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Hi, Cooper,

I can tell you how the publication process works for me. When I complete a manuscript to my satisfaction, I send it, usually by e-mail, to my editor at one of my publishers. They read it, make their suggestions, accept it when it’s been rewritten, polished, etc., and then they publish it.

But I guess you want to know what a novice would do. I recommend that you get a book from the library on Writers’ Markets. It will list all the publishers, including the names of contact persons, and the type of books they’re looking for. They will also tell you whether or not they will read any material that comes from them without a literary agent. A lot of publishers will not even read anything that comes without an agent. (The book will also give you lists of literary agents.) And then your work has to be good enough to read, long enough and complex enough to be considered a real book, and — just maybe — they will buy it from you, pay you an advance of money, publish it, and pay you a percentage of the selling price.

And that’s, basically, how it works.                                    —–GK—–