Okay, so I was just wondering, how long would it take between the publisher accepting the book, writing the contract and all of that, to the book actually being available in a book store?
On average, for a first novel, between a year and 18 months. I trust you're aware that getting to the point where the publisher accepts the book can take a lot longer than that. If you self-publish, it can all happen a lot faster than that... but then your book won't be available in bookshops, and you'll be very lucky if you sell more than 40 copies.
It varies from person to person. It could take up to 2-months for you to even hear back from a literary agent (and if they accept you) you'll be editing your book countless times, then trying to find a publisher, promotions of the book, etc. It's not an over-night thing.