Publishing a book, part two

Dear Bob ...

I really appreciate the advice on writing/getting published.  It's been one of my goals for quite some time. Unfortunately, I have spent more time thinking about it than doing it. I do have a few follow up questions for you:

1) Where do you find publishers?  I know there are many and don't have a clue about where to begin to select one (or a few) or how to best contact them to initiate the process.

2) Once you find a publisher, what do they offer in the way of help or resources?

3) You mentioned that you had written 8 books, but only published 4.  You stated that it was best to make a proposal to a publisher first, and then write the book. What happened with the other 4?

4) I always thought that before writing a book, a good strategy was to try to get something shorter, like an article, published first.  Any thoughts on that strategy?

5) I've also toyed with the idea of launching a website where I could post some "chunks" of ideas or material that could ultimately be re-used and tied together into chapters of a book.