Yes, you get control with a self published book, but s most often the first time writer who needs total control the least. What he needs is guidance from someone - an editor - whom he is not paying for an opinion.
Here's what you get with traditional publishing, which you do not get with self publishing:
1)Top notch editors, senior (acquiring) editors, creative directors, marketing directors, sales directors, and buyers at retailers, giving you expert opinion and information about your market.
2) Listing in a must-read publisher's catalog
3) A dedicated or commissioned sales force.
4) The ability to get stocked in bookstores
5) The ability to get real reviews by established reviewers in real journals
6) A special sales department
7) A foreign sales department
8) A (cough cough) publicity department
9) An advance
10) A meaningful writing credit.
11) Purchases by libraries.
12) Condensations and re-purposing if content
13) Inclusion in book clubs
No returns. No accounting. No paying support staff. No out of pocket expenses, except for promotion. And you can use the garage for your car, instead of as a storage facility for a pile of 500 books.By Chris Hart