self publishing

So, My family is really on my case to look into self publishing my book. They have been looking into the Amazon site and LuLu and others, attempting to gather information on how I could get my books out there for others to read and not hae to sit on the wait list for literary agents and publishers up here in Canada. It's nearly impossible to get a publisher to look at a manuscript or Query letter up here without a literary agent to back you up and in my area, no agents seem to be taking on new clients at the moment...or so I've been told.
It's frustrating. I love to write, I wish I had more time! Because of this, my recent book has been sitting on the back burner for about 9 months now and I've neglected it badly. My father is my biggest cheerleader! He wants nothing more thna to see my books in print. (gotta love Dads!) My brother is a do-er! He doesnt sit on teh sidelines and waits for things to happen, which, sadly I can be on occasion, a sideliner that is. He's been scouring the net looking for ways to get my books out on the market without having to pace through the years of painful waitlisting! I have to admit, it is very tempting! Get my book on the market and see what happens. Granted, it's never 100% profit, I have to pay a fee but get a royalty from whichever company I choose to publish with. Some are 35%, some 70% and some are up to 90% royalty! I will still have to get an ISBN number for my books which will make it MINE but thats not too expensive I guess.
Starting to see a little bit of light at then end of this bleak tunnel! I've been writing for years with no encouragement from the publishing industry. Not because they didnt like my books, just because they would never even look at them! I felt like I had been shot down before I had even started! Now I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I may see that dream come true!