Before you leap straight in and contact every publisher that you have ever heard of, you should first consider whether you might be better served by the representation of a literary agent.

A literary agent represents the interests of the authors that he or she acts for. A good agent will advise you on your work and on the publishing market in general, help you find the right home for your work, sell you and your work to the appropriate publisher, negotiate the best deal for you and, crucially, provide much needed advice and support throughout the process.

The agent, or agency, makes its income entirely as a result of commission on sales of their clients' work and charge approximately 15% commission on UK sales, and 20% on sales to the US.

Some authors say that it is more difficult to find an agent than a publisher. It is certainly true that an agency lives or dies on its ability to make money for the client and therefore for themselves, and for this reason an agent will only take you on if he or she is confident that there is a market for your book.

"You might only get one go at making your big sales pitch to an agent. Don't mess it up by being anything less than thorough." - Philippa Milnes-Smith, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

"Any self-respecting agent can usually tell within 20 or 30 seconds of looking at unsolicited submissions, both the submission and the manuscript, whether the book is any good or not." - Giles Gordon, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

Finally, if you are lucky enough to have an agent interested in representing you it is important to remember that it is not enough for them to wish to represent you, you must choose to select or appoint them.

Submitting your work to a publisher

Before you leap straight in and contact every publisher that you have ever heard of, you should first consider whether you might be better served by the representation of a literary agent.

A literary agent represents the interests of the authors that he or she acts for. A good agent will advise you on your work and on the publishing market in general, help you find the right home for your work, sell you and your work to the appropriate publisher, negotiate the best deal for you and, crucially, provide much needed advice and support throughout the process.

The agent, or agency, makes its income entirely as a result of commission on sales of their clients' work and charge approximately 15% commission on UK sales, and 20% on sales to the US.

Some authors say that it is more difficult to find an agent than a publisher. It is certainly true that an agency lives or dies on its ability to make money for the client and therefore for themselves, and for this reason an agent will only take you on if he or she is confident that there is a market for your book.

"You might only get one go at making your big sales pitch to an agent. Don't mess it up by being anything less than thorough." - Philippa Milnes-Smith, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

"Any self-respecting agent can usually tell within 20 or 30 seconds of looking at unsolicited submissions, both the submission and the manuscript, whether the book is any good or not." - Giles Gordon, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

Finally, if you are lucky enough to have an agent interested in representing you it is important to remember that it is not enough for them to wish to represent you, you must choose to select or appoint them.

should I self publish?

"Self-publishing is definitely not for the faint hearted." - GP Taylor, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

Computers and the Internet have made self-publishing easier than ever, and if the traditional publishing route is denied to you, it may be worth considering. Self-publishing can be a huge undertaking but many authors have published their own work successfully in the past. However, if you do go down this route, you will have to learn to be more than "just" a writer.

Before you leap straight in and contact every publisher that you have ever heard of, you should first consider whether you might be better served by the representation of a literary agent.

A literary agent represents the interests of the authors that he or she acts for. A good agent will advise you on your work and on the publishing market in general, help you find the right home for your work, sell you and your work to the appropriate publisher, negotiate the best deal for you and, crucially, provide much needed advice and support throughout the process.

The agent, or agency, makes its income entirely as a result of commission on sales of their clients' work and charge approximately 15% commission on UK sales, and 20% on sales to the US.

Some authors say that it is more difficult to find an agent than a publisher. It is certainly true that an agency lives or dies on its ability to make money for the client and therefore for themselves, and for this reason an agent will only take you on if he or she is confident that there is a market for your book.

"You might only get one go at making your big sales pitch to an agent. Don't mess it up by being anything less than thorough." - Philippa Milnes-Smith, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

"Any self-respecting agent can usually tell within 20 or 30 seconds of looking at unsolicited submissions, both the submission and the manuscript, whether the book is any good or not." - Giles Gordon, The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

Finally, if you are lucky enough to have an agent interested in representing you it is important to remember that it is not enough for them to wish to represent you, you must choose to select or appoint them.