Agents

Typically, you would begin querying agents. Agents offer a number of benefits:

Some will help you polish up your novel further
They know the marketplace and have access to editors at publishing houses. Many publishing houses these days refuse to look at unsolicited manuscripts sent by the author. If they're good at their job, they'll have an idea of which editors will be most receptive to your work.
They will help you with the contractual complexities of publishing, which are very complex indeed. What sort of publishing rights are you selling? To whom, and for how much? Will they revert back to you if your book goes out of print? Etc., etc.
They will support you in myriad other ways.

The cost of an agent is a commission on your work, if it sells (and not before!). Usually this amounts to 15%.

EDIT: As MGOwen points out, there are some incompetent and/or exploitative people in the agenting business too. Preditors and Editors is an award-winning website that can help you check up on agents to make sure they're on the up-and-up. You should also look for agents that are members of AAR - the Association of Author's Representatives. This is the primary professional organization for literary agents.

Querying an agent usually involves sending a query letter and the first few (rarely more than 5) pages as a sample. Agents will specify the exact format they desire, and they will almost all be slightly different. Writers Market is one of the better-known resources for agent listings. Note that they are a paid service. (They also have print editions). For the most part, agencies are all on the web these days, and they should describe their preferred formats on their site.

A great resource for learning about how to craft effective query letters is Query Shark. Miss Snark's Blog also says quite a bit on the subject (though that blog is no longer updated). I'm sure there are other good resources out there too, if you do a little searching.

If your query piques the interest of the agent, they will usually request a "partial" - basically a larger chunk of your manuscript, like 30 to 50 pages. Then, if they still like what they're seeing, they'll request the whole thing.

Finally, if the agent likes the entire work, they will offer representation. Alternately, they may ask to see a rewrite before offering representation. There are a number of things to consider at this stage, namely how well you and the agent "fit". Numerous agents offer advice about this on their blogs, but I won't go into detail here.

Once you've signed a contract with the agent and gone through any revision, they'll begin shopping your book around. Hopefully everyone loves it, there's a huge multi-house auction, and you can retire!

Alternatives

While querying agents is the most well-known way to get a book into print, there are alternatives you can explore.

Some publishers will accept queries or full manuscripts. You may choose to submit directly to these publishers. Small presses may be more likely to look at your unrepresented work. If your book does garner interest, you may choose to deal with contract negotiations and the rest of the business side of publishing on your own. A better alternative is probably to get an agent at this point. It won't be hard when you tell them you already have a publisher who wants to buy your book.

Another option, "Vanity"/self-publishing, is more popular than ever. Be extremely wary, however! "Vanity" publishers will disguise themselves as small presses, large presses, and anything else they think will get you to fork over your hard-earned cash. In traditional publishing, the money always flows toward the author. If you see anything about up-front fees, you're typically looking at a vanity publisher. Most of these businesses make their money from authors, who pay significant sums to have their books published.

If your main concern is seeing your book in bound form, and you don't mind paying for it, this path may be for you. Just be aware of what you're getting into. Vanity presses make their money from authors, so they have little incentive to actually sell books. They offer no marketing support, and your book will not generally be stocked on bookstore shelves or get reviews. Most books published through these companies sell only a handful of copies. It is possible to sell large quantities through self-publishing, but it generally requires a lot of hard work on the author's part, promoting and marketing. A platform, such as speaking engagements, can also help. Even then, it's a bit of a long-shot.

Finally, print-on-demand is an emerging alternative which allows books to be printed one-by-one, rather than in large runs. Companies that offer this service typically take a cut of each book sold, and are able to remain profitable by keeping minimal inventory.

Publishing through print-on-demand shares some of the pitfalls of "vanity" press, namely the lack of any support from the publisher. Print-on-demand is probably even less likely to assist with formatting the manuscript for publication. However, the cost of entry is generally much lower in print-on-demand.

Do Your Homework

This post has already gotten rather long, and it's nowhere near being exhaustive. Publishing is a complicated business, and it pays to do your research. Find some author, agent and editor blogs that talk about the business. There are literally hundreds of them these days. Read up. Ask questions when knowledgeable people are willing to answer. You can never be too prepared!

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