Do people hate self-published authors? Um...

... it depends on how you define "self-published."

Technically, if you self-publish, you ARE the publisher. You hire your own printing service, you buy the ISBN number, you file for copyright, and you deal with all business part of publishing, including marketing and distribution.

Vanity publishing is a bit different. Vanity publishers will tell you that you're self-publishing through them, but if the vanity owns the ISBN number (and they do), then in the eyes of the industry, the vanity is the publisher, not you. A small distinction, but it can make a big difference if you try to get a distributor to pick up your books so that you can get them into a real bricks-and-mortar bookstore, where something like 90% of books are sold.

That said, the folks over at SlushPile.Net have a well-written rant about Why People Hate Self-Published Authors. There are some good points here to think about regardless of whether you publish via a traditional publisher, a vanity press, or your own small company. It's not so much about how you are published as how you present yourself to the world.