[MRM]

I know the company you’re referring to and I would advise against going with them. They are essentially a vanity publishing house selling self-published books at marked-up prices. You’ll get no support or promotion after the book is printed. You’ll get a box of books and be told if you want to sell them, fill the trunk of your car and hit the circuit of flea markets and independent booksellers. If you want to give your books away, there are cheaper printing options. If you’re serious about publishing the book to sell it, they are the wrong path.

You’ve got the most important parts down. Professional authors don’t finish the book until it’s sold. They write a couple of chapters and an outline and they put the book out there to see if anyone will buy it. If someone bites, they sign the contract and finish the book.

What you need to do now is find a literary agent who’s willing to review your work, make suggestions to make it better and/or more marketable, and then shop it for you. That’s the professional route into publishing. Unfortunately, I have no insights or assistance to offer you in getting an agent other than cold-calling any you can find online.