For as long as I can remeber, I have been reading fantasy books. When I was a kid, I really liked the science fantasy publishers. I read books like The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time voraciously. I just could not get enough. It was so thrilling to read about galactic struggles between good and evil, post-apocalyptic societies living in a world of enforced conformity, and all that other stuff. It was the perfect food for a young and developing mind like mine.
As time has gone on, however, I have started to think about fantasy publishers in a different way. I have just completed my own original fantasy novel and am in the process of finding a fantasy publisher of my own. This is not an easy task to perform. Nowadays, fantasy publishers, like the rest of the publishing industry, are really market-driven. A lot of them are not so much looking for a good novel as one that they think will sell. Typically, sales trends are studied to find the next big hit instead of classic stories.
Experienced writers know how to use this to their advantage. You see, fantasy is sort of a niche market, and the various fantasy publishers occupy their own niches within that market. One fantasy publisher might focus for the most part on Gothic fantasy, while another might go in for sword and sorcery. Still another might cater to a Steampunk audience with that quirky aesthetic. Shopping your book around is easiest once you learn who to talk to and sidestep some of the politics involved with the industry.