on Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity:

Most of the large publishing houses require an agent, but smaller houses often accept manuscripts and proposals directly from writers, as do some of the genre publishers (notably sci-fi and romance). While small houses don’t have the clout or distribution of large publishers, they are often quite successful because they appeal to niche markets.

Important tips for submitting your work to a publisher

Follow these simple rules, and your chances of having your manuscript read will be greatly increased:

1) Make sure your manuscript has been edited to perfection. All manuscripts contain mistakes – make sure yours doesn’t.

2) Follow submission guidelines to the letter. If you don’t, the publisher will not look at your manuscript. There are no exceptions to this rule.

3) Make sure your cover letter contains all the information that the publisher has requested. Keep it professional.

4) Read the publisher’s website carefully. If they contact you, they will expect you to be familiar with what they have published.

5) Nonfiction publishers want proposals, not manuscripts. Most nonfiction publishers will tell you exactly what they want in a proposal, so read their submission guidelines carefully.

A word of warning: If you submit your work to a publisher and are rejected, you cannot resubmit it later through an agent. Agents do not handle work that has been “shopped around.”

!! If a publisher offers you a contract, but wants to charge you for “printing,” or for “editing services,” or for “misc. additional costs” do not sign their contract. Some unscrupulous vanity presses masquerade as small presses or “self-publishing” presses. They are nothing of the kind. No legitimate publisher charges an author to publish a book.