Have you written a book you want to share with the world? New York is the capital of the book publishing world, but remember small and midsize independent publishers in other locations can also be elite and do business with unpublished authors.

It is not absolutely necessary to engage the services of an agent, but it usually is a good idea. Today agents who know their way around the publishing industry have thousands of books to select from to present to publishers.

Some agents will offer encouragement and suggestions to improve a client