A Question about publishing

Hello all,

So with a first draft of The Phoenix finished and a few options of where to go next (Exodus, Christ and Satan, Judith? What is your vote?) I am naturally wondering most about what to do with this body of work I have developed. It seems like a good idea to start peddling it about to various publishers. But here's the problem: I don't even have an idea of where to begin. How complete should the manuscript be before I think about gauging editor interest (should some of the introductions be completed first? Just one?) What does one send besides a book proposal? What good scholarly presses accept this kind of creative work? Ideally, I'd like to see my work in some format that would be affordable for classroom use and in print for a while.

I see my translations as fulfilling a real need for teachers (and as I am teaching this material now I can see just how desperate the field is), as they are meant to be both accurate and compelling. They are certainly more on the accurate side right now, and probably could not complete with the poets of the Word Exchange for pyrotechnics, though I don't feel my work is so far behind it. [I have read the very good excerpts from Andreas in WE by Eamon Grennan and feel that my work compares favorably. I am a bit partial of course, and probably would avoid reviewing his work there because of this.]

So, you could give your opinion by way of comments or email on the above questions and I would be very grateful for your candor and interest.