Hi, welcome to itch.io. The better place to publish games - no publisher needed.
The fact that the majority of game developers cannot afford Steam fees and that they don't care - they like to keep their store exclusive for people who live in Western Countries / have money - is the reason I will never support them. Not as a customer and not as a developer.
Your best bet for finding a game publisher is to look at the opening screens of games similar to yours that have publishers. When a game starts the publishers name is normally the first splash screen, followed by the developer. Then do a search for that publisher name. That way you'll know you're dealing with a publisher that has actually published games like yours before. They will also have a form or email address on their website for you to submit the game to them.
seriously though i would like to experiment with steam but not got round to it.
ITCH.IO has worked out perfectly for me as a relatively new developer who enjoys a bit of creative freedom.
I would suggest that if you can do a campaign here or on a crowdfunding site to raise $100, then that would be a natural way to get the funds for steam.
Finishing the development of the game is surely more important that the means of publishing it?
Stick around here, Post devlogs, State your goals and hopefully you will find some real support here (support you may not so easily find on steam).
That would be my advice. have followed you and will be looking out for further developments ;)
