another question

Hi, bfg -- I'm going to move this thread to another place where it's more likely to attract answers!

And, though you've already met some of us... Welcome to AW!

bfg, you can't go wrong by going to your bookstore and scoping titles similar to yours. Make a note of the publishers and then check out their websites/guidelines when you get home. This is the kind of research best done yourself. If you depend on other's recommendations you can get into an apples/oranges situation very quickly.

I'm a wee bit leery at the "good timing" "hot issue" description. If the book is accepted by a publisher today, it would be likely be 12-20 months before it hits print. Would it be old news by then?

I think Rob got sidetracked so I'll punt this over to the Nonfiction forum.

Without knowing the subject matter of your book, we'd only be guessing at which small publisher would be appropriate. Most specialize. As Eraser noted, scoping titles at the bookstore is the best way to get a bead on the publishers who have an interest in your topic.

As for university presses...Yes, you can certainly go to them directly without an agent. Typically, they're not what I'd consider "hot topic" oriented, unless the hot topic is geo-political, environmental, or some such, and the treatment is of a scholarly nature. But, if your topic and treatment do happen to mesh with a particular university press's focus, then yes, this could be a way to go. Advances, if any, tend to be meager. Same with their marketing and distribution. But if you're prepared to do the heavy lifting for them and have the platform--which seems to be the case with your mention of the subject person's media contacts--then it's not a bad option. Book quality and publisher reputation wouldn't be a concern, and if the book doesn't sell like hot-cakes, it's not going to leave you with the same kind of low-sales stigma you might have if you'd gone with a purely commercial publisher.

That said, I'd still try the commercial houses first, agented or not. And I wouldn't start with small publishers. Don't bypass the big houses unless you're sure you've got a too-narrow interest topic. Many of them are amenable to being approached directly too. Demonstrate professionalism, clear market, and dollar signs.

But before you do that, think about why you haven't garnered much agent interest. What are they saying? It's clue to what you need to do.

Good luck.