Hi

I'm a new member to the recording forum and would like some help on the following:

I want to create my first CD which of course involves:

1. mastering my tracks
2. getting artwork done
3. finding a duplication house
4. further promotion

I think I am reasonably competant in the production now (but still learning) but it's the conversion of my Sonar projects into a group of tracks onto a CD which is eluding me. Currently, I bounce them down to wav/mp3 for uploading into Soundcloud.

As a first exercise, I thought about making a prototype master. I need to try and work out what tracks to choose, the order of the tracks so that they flow from one to the other. I did try and rip a first effort from a playlist on itunes which copied without tracks names for some reason. Are there any mastering tools/software that anyone can recommend for the home studio (not very expensive on a budget) and/or best CD burning software for music tracks?

So you see there are a lot of ramblings here mainly I keep asking myself (I am going mad? probably!). So any help on the 'process' above would be greatly appriciated.