I can't speak for other publishing companies (but if I could, I would say "We are evil, and you should only buy from Prufrock Press!"), so the tips below are specific to how I like to work with authors.

When considering which companies to approach with your project, pick publishing companies that focus on the kind of material and topics you wish to develop. Most publishers have a niche in which they specialize. It does no good to submit even the best book idea on a topic to a publisher that doesn't publish books on that topic. I can't tell you how many proposals I get for topics such as "psychic phenomena explained," "nature poetry," and "phonics for young readers." Prufrock publishes exclusively for teachers and parents of gifted children and high-ability learners. We really can't consider proposals that are off-topic.

Once you've identified a handful of publishers that might be interested in your work, visit their Web site and see if they have online author support and guidance. If they don't, you can send them an SASE with a request for their author submission guidelines. At Prufrock, we have an area of our Web site devoted to helping authors get started. Of most benefit to a new author in this area are two downloadable documents. The first, "Topics and Areas for Acquisition," outlines the topics we're interested in having authors write about. The document gives you a general idea of the kinds of products we see ourselves publishing in the near future. The second is our "Book Prospectus Preparation Guidelines. These guidelines tell exactly what information should be included in a prospectus sent to us. It is so helpful for our editors when we receive a prospectus that conforms to these guidelines.

Prepare your prospectus with the marketplace in mind. Try to find the intersection of the topic you want to write about and what educators are buying. Here is a suggestion: Review the online catalog of the publisher to which you plan to submit your prospectus. Check out the publisher's bestsellers -- that's a good indication of what the education market is looking for.

Once you have a marketable education product in mind and a publisher's prospectus guidelines in hand, you can develop your proposal. Now, write your proposal and send it in. So many teachers talk to me about writing an activity book over the summer, but they never get around to sending in a prospectus. Take the leap, prepare you prospectus, and sent it in.

I wish you the best in getting published. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them.