Rick's Advice on Publishing Music
(for what it's worth)

(Quick side note:  As of October 29, 1998 I *have* discussed these with my publisher and so have added a few notes)

1.    Do not send in unsolicited manuscript.  Contact the publisher either by phone or email.  I know my publisher (Linda True at Falls House Press) does a lot via email.  Get a feeling from the individual publisher how they want to deal with you.  If you choose to ignore this, send it with a postage paid envelope for getting back your manuscript.  The publisher will probably not foot the bill for returning rejected material.  (According to Linda, she does return all music regardless, but I don't think you'll find this to be an industry standard.)

2.    If at all possible, give them your music in a print ready form.  There are some great music writing software packages out there today.  Finale is my personal favorite (No, I'm not opening it to debate with this statement).  If you can't do this, get someone to do it for you.  Some people will do it for a price (I have done this and you can find others on the internet who do it professionally).  Some publishers may be willing to work with you in finding such an individual and some may be willing to have it done if you offer to pick up the charges.  It will probably be cheaper to do it yourself.

3.    Include a recording of your piece(s) if possible.  Just because they're music publishers does not necessarily mean they'll be able to get a feel for your music without hearing it.  Some of them are really good musicians and can do this, but others can't, so why take the chance?

4.    Make sure you have a contract that both parties are happy with.  Get this up front before you submit a single piece of music.  Falls House Press is very easy to work with, but publishers I've approached in the past were not.

    I'm not sure this covers everything, but it's a good start.  If you have questions please feel free to email me with them