Agent or Publisher??

Since so very very many publishers will only deal with agents, I think it's in your best interest to try and hook up with one. There are many other reasons for having an agent -- e.g., they have access, they do the negotiating, they can get a better deal from a publisher than you, they review contracts, they may help with editing, promotion, and marketing, they may help with your proposal, they have an everyday pulse of the publishing business, and much more.

As things are today in the publishing business it's extremely hard to get anywhere without a good agent.

Depends on what you want. The best advice is to start at the top and work your way down. Most of the 'top' won't read stuff that doesn't come through agents. There are some nice small publishers that you don't need agents to submit to, but they're not any easier - meaning you still have to expect that they will accept a very small percentage of submissions.

Samhain (who I have two books with) is a great publisher that you don't need an agent for, but they've gone back to looking at romance only, or other genres with strong romantic elements. I got in before they made that decision. Behler is another good publisher that you can submit directly to.

I'd start with agents though.

Kensington, Tor/Forge, Dorchester and Medallion will also accept submissions with out an agent, but a lot of places won't. I tried to get an agent for about 5 months, then started querying publishers, including the above, and had much better results. Within 2 days of getting an offer I was able to get an agent. Have to say that my agent can get me in places I couldn't get before, knows a lot more than me about what's going on in a contract, rights etc., acts as a nice buffer between me and the publisher, negotiated with a lot more force and confidence than I would have, knows the big houses and their editors personally, and what they're looking for, and gets answers in days and weeks rather than months. I know in theory you're supposed to do it the other way. Get an agent and then get a book sold, but it worked the other way for me.

When I started I tried both, taking turns, first trying to get an agent, then sending it off to publishers.

They did NOT have a bewares forum then for scam agents. One agent I tried to get later went to work for a scammer who got busted. The one I tried went majorly squirrelly and vanished from publishing.

I did sell to a publisher first, then got an agent by asking another writer who repped her. He took me on, but after a few years it wasn't a good fit, so I got a different agent who is bloody amazing.

These days I'd say try both, but getting an agent first is best.

You can write established authors in your genre to ask who reps for them. Sometimes it's on their websites.

Even those publishers who will look at unagented subs will often take a long time to get back to you. (2.5 years to get an offer from Baen, in my case.) An agent will drastically speed up that response time, and will also be able to submit your work to a wider range of editors.

If I had to do it over again, I'd definitely go the agent route.

There is an advantage to starting by querying agents. If they all say no, you can still query publishers. If all the publishers say no, agents will not look at you, because there is no place left to submit.

That, for me, is enough reason to start with agents.

I looked for an agent first. For me, there are tons of reasons for an agent, but one of the biggest, as Judg noted, is that once you've queried a house with your manuscript you're done with that house. With some houses, even if you query one imprint at that house, you're done at the whole house -- even if you later get agented.

I submitted to a couple of publishers, but focused mainly on finding an agent first. I know I'm in this to develop a career, and an agent can really keep you on track with that. I'm glad I did, because I'd have been scared to death to sign/negotiate my contract without her. Of course, I never would have even gotten my book in front of Delacorte if it weren't for her.

I'm published, but i don't have an agent. I looked for one, but was rejected by all (most said rosters are full, or they don't represent the kind of writing I do). Honestly, i did not get any negative feedback from any agent - but none of them could take me on. I still don't have an agent - I was published by a small press, but a highly regarded one. The reviews of my book have ALL been exceptional. I still query agents once in a while, but they keep telling me they can't take on any new clients.
what to do?
wish I knew...

Jackfishwoman, are you querying only in Canada? Would your work appeal to an audience in the States? If so, you might try querying in the US (or even the UK if that market seems better suited to you). I know Canadian agents are very booked up.