Baby Steps

Now that the work on Book One is pretty much complete, I'm turning my eyes to publishing. I am pretty sure I do not want to travel the self-publishing road. Major kudos for those of you out there that do that and achieve success, but I do not want the weight of my novel's rise and fall to land on these shoulders. I have really cruddy upper body strength, after all.
I am also moderately sure that I don't want to shoot for a big publisher, simply because I don't want to loose all creative control on my baby... I mean, my book. Yeah, book. Now a living thing I gave birth to after untold pain, struggle and labor... wait... Um, anyway. I am kind of uncomfortable with the thought that a person or group of persons, no matter how experienced or talented, would decide something as imperative as my cover art. That is the face of my ba... book. I want the final say in that. But, I do need help. Lots and lots of help.
My amazing cousin, Hope Collier, is also an author. If you haven't checked out any of her stuff, you really should. She's being like a literary guardian angel of late. From pointing me in the right direction for info, to answering my bazillion questions, she is a resource beyond compare. After getting a particularly helpful bit of advice from her, I began looking into some of the small-house publishers, or Indie-publishing if you like. Since my series, and more importantly this first novel, Elhannan, kind of dances on the line of YA fantasy and just straight up fantasy fiction, I have to be sure that the publishers I send queries out to will actually be interested in my genre/genres. Research! Eliminate! (Wow, I sound like a Dalek!) I also have to come up with a query letter (scary!) and a book proposal in case any of the folks I send a query to are interested in taking the next step with me. (Terrifying!)
Internet search how to write a query letter. Done. Calm myself down, take notes, start thinking on the process. Internet search how to write a book proposal. Wade into the fray and find the site I am most comfortable with. Start reading, taking notes, and... What is that?! Author bio? NOOOOOO! I have to talk about me? But, why? Have you ever been published? Not yet, unless you count that poem in 5th grade. Educational Achievements that will lend credibility to your writing as specifically regards to the subject matter. Um, no. Writer's Associations and/or Guilds you are a member of... This could work. Research!
Wish me luck. This is going to be a very long journey.