How do I package my linux application using MonoDevelop?

I have a hobby project that is written in C# using MonoDevelop. I've been trying for some time now to get my head around linux packaging, but I keep coming away feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

My program consists of:

A library project ("Generator") that does stuff with the data created by my program.
An ui ("Interface") project using Gtk#. This project has two subdirectories: "glade" (xml files that gtk uses to build widgets) and "book" (data used by my program).
A utility project ("Utils") used by both the library and interface projects.
A main project ("MyProgramName") that just starts the interface.

What (I think) I want to do is really very simple (I think):

Compile my application
Copy the .exe and .dll files (to /usr/local/bin?)
Copy the "book" directory (to /usr/local/bin?)
Copy the "glade" directory (to /usr/local/bin?)

Oh, and I want to do this as a .deb package. I think if I can get the tarball working, a .deb package shouldn't be too much trouble, but that's what I want to do eventually.

I'm still not really sure how to do this. I've used MonoDevelop to create a Tarball. When I install the tarball (using ./configure, make, sudo checkinstall), it seems to install the executable code (and even create a command to run the program), but forgets about the "book" and "glade" directories.

How would I go about doing this? Sorry if this is a basic/broad question. I've been googling around about this, and I can't seem to find anything that doesn't assume I know the basics of packaging (even if it claims it doesn't assume this).

Solution

Debian packages are like tar files - they contain a copy of the file system. To create a Debian package...

Install the tarball in a build directory.
Add a DEBIAN directory with the control files. I found this article helpful.
Create the package with dpkg --build.

I would start by learning GNU's autotools: autoconf and automake. They make it very easy to install the program in a build directory. You mentioned ./configure. So I assume ythis project already has some of the structure. From the description, it sounds like the project might need...

Entries in configure.in for files in "book" and "glade".
Makefile.am files in "book" and "glade".

Putting it all together, the following commands result in a package file named project.deb.

# ./configure --prefix build/usr
# make && make install
# dpkg --build build project.deb