You may decide to try to find an agent; alternatively you may decide to go straight to a publishing house. This chapter is designed to show you how (although you should also read the previous chapter, as many of the same considerations will apply).
Your starting point should be to buy a copy of a trade yearbook. These have been the catalyst of many writing careers, and buying a copy is part of taking yourself seriously as an author. Here you will find a complete list of all the major publishing houses.
Your second port of call should be the website of your local association of independent publishers: in the UK, the Independent Publishers Guild represents 480 firms, and in the US, PMA – the Independent Book Publishers Association – has 4,000 members.
On their sites you will find many more options, largely specialist publishers broken down into the kinds of books they produce. Finding out just how many exist can be daunting. Who on earth do you approach first?
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