I actually answered this question fully at How to Help Yourself Get Your Book Published by a Publisher. It explains how often it is a case of being at the right place at the right time with the right idea and meeting the right publisher! That sounds like a lot of coincidences but, if you are passionate about your subject and get out of the house, there are probably many opportunities for you to meet publishers outside of the traditional route of getting an agent.

You really need to take a long hard look at what you are writing about and what events exist that you can attend with a view to meeting either a publisher or agent. Personal contact, even a one-off, will mean they can attach a face to the otherwise identical proposal or manuscript to hundreds of others. In my case I was writing on a science. I was also lucky in living in London where there are many events as well as many publishers and agents. Ironically, however, I found my publisher while at a conference in Edinburgh! Which just goes to show how random it can be, but with persistence you will eventually meet the right person.

Think outside of mere book fairs, although if they exist in your subject do definitely go to them. There are likely exhibitions, conferences, lectures and other events in your subject. Even a book signing or talk by an author in your field can be an opportunity, especially if there is a drinks party – there is always a drinks party! Also, don't necessarily just think in terms of where you can sell your book idea but also in terms of who is likely to attend. I was actually doing an exhibition in Edinburgh and missed the first day of a science communicators conference – thereby missing out on the drinks too – but managed to attend on the second day. The intention was to have a look around for the next project. It wasn't until I started chatting to one guy I'd never met before that the conversation turned towards book publishing. We went to the pub and carried on talking. Within a month I had a contract! I know, absolutely miraculous. But it does show that if you are prepared then you can take advantage of the few breaks that life can offer.

Contrary to what many people think, publishers are actively looking for new talent. All the good established writers have their favourite publishers and often long term contracts so the industry needs to find new voices. This also depends again on your area of expertise and how many writers there currently are on the market. So although the most common experience is one of rejection I'm sure the manuscript was not rejected totally out of hand. In the end, publishing is a people business. It is not one big faceless corporation that decides whether you get published or not but one, or a few, individuals with their likes and dislikes. If you do send anything, make sure you know who it is going to, or at least make a note of who wrote back to you. The same individuals move around publishing houses so if an editor changes then it is worth resending your proposal even if that publisher previously rejected you.

One point about manuscripts, and this is different for fiction and non-fiction, is that sometimes less is more. This really only applies to non-fiction, but I explain in the previous Hub how creating a blad can actually be better than submitting a whole manuscript. This tells the editor that you have a great idea and can write well but also leaves some room for negotiations. It allows for chapters to be added or withdrawn, perhaps the publisher has a slightly different audience in mind and they need to fill a gap, perhaps you also need to negotiate book length and whether there are images and so forth. Even if you have written a large part of the book, sometimes sending a proposal is still better, and cheaper, than a whole manuscript.

And here I come to agents; publishers like authors to have an agent. As I said, publishing is about people and the opinions of people. Getting a book published, printed and on the bookshop shelves means that quite a few people thought that this was a good idea. Having an agent sit between you and the publisher means that at least two people think that your book proposal is a good idea too. A good agent should be your critical friend, advising you on how to make the best of your abilities. Remember that the agent only gets paid a commission so it is in their interest to create a proposal they feel has a chance of success. How to find a good agent may be more of a problem. Again, I was perhaps lucky in having a friend of the family as a literary agent. However, ask around, perhaps a friend of a friend is an agent and always good to have a face to face talk rather than just dealing with emails. On this point I think that until you have some success and can deal with an agent at arm's length then if you can find one in your own city that would be ideal. Ask to see which authors they have published recently and try to get a feeling whether they are really enthusiastic about your book. At the very beginning, if you are as yet unpublished, I think there is nothing wrong with having more than one agent and seeing which one does the business.

I think Random House is the most aptly named publisher in the world. It can seem like hard work, it can seem unfair, you will at times want to give up, but like every freelancer you just need to get out there and promote yourself and your book. I'm currently trying to get published a book in a completely different field to my first, and it hasn't been as easy this time around but I'm crafting my first chapter because my agent feels it is worth doing. Having one other person think it's a good idea is one step forward.