Representation

Up until now I've avoided going into any detail on my progress in finding an agent. I'd heard from several sources that talking about the search on your blog is considered bad form.

I will go through my experiences in the process in greater detail in future posts, but for now, let me just say I'm proud to announce that I'm officially represented by Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary. This is a huge step forward for my writing career, and although we still have to do edits, find a publisher and get the book out there, this is probably the biggest and most important step towards that. Only about 1/2 - 1/3 of agent represented books get published by a good publisher, but fewer than 1 in 100 manuscripts actually get picked up by an agent.

So, like Sissyphus I've ascended the peak, only to see that there's more climbing to do. Unlike Sissyphus, the end is within sight, and possibly within grasp in the near future.

Ætherstorm Query

I have decided my novel will be named Aetherstorm, at least until I find something I like more. While finishing the final chapters this week I have also been refining my query letter. For those who don't know a query is an essential part of the process to getting published, the body should look something like the back cover of a published novel. Here is the body of the query for Aetherstorm.

Eighteen-year-old Konrad Adler has never set foot on Earth. On most of the planet, aether-warped animals and a dangerous sub-species of human called synari reign. Ordinary men live in the skies, safe from the dangers below, destroying the aether-warped branches of humanity at every opportunity. Konrad appears to be an ordinary human, but in truth he is like the synari, aether-warped, faster and stronger than humans.

When Lord Dragomir discovers his secret, Konrad flees by stowing away on his father's salvage gyrocopter. But the salvage operation goes wrong. The gyro crashes, killing his father and leaving Konrad stranded, hunted by both Dragomir and the synari. He will need to survive on a planet no longer fit for human life, make his way back to his home in the skies and confront Dragomir before he can truly be free.

But Dragomir has bigger plans. The flow of aether on Earth is too weak for him. He would rip a hole in the fabric of space, threatening every life on or above Earth, to create an aetherstorm.

Let me know what you think!