I just want to say that just because you have had trouble finding an agent, it doesn't neccessarily mean you need to go down the self-publishing route. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing or POD, but there are other options. Have you thought of trying a small press or going direct to a publishers? There are certain publishers that offer contracts for books with authors who aren't represented by an agent. It takes out the middle-man, so to speak. That's the way I did it myself. I did talk to an agent once, but they wanted me to change my book, so I decided to take my novel to a small publisher and they've been wonderful.
