how to market a single song by a songwriting novice?

This has got to be a FAQ for this ng, but here goes:

I'm a 3d-rate guitarist in a 3d-rate hobby classic rock cover band, and I have written exactly one original song to date. Big deal, right?

The funny thing is, my 13-year old daughter, who normally spends all her waking hours listening to commercial top-40 and doesn't care much in general for the kind of stuff my band plays, thinks my song is GREAT and that I should get it recorded and marketed to radio stations, music publishers and the like. She told me last night that she often finds herself singing it to herself when she's at school and the like.

Remember this is my 13-yo daughter speaking, who usually doesn't even like to admit that her parents are capable of anything that requires brains or talent. And God forbid that we should embarrass her by being seen in public (with or without her). But for over a year now, she hasn't let go of the idea that this song could be very popular.

So let's assume for the sake of argument that it *is* a good song with commercial potential, despite being written by someone unlikely ever to repeat that success. What should I do, if anything?

I have a modest home recording set up, so producing a primitive demo would not be difficult from a purely technical point of view. But none of the members of my band (with the possible exception of our bassist) are what I would call studio-quality singers or musicians. Certainly my own voice is not the one I would necessarily choose for recording this song.

And even assuming I got the song onto CD in semi-acceptable form, what then? Do I just send it to a publisher and hope for the best? Do I try to get played on local radio stations? Or do I first send it to someone who might be able to a do a more credible job with it in the studio (probably for a fee)? And maybe an experienced songwriter could help me fine-tune it a bit.

I have no idea how to approach this, and I tend to suspect anyway that the ratio of effort to potential payoff is not as great as my daughter naively assumes. Comments?

thanks

Grant

I meant, of course, 'much greater than'

<snip> Comments?

Yes, get a LOT more feedback on your song first. Honestly, what do you think are the chances that at your first time out, you've written a hit? I'm not saying it can't happen, but the chances are highly unlikely.

Post it here and you can get some honest feedback before you start spending your money.

I know. That's why I'm a bit bewildered by my daughter's enthusiasm. Having said that, I think it does have a couple of elements of a successful song, including a pretty good hook, easily remembered melody and lyrics, and a story line that isn't cliche.

I'd be happy to do that ... once I have made some kind of a demo recording. Again, I'm concerned that my own instrumental and vocal performance and arrangement ability might not do justice to the song.

I assume that stuff that gets posted here doesn't all wind up getting pirated by some unscrupulous publisher with a highly paid legal team for fending off copyright lawsuits?

You can post the lyrics without the audio...and a good song will withstand a less-than-perfect recording.

Always put a © on your stuff, but most publishers don't have time to peruse these newsgroups.

(snip) I posted a little ditty I wrote called Sunday Bloody Sunday and some nobs from Dublin ripped me off. It's a real danger.

U2??? it happened to me as well....those shady little leprecauns....hehe

cheers, 60 cycle hum

Yeah, what's with the howling leprechaun with the weird name? Boner or something. Anyway, what a bunch of nobs they are. But this isn't helping the guy with the song.