The disadvantage of self publishing is the up front cash investment. The up front cash investment is part of it, the other part is marketing. That s right, and marketing equates to cash. The last piece I sent the paper was not published, but has since been accepted by an ezine no pay, but some exposure. Frank ezines are clips.
Clips are important.
You won t get anywhere without them. To show you ve done it before. Clips are the catch 22 of the writing world. A clip is better than nothing. It shows that someone thought enough of your work to pick it up.