Getting scores published... making a living

I'm sure this question has been asked countless times, but I guess I'm gonna just reiterate it.... So how does one go about getting a score published for use, by say, school bands? If I had a bunch of pieces written for a middle school concert ensemble, what would be the necessary steps to get that published and used by schools? What about etudes for solo instruments or small ensembles? Any help at all would be appreciated, I'm not considering doing this as my only means of support, but it seems like if I already have the music written, it wouldn't hurt to make money off of it.

There are several ways to start if you mean a hardcopy publisher.

First step. From similar music, a catalogue or musicians' yearbook, find a publisher who deals with your kind of music. Write to or phone them initially. They'll tell you what they need. They'll probably ask you a little about yourself and they might want to attend performances.

Let's hear what others think.

find a publisher that deals in the type of music you are proposing, send them a cover letter to find out if they are accepting new submissions (some publishers do not accept unsolicited submissions), and if they are interested, they will ask you to submit some works for evaluation.

First, get an agent. Publishing companies will rarely even consider you unless you have one. Then, send them the work that best represents your talents and abilities. Also, you should try to get comissions from organizations so that your repetoire is established and to show that you can compose in a range of circumstances and styles.