User blog comment:HumboldtLycanthrope/The 666 word pasta write off!/@comment-24101790-20160408002601/@comment-24101790-20160408173259

I'll definitely give the magazines a look into after I get an idea what the agents are thinking (I messaged ten or so a week or so ago). As for self-publishing, I think it depends on whether or not there's a medium to warrant it. If you have a story that's received a lot of praise (1000Vulture's "Penpal" or 50 Foot Ant's "Humper-Monkey's Ghost Story" for example on Reddit and the Something awful forums), I see no issue in fleshing out your story and self-publishing as a means for testing the waters and seeing if you want to use that as a stepping stone to contacting a publisher.