self or traditional #publishing

  For one that has never been published, with the way things are now-a-days, which is better?
I have researched a good deal and now know a bit about what it would take to self publish and it sounds doable but rather expensive without a fan base would you say?  Traditional publishing sounds better but then again, what chances do I truly have of actually getting signed?  This is just me throwing my thoughts out there however if anyone wants to comment, please do.  Here, twitter or traditional  facebook is fine.