Here's a quick piece on what to do once you've finished your book, if you want to have it published (not self-publish). I emailed this to a Gather friend who asked and thought there might be others who could use the information. Not new, but succinct.
Lots of books and articles written about these issues. Start with the internet. You must compose a good query letter, one page, with three things in it. 1) hook to get agents attention, 2) where your book fits into the market, its potential readership, why it's different from what's already out there on same subject, and 3) why you're the right author to write this book, including your top publishing credits and your expertise on the subject. Even with fiction.
If you have not had your work critiqued by a professional editor or a critique group, you are probably wasting your time sending it out (unless you are the next Fitzgerald or Hemmingway).
If you believe that your manuscript is the best it can be, better than any book already out there on the same subject, then send away. Agents are listed in Literary Marketplace with information about what kind of writing they sell and what they're looking for. Those listings mean something. Waste of time to send a poetry book to a business book agent.
If you can't get an agent, try small presses who will read something they're interested in without requiring an agent to vet it for them. Good luck. The industry is a mess, the cost of warehousing and distributing books is killing the already slim profit margin and readership is down. It's very sad, but great stories will always prevail.
And magazine, journal credits and contests wins for smaller pieces will always help your credibility with agents and editors.
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Also: If you have a critique group, for the love of all that's holy and good, listen to them. If they're all telling you that your manuscript has no narrative drive and that it is boring, they're probably right. If they're all telling you that your dialogue is flat, they're probably right. The test of a writer's talent is not in what he writes -- it's in his willingness to start all over again and rebuild. Resilience and flexibility are the keys to success.
That's fantasic advice. I have been writing since I was in HS. So for over 10 years I have been writing have have this large collection of poems that I have been putting together. I have some published in a collection of poems, but really wanted a book of my own. I also know a guy that is thinking of becoming an editor. Hopefully in like 2-3 years he will be there and I can use that. Knowing someone really makes things easier. I am also writing a book and needed someone to read it, so I guess here is a good place to see what the general public thinks of it. HMMM> thanks so much for the good insite.