money up front to represent you is not a reputable operator. Reliable agents and agencies do not require their clients to pay them money. Looking Towards Small Publishers As mentioned previously in this article, it is extremely difficult to impossible for a first time writer to get his or her manuscript through the doors of a major publishing house. There are some smaller publishers that a first time writer might want to consider. Again, being agented generally gives a writer the best chance of getting a manuscript before a publisher. However, because of the way in which a smaller publisher operates, you actually have at least some relatively decent chance of getting your manuscript before the editor for a smaller publishing operation. The key to getting hooked up and connected with a smaller publisher is to do your homework in advance. These smaller publishers tend to specialize in a particular market niche or geographic region. Therefore, if you can identify a publisher that specializes in the type of book you have created or that publishes in the geographic region in which you reside or about which you have written, you will have an obviously better chance of getting someone to look at your book. You need to keep in mind that if you do go with a smaller publishing house, a great deal of the marketing for your book -- should it be published -- will fall on your shoulders. In this day and age, smaller publishers have extremely limited