I have no experience with self publishing, but as an author with No Starch Press (http://nostarch.com/masteryourmac), I can tell you that publishers probably put more work into the books than the authors themselves.

Publishers hire people to design the cover, copy edit the manuscript, provide a tech review, lay out the book, and market it. The amount of work that goes into a traditional book is astounding, so it doesn't surprise me that some people here are complaining about the quality of self-published books. In my opinion, the logistics are simply too much for one person to handle.

And let's be honest here. The real work of an author should be to write. Should they really have to worry about marketing, layout, and copy editing? I think not.

I'll go with a traditional publisher again. My book looks beautiful, reads well, and is on the shelf at the local Barnes and Noble. Sure, I don't get all of the revenue, but I do have a wider audience and steady passive income.