Does anyone have advice on getting a novel published?

Should I go through a literary agent first? How can I get my 'foot in the door'?Does anyone have advice on getting a novel published?
Getting your foot in the literary door involves having an excellent novel, polished and ready for sale, and on contacting the right person with an excellent query letter.





Not every legitimate sale requires an agent. Many small publishers still deal directly with the author. Once you have a completed, polished manuscript, you can figure out if you should seek a big ';name brand'; publisher, in which case you need an agent, or if a small publisher will do just fine.





You can find publishers in the most recent edition of Writer’s Market (US) or Writers’ %26amp; Artists’ Yearbook (UK). Each listing will indicate “agented submissions only” or not.





Remember, reputable agents charge the author NOTHING up-front. Some agents may deduct the costs of doing business (copies, mail, phone) from your first check, but nobody legitimate needs that in order to get started.





You can determine whether an agent is reputable at sites like Preditors and Editors (http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/) and the AAR (http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do). Besides being a real agent and not a scammer preying on writers’ dreams, you also want to research an agent’s recent sales of books in your genre before sending a query letter.





Researching whether a publisher is the real deal is easier. Go to a bookstore. See any of their books? Good. No? If it’s a small press, it might still be legitimate. The biggie is that no publisher needs money from the author. None at all. Any publisher who does is cause to run the other way.





Kindly ignore anyone who urges you to self-publish, unless your dream is to sell copies to your family and friends and nobody else.Does anyone have advice on getting a novel published?
Aim high. Start by trying to land an agent. Only with an agent can you break into the major publishing houses.





For a list of reputable agents, see http://QueryTracker.net





There is also an introductory article about writing query letters: http://querytracker.net/howto.php





If the agent path doesn't work out, then try publishers who do not require agents (these are usually the smaller houses.)





I would recommend against any publisher that asks you to pay for all or part of the printing yourself. And never pay an agent or publisher any reading or editing fees.
Get some contacts and do a lot of networking. Otherwise, you can forget it. It's about as easy as getting into the movies.