Self-publishing has really come into its own. In the past self-publishing has sometimes gotten a bad name because of lack of editorial oversight and not all P&T committees will count self-published writing for tenure. But lulu, blurb, and amazon and other print-on-demand services mean that anyone can get their ideas out to readers.
In my experience, self-publishing is ideal for topics and writing that are unusual and/or not immediately relatable to traditional publishers. I've published a few books but always traditional channels where they've been accepted through the editorial proce