Hello everybody. I'm trying to map out a city for my fantasy novel, and as the title says, I don't know where to begin. I have a lot of details stuck in my head, and I can't figure out how to get them on paper or computer.

I need a process that ends up with something I can publish in a book. Ideally I would like to be able to color code the buildings between business, residential, and apartment buildings, so that you can see the different neighborhoods and how they would mingle. And there are maybe six to a dozen points that would need some kind of special attention artwork because of the fantasy elements.

So, what's my best bet for doing this? Would it be more effective to purchase some map making software myself, or to sketch it by hand and then look for an artist? Are my requirements too high? What kind of a project workload or pricing am I looking at?

I'm new here, but I've heard a lot of good things about the Cartographer's Guild, so please help me out.