Getting Published

It's been a few months since I wrote through to the end of my novel and a few weeks since I finished editing it. I've had a lot of support from my mum (chief editor) and my fellow début novelists. We meet regularly to discuss our books and lick our wounds as we receive the inevitable rejections.
The route to publishing is via an agent and finding one is hard. The first stage is to submit a sample of the novel, normally the first three chapters and a synopsis, supported by a good covering letter.
Some agents will accept email submissions and some like hard copies, all have their own submission guidelines which should be followed to the letter.
Rejection is a part of the whole process and I've only had a couple of 'nos' so far but it is difficult. Irons must be placed back in the fire and the search continues. At no time have I doubted my book or its worth, I just need to find the right person to represent me.