This is not meant to be comprehensive. Only to share some ideas.

First: equipment minimums:
I recommend a Pentium II @ 800MHz
256 Meg of RAM
80 Megs hard drive
16 bit 44KHz soundcard 
Headphone with microphone.
This allows the microphone to maintain a consistent distance from the mouth and makes for a
more uniform recording.
Software Audacity is free on the internet.

Settings:
Set the recording for WAV, and 44.1KHz and 16 bit. 
This is for your master recording.
You can convert to MP3 later if you wish, but record a good master.

Music:
Adding music is not necessary.
Different people have different tastes.
No music offends no one.
But if you feel music is needed, royalty free music is music you pay for once, then you can use it
as often as you wish.
If your recordings regularly turn out noisy. Music is good for hiding little imperfections.

Recording:
Record the session completely through, start to finish.
Anything added later will be noticeable as different.
If you make a mistake, simply repeat yourself and edit out the mistake when you finish.

Edit:
Start by editing out your mistakes.
Next, edit out little clicks and pops.
Now, normalise the sound level, so that the sound stays at a reasonable volume level

Save:
Save your work as a WAV file, 16 bit 44.1KHz samples. 
Mono it fine unless you’re adding special stereo effects.
This way it is ready to transfer to CDs.
You can easily convert to MP3, but it’s best to have a high quality original.

Enjoy:
Enjoy the fruits of your labor.