Like Myrisha said, there's a large difference between the two. You can use the two links below this to find more information out about both of them on this site.
To summarise, an agent will maintain regular contact with you about your ideas, plans, will help promote your works to publishers, they will also handle a lot of the inner problems as you'll read on the fifth paragraph. A publisher publishes the work and will make sure it's available in all territories, protect your intellectual copyrights and more from the second link. In any case, approaching an agent is most usually advised as a first step.
One tries to earn you money, the other wants all the profit.
Hi there Kai
Like Myrisha said, there's a large difference between the two. You can use the two links below this to find more information out about both of them on this site.
Agents:
http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/preparing-for-submission/what-does-a-literary-agent-do
Publishers:
http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/preparing-for-submission/what-does-a-publisher-do
To summarise, an agent will maintain regular contact with you about your ideas, plans, will help promote your works to publishers, they will also handle a lot of the inner problems as you'll read on the fifth paragraph. A publisher publishes the work and will make sure it's available in all territories, protect your intellectual copyrights and more from the second link. In any case, approaching an agent is most usually advised as a first step.
Hope this helps.
Sorry for the typos, we should really have an edit button in here!!!