So I've been trying to get an agent for many years now, and I've gotten close several times, but never quite managed it. I've written many books, polished a few up to a full shine, and queried only the best. No luck. In the meantime, I've self-published two books and gotten stories into many anthologies. But my end goal has always been traditional publication, alongside any self-publishing efforts.
New plan. Trad pub is an absolute tire fire right now, with the big publication houses mistreating their employees, and people publicly leaving every other week. But self-publication is thriving. AND I've recently discovered just how much BookBaby price-gouges compared to the Ingram-and-KDP-and-KU juggling act that so many people are doing. So. Instead of sitting on it, I'm going to self-publish the book that everyone loves (snarky robot + aliens who talk in color), then I'll send the new finished book on a quick round of queries just in case (veterinarian + sign language gorilla in space). Depending on how the first goes, I may just skip querying the second, and go straight to self-publishing. I still have some research to do.
That's my update. In the meantime, I've also learned about universal links, which sound like a very handy thing. Now the Amazon buy links on my site should lead to the correct region for everyone who clicks them, and I also have links to a list of other online bookstores that carry my books.
Theoretically it all works. Do let me know if something doesn't.
(I've only made universal links for my own books, not the many anthologies. So far.)