imagine,
I think wannabes has a policy of directing questions concerning the PPL to this forum, so you may have been right to post it here. On the other hand, you're asking a lot more than that. If I were you I'd start a thread there too, and if it gets moved, so be it. But as Genghis said, a more specific title might be better; a lot of us don't have time to read every thread, and we skip ones with vague titles. Come to think of it, I might start a thread on that very subject; please don't take it personally if I do...
As for your questions, the BWPA (British Women Pilots' Association) has a very good booklet on becoming a professional pilot. You don't have to be female to either buy it or benefit from it! I can't remember either the name of the booklet or the website address, but if you do a search you should be able to find it and get the details, or a phone number at least.
Other than that, a few searches on PPRuNe, either here or on wannabes, should answer a lot of your questions. You see, you're not the first to have been clueless and not know where to start; most of the stuff you want is probably here, somewhere.
Good luck!