[Darth-Apple]

As attractive as self-publishing is, if you're using it to avoid rejection you may want to reconsider your approach. Not because rejection is any fun (trust me, I know!) but because it can be necessary to the creative process.

I've read a lot of self-pub in my time, and most of the gems were from authors who had already benefited from an editor to teach them restraint, hone their style, and catch those writing habits none of want to hear but we all suffer from :/

Of course you can get around some of that if you have friends that have some expertise in the area as well, but you still have to deal with the potential for criticism from them.

Well said.