Best and Worst About Self-Publishing?

Assuming you have self-published, made it to the finish line and sold books, what was the best part of the experience? Why? What was the worst part? Why?

Best Part: Freedom to direct the content and presentation of my work without being altered by another person's vision.
Worst Part: Huge learning curve.
Christine Tate
Author, "The No-Homework Women's Bible Study: Group Hug"

I have my books on Amazon. The best thing is that they can't say no to you or your content. The worst I'd say is if you select to be in KDP select, they say your book is advertised worldwide, which is great, but there's absolutely no promotion from Amazon. You have to have continuous positive reviews. I tried searching my books and it took forever. Even at only .99 cents! What do I have to do to get promoted with Amazon?

You have to promote yourself as well as the books.
The best thing about self publishing is being able to choose your own time, your own numbers, font size, cover design etc.
The worst thing is trying to market. So far I have only tried paperbacks but I am venturing into the world of e-books with the new story.
Don't expect to make money.

Oldstick, you're absolutely right on all four of your points. Marketing is my stumbling block. I left my publisher to go it alone in October of last year and the learning curve has been scary at times. As for making money, I honestly can say I never thought I'd be able to stay home and write. It was a dream, but it never happened. It hasn't made me walk away from writing.

The best is now I can publish in my own time and take my time. First book up is "Armor of Light," a re-issue of the book published in 2009.

The best thing about self-publishing is that after you put your heart and soul into your work it can actually take physical form and look like any other book by the great authors of history. Or waft its way out onto the internet as an e-book with everything else that has ever been written.
The worst thing about self-publishing is convincing anyone else that what you have written is worth their reading. That is, marketing.
I'm about to send my fifth sci-fi novel out into that self-publishing world and am trying to gather the strength to go out after it and promote it.

I see more and more of what used to be midlist authors from large publishers aggressively marketing their own books on forums, social media etc... If you're not grabbed up by some media luck or nonsense I think this is what we have to deal with now, whether independent, self, small, or mid. Heck, I kind of think this country's economy will soon be based entirely on driving traffic to websites. Marketing to me is sad work, but I'll give it my best.

I found the best part of self-publishing is the cost. I am not in a position where I have the financial backing that many do. Publishing (and editing) with publishing companies cost more than my budget can handle. However, when it comes to marketing, I find that it becomes very difficult when you don't have the confidence in your work to sell it to readers. Personally, my first memoir that was recently published (February 2014), was therapeutic for me to write. Luckily sales aren't really important to me at this point in time. To me it is about healing. The entire process is definitely a learning experience.

The best part about self publishing is the ebook, which means there are no more barriers to publishing to a worldwide audience. Worst part is probably marketing and anxiously waiting for sales and reviews.

Best part: Learning about the many different sales channels - don't limit yourself to just Amazon!

Worst part: Trying to build up a self-sustaining audience - making your voice heard can be tough, but say the right things and everyone will listen.

Agree completely with A.W. Black on this. I am new to self-publishing, and just starting out to seek an audience. Another worst part is editing. I think that's the one feature that traditional publishers really did well.