So I know many writers contemplate this decision. It's hard to change a route once you've already gone far enough down another, so it is a big decision to make. For example, let's say you choose traditional self publishing and later on decide it's too limiting/restricting and want the freedom of self publishing, well going from route A to route B isn't an easy task. Your fan base, they're used to seeing your work out in stores and they're aware that your books are published by a certain company. Switching to self publishing would be a lot of work, having to alert and revert your fan base elsewhere is not such an easy task. And you can't be both at once, if your work belongs to a certain company and you signed a contract, self-publishing would be against your publisher's permissions.
You must know that publishers are strictly interested in first rights. If you've already had your work published, whether it's as an ebook, on a website for free, self-published in print, vanity published, or traditionally published with someone else, they are more than likely not interested.
Many people have their information wrong, usually because of lack of research. They e-publish in the hopes of finding a traditional publisher. They think it's a good way to start off and promote their work, but the truth is it may just chase any potentially interested publishers away. So basically, unless they've actually sold hundreds and thousands of copies, then no, never.
So if you've self-published as an ebook and sold the typical 50 copies to friends, family, and maybe a few strangers here and there then you can pretty much guarantee that they will turn away. You've actually proven that your book doesn't grab the attention of much people and probably wouldn't be a successful book. Or maybe you've just proven your bad skills at promoting and how you're horrible at self-publishing. But it could be the first one, either way, so just be aware.
The benefits (and disadvantages) of self publishing:
*You get free control over when you write and what you write.
*No deadlines (although they could be a good thing because they promote discipline and quickness)
*You're your own boss (although it may not be such a great advantage since you may not be very well informed or familiar with the field of publishing/promoting and just overall creating quality content that will attract readers and a fan base).
*You keep all your earnings to yourself (minus editting and publishing fees).
*You keep full ownership over your work.
*Overall you certainly have more freedom, but you may not be very successful (self-publishing is mainly for people just looking to simply put their work out there and are fine with just selling a few copies here and there for extra income).
The benefits (and disadvantages) of traditional publishing:
*You have more of a chance of hitting it big and becoming a best-seller (due to more outlets of distribution like having your books sold both online and at stores).
*Great milestone for writers (regarding the fact it's not easy to get traditionally published).
*More discipline and structure (you will have set deadlines and expectations).
*If you become a best-seller you can make good money and potentially get rich off of a writing career (although if this is a main priority for you then maybe you're writing for the wrong reasons).
*More recognition and a better chance at building a stable fan base (but with it comes a lot of dedication like attending events to promote your latest book and more).
Bottom line is: Anyone with money can self-publish, but writers who get traditionally published are generally viewed as a little higher up on the totem pole because not just anyone can get published. This is not devaluing the work of people who self-publish; there's many great successful and talented authors out there that self-publish. I was just referring to society standards which unfortuantely do play a big role in how people are viewed/regarded.
A good reference site if you're interested and want to look into self-publishing: http://www.go-publish-yourself.com/
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