Now you're written the blurb for your book, and the chapter outline, the next step is to start asking agents and publishers whether they're interested in looking at the proposal for your book. This means you'll send out a query letter, asking literary agents and book publishers to look at your proposal.

Note: some new authors want to omit this step. They figure --- hey, I'll just send the complete proposal, so I get a response faster. Unfortunately, sending a complete unsolicited proposal will SLOW the process. Literary agents and book publishers receive so many packages of material that they stack them in a spare office, and the office junior gets to read them once every couple of months. Send a query letter, then send the book proposals to those people who've asked to see it.

Do you need a literary agent?

Yes. And no. It can sometimes be harder to get a literary agent than it is to get a publisher, so it's a good idea to query both. When you get an agent, you can tell the agent which publishers you've already queried. If you get a literary agent before you get a book publisher, you can approach agents who are a good fit for your book to ask them if they will handle the contract negotiations for you.

You definitely need an agent if you intend to write more than one book. As to whether you should go agent-hunting, the answer is a definite yes. This isn't only because a literary agent will take a lot of the submission and negotiation workload, and because the agent has (one hopes) her fingers constantly on the pulse of publishing and knows what's going on, but it's also because an agent forms a handy cut-off switch between you and the publisher. When problems occur --- let's say that your editor's demands annoy you, or that your advance payments are late -- you have someone to gripe at other than your editor.

On the other hand, if you'd rather keep all the profits your book makes, and feel that you can handle your contract negotiations yourself, you may want to skip agents, and focus on publishers.

Online resources to help you in your agent-hunt

Here's a list of online resources to help you decide if you want a literary agent, and agent contact details.

WritersNet: http://www.writers.net/agents/browse/loc.php
This is an excellent site, with many useful articles telling you what agents do, as well as agent lists you can browse.

FreelanceWriting.com: http://www.freelancewriting.com
Another excellent site with articles and agent listings.

Index of US Literary Agents: http://www.writersservices.com
This page is on the Writer's Services site, and you'll also find listings of UK agents.

Preditors and Editors: http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
You'll want to bookmark this site. It's a wonderful resource to help you to maintain your writing career.

Literary Agent Warnings: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/agents.html
Unfortunately, as in all fields, in writing there are scam artists. This page, maintained by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc, gives you the low-down (pun intended) on literary scammers.

Note: things change fast online. Do your own "literary agents" query on www.Google.com and other search engines for additional agent information and listings.