To Self Publish...........or not to self publish

So, I have been working on the first book in The Hounds of God series for a year and a half now. While I still have a lot of work to do before it is even close to being a final draft, I have started thinking about sending out Query letters, and whether or not I want to self publish. My good friend Dayspring, who is also an author, has self published quite a few books at moderate success, so that begins my quest of deciding to self publish, or not to self publish?

With ebooks popularity on the rise, and with other great authors having success (like Amanda Hocking, who wrote the superb Trylle Series), self publishing has changed quite a bit in the last few years. So to a struggling writer, who wants desperately to make a splash even if it's tiny, do I send out my query letters, or do I take the leap and fearlessly jump into the world of self publishing?

Being published is not an easy task, but neither is having the kind of success that other self publishers have had. So I'll sleep on it, work on some pages, and hope that eventually divine intervention will strike and point me in the right direction! If anyone has any input or advise please let me know what you think. I'd love to hear about someone else's experiences, be it mass publication, or self publishing.

Sweet dreams!