I am seriously thinking about taking the self publishing route. I've been querying agents since september and have had not much luck- several partials one full, but no takers... is Iuniverse worth it?
Strictly speaking, iUniverse is not self-publishing, but rather subsidy publishing (they own the ISBN, the author does not -- unless they offer an alternative I've not heard about). Sales via subsidy publishers such as iUniverse are almost certain to be tiny and hard to come by, and the publication not held in high regard, irrespective of how good the book itself is. Self-publishing is no picnic, but does not start with the stigma of subsidy/vanity publishing
if done right (easier said than done).
BTW, you might want to take a bit longer before giving up on finding an agent/publisher. It can take years (read
How I Got Published, Writer's Digest Press, 2007, for lots of examples). If you have been getting nibbles, at least, you might be on the right track.
All IMHO.
--Ken