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As I mentioned, on one of my flights, I sat next to Jack Sacco, Pulitzer-nominated author of Where the Birds Never Sing. We were seated in an exit row so after the flight attendent's safety spiel, I shared my thoughts about it being a waste of time since I have never ever heard of a flight that crashed...and then the passengers gratefully grabbed their seat cushions/floatation devices and followed the instructions to proceed out the emergency exits. Nope. Basically, you crash = you die. Not put off by my cheery musings, Jack asked me about what I do...and then I asked him...and he told me all about his book which is the true story of his father's experience in WWII being one of only 250 American soldiers to physically liberate a concentration camp. After hearing about his book (and current projects), I asked for advice for those wanting to break into the publishing world.
*You don't need an agent. (None of the agents Jack approached would take his book.)
*If you get an agent, remind the agent that he/she works for you, not vice versa.
*You don't need permission from an agent (or anyone else) to publish.
*Look at books on a similar topic and see what editors the author thanks. That person has a special interest in the area so find their e-mail address and write a short note, asking if he/she would be willing to look at your proposal.
*In your proposal, start with a very short synopsis of your idea, talk about the market for the book (and why your book is better/different than others out there), share your credentials and include a book excerpt.
*Publishing companies have legal departments and lawyer connections are a little-known back-door into the company. If you know or have a lawyer, ask if he/she knows anyone in legal aid in a publishing company or has any possible connections. Someone in legal aid can get your book to an editor's desk so it actually gets read.