The big question. Do you submit directly to publishers, or do you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal evidence I've heard, it can work either way. Many publishers refuse to read unagented submissions, but on the other hand Tom Clancy and John Grisham sold their first books without an agent.
The bottom line is, if a publisher reads what he can sell, he'll buy it. It doesn't matter if it comes from an author or an agent. The trick is getting him to read it. That's always your focus.
Some people swear by agents because they're the ones who will get you larger percentages and advances. I've decided I don't care quite so much about that. In the case of a new author, I sincerely doubt that'll happen anyway. Maybe later. I'd hate to lose my first sale because some greedy agent asked for too much money. Not that I believe that'll happen either.
There are also those who swear by agents because many publishers won't look at an "unsolicited manuscript." That's true enough. They ain't got time. They're using agents as a preliminary screening process. A good agent will also know which publishers are most likely to be interested in what YOU write.
Someone recommended that once you've selected some potential publishers, phone each one and ask how they would like to be approached. Ask to whom specifically you should address your work. Then you can honestly call it a "solicited manuscript." (Always be honest in your correspondence.)
If this doesn't work, because you can't phone or the secretary refuses to cooperate and tells you things like "we only accept material from reputable literary agents," then mail your query letter, bio, synopsis, and sample chapter. They can only say no, or they can say your query looks interesting and they want to see the rest of the manuscript.
If you hook a publisher this way, odds are the publisher will like for you to have an agent. So this is when you can call one, after you've hooked the publisher. The agent gets 15% for doing practically nothing, so he'll take the job. The publisher will become more interested when your agent phones saying he's (or she's) looking after your interests in this matter.
The most important step is to get your presentation looking as professional as possible. No mistakes. None. Zero. Nada. The vast majority of rejections aren't because the story is bad, but because the Acquisitions Editor concludes that it'll be too much work to make it "ready to read." With new authors, publishers usually lose money. Advertising, print inventory