So, you have a manuscript. It’s either fiction or popular non-fiction. And no one seems interested. Do you have an agent? If so, how many publishers has he/she submitted the manuscript to? If it’s more than a couple of dozen, then it’s time to turn to another book. You can revisit this one later in your career.
But what if you don’t have an agent? How many agents have you tried? If you have queried more than a few dozen, and they all work in your niche, then you have a problem. Have many or most of them requested a partial? The problem is in your manuscript.
Are they not requesting a partial? Then the problem is in the proposal/query.
IF the problem is in the manuscript, it may not be a good idea to press on with this book. Either it’s not good enough, or the market is too small to make a profit.
If your work hasn’t been widely submitted, you need to get more rejections before you give up. 5? 10? You’re just starting. This is a numbers game, and you need to rack up the numbers before you cry quit.
But let’s say that you truly believe in the work. What are your alternatives to the subsidy press? You can self-publish either with professional help or on your own.
If you publish a book well, there will be absolutely NOTHING to tell the bookstores or the readers that it was self-published. Note that I’m not saying you lie, or that you use fake names, but just that you produce a book so good in every respect that it is clear that this is the first of many from a new publisher to be reckoned with. That means that you need good content, good typography, good covers, good market, and a good distribution network, just for starters.
Confused about how to judge/find these things? There are books on the subject. (This is book publishing. Of course there are!) And I even have a few listed on my Reference Desk in the Reviews Section.
There are listservs for the small press community where pros help newcomers pull themselves up by their bootstraps. For free!
There are conferences like the PMA-U that happens in the 3 days before BEA every year. There’s BEA itself.
Have courage, there are always options. Still, the best way may be the traditional way, depending upon your resources (self-publishing well is expensive, or it takes huge amounts of time and talent) and your goals.
And, who knows, you could be the next Chris Paolini.