A lot of folks like to see beyond the finish line a bit before they start the race. And, once you commit to running it, you're going to be asked about this anyway, so you may want a bit of conversational ammunition for those conversations.
Options:
- First of all, you should probably spend quite a bit of time editing the book before proceeding. Ernest Hemmingway said, "The first draft of anything is shit." A trip through online quote sites will show you just how many of the people on the good old college syllabus share the sentiment. While you and I may be the first authors to deliver a novel that escapes this reality, I humbly suggest that until your name is on those same lists, a bit of editing is in your future. Once edited, your options continue.
- Bury it, never to be seen again. Very viable option if the idea of anyone ever reading it chills your very soul. If even a ruthless hatchet job cannot save your doomed manuscript, just remember to call before you dig!
- Print up 3 copies and share them with friends and family. This one is less appealing if you based all of your evil characters on the same people getting the only copies, but often, the respect of your associates is more reward than dismal sales anyway.
- Publish it on the web. Though I caution against doing this until it's done, given the ubiquity of online publishing and the fact that it's darn cheap (heck, I'll offer free hosting to anyone who wants it for a basic HTML version of their novel) make this a nice option to get the work out there.
- Publish it "yourself". The pay-for-1000-copies-and-sell-them-out-of-your-trunk model of publishing has long been a way for unscrupulous businesses to give false hope to authors. I would only use the print-on-demand places and prefer those with no or low upfront fees (less than $300). There are a couple listed below. Please note that this is not a likely path to literary stardom. Once your manuscript has an ISBN number, traditional publishers won't touch it without Oprah looking over their shoulder. And, the likelyhood of selling enough copies outright via the on-demand publishers to retire . . . . Well, let's just say that it's going to take a suitcase full of rabbit's feet to push the process along. I view this as a way to get the 10 or so copies for those who care in a format other than "a stack of laser printed pages".
- Lulu.com - This is the most popular option for Nanowrimo participants and they even offer deals specifically for participants like 1 free copy, etc. There's no upfront charges here and addon services like editing are in more of an elance.com style, with individuals offering the service via the Lulu marketplace.
- iUniverse - Charges $300 or so for basic setup with packages for editorial review, etc.
- Submit your manuscript to traditional publishers. Here lies the path to many heartaches and walls lined with rejection slips (Tips on using the rejection slips). Traditional publishers are looking for 1 thing: several hundred pages of text that can be bound up and sold as many times as possible. That's it. If you've heard that they're looking for a "great coming of age story" it's only because they're selling well this year. There are lots of places that will lead you through the submission process.
If I've sounded a bit harsh with regard to traditional publishing it's because saying, "I'm going to get my book published" is about the same as saying "I'm going to start dating bikini models". Trying to do either without having the goods to back it up is likely to get you slapped a lot.
Once you have your 50,000 words, the options on what to do with them is pretty wide open. Now, where is my shovel?