a short tutorial on how to approach agents on 1st Books.

Love to hear people's experiences on either of these routes you've taken. Please share yours!