This trying-to-get-published thing is a serious beat down. Criminy. I mean, it would help if I had any idea how exactly the juvenile nonfiction book I've written fits in the publishing world. I would classify it as folklore, but it's also reference and kind of history and sort of about animals. And when I visit likely seeming publishers' websites, their books don't really match up to the kind of book I've written. Do I submit anyway?

Or should I try going the agent route instead? On the one hand, that means my book's more likely to get published by a big-name publisher---or even a snazzy, art house-type imprint of a big-name publisher---which would be fantastic. On the other, submitting via agent is a lot of work to go through if this is the only nonfiction book I ever write. ...Unless I'm fortunate enough to find an agent who can handle shopping my work when I start trying to publish fantasy novels.

Then there's the book, itself. I have a vague sense of how I want it to look, but I can't decide whether it needs an introduction...or to be broken down into topical sections. And would those topical sections need an introduction? I would love to be able to collaborate with an editor on these sorts of issues, but I think I have to have the manuscript as close to perfect as I can get it upon submission. Good grief....