Revise. Then revise again. Set the manuscript (or MS) aside for a week or even a month. Begin writing your next book. Then come back to the first book and read through it, looking for plot holes, excessive adjectives, or characters who have mysteriously disappeared.Is the plot tight? Is the dialog believable? How is the pacing?A good writer is a good reviser. You can probably stand to trim 10% out of the book if you look hard. The first step to publishing a novel is writing a great novel. Don't rush. Make this book as tight and seamless as possible.
Find an agent. The most likely way for your book to end up on shelves is to work through a literary agent. Getting an agent requires the same hard work and attention to detail as submitting the book directly to a publisher.Find an agent appropriate for your work through www.agentquery.com or a copy of the Literary Marketplace (available at your library). Be sure you submit only to those agents who work in the genre your novel is in.Begin with the best query letter you can write. This is like a cover letter and resume you would send for any other job. It must include the title of the novel, genre, word count, your contact information, and a brief synopsis (one or two paragraphs at most). Send this query to a specific agent (not to "Agent") and avoid submitting to multiple agents in the same agency--they often share promising queries with colleagues if the book does not interest them personally.
Submit to publishers. While the majority of publishing is done by several large houses who do not accept unagented (or "unsolicited") manuscripts, there are still a number of small publishers who do work directly with authors rather than through agents. The rules for approaching a publisher are essentially the same as those for approaching an agent: a high-caliber query letter sent to a specific, targeted list of publishers. Spend your time and postage wisely by choosing publishers who have published or indicate a desire to publish work that is similar to yours. The Writer's Market is a book published annually and available at any bookstore or your library which contains a wealth of information on publishers. It is well worth the investment to buy your own copy (usually around $30.00).
Start writing your next book. The publishing industry moves extremely slowly. It can take a month or two before you hear back from an agent or publisher. Be patient, and have a list of reserve publishers or agents to submit to if you initial submissions are rejected.In the meantime, get to work on your next book. Avoid jumping into a sequel of the novel you are pitching; if no agent or publisher is interested, you'll have wasted a lot of time better spent on an entirely different story. If you secure a publishing agreement, you'll have time to write any sequels the publisher wants.