Take note. Vaughndemont is right on. If anything, the process is more difficult. A high quality cover for a self-published book will run you around 2k. A high quality edit will cost at least that. Getting an agent can take years and years, even if what you have is excellent.
Take a look at what other writers are churning out. Most of it is pretty awful. Less than 5% is even worthwhile. Well, unfortunately the same is true of agents. It is a rare talent to be able to identify really great writing from an unexpected source, especially while wading through the sea of garbage everybody else is producing.
Just because you know that you have something excellent does not mean anybody else will be able to recognize that. Think I'm kidding?
http://www.litrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected/
If you think it's worth your time to spend years and years writing and then more years and years waiting for an agent to recognize you, or slogging it out spending God knows how many thousands of dollars on self promotion, cover art, editing, etc to self-publish, just know that it will require an unbelievable level of drive and persistence before you ever find an audience. For almost everyone who tries to do it, in the end it would have been much more lucrative and enjoyable to just take a nice easy desk job with dependable pay and weekends off.
It's just the truth.
RE: So... You Want To Get Published