Once your songs are written you'll need to have the best possible representation of your new material. I evaluate music all day long and I have noticed a common theme. If your music doesn't sound professional then it won't be taken seriously, no matter how good your writing & songs are without an amazing recording it won't be taken seriously. So don't go in half way, there are a lot of people offering recording services all over the place. Just remember, recording is expensive to do it correctly and you will get what you pay for; that being said it can still be done even with a fairly modest budget.