I just took the plunge and pressed the ‘Submit’ button on the Harper Voyager form. Weird feeling. Have I done everything I can to make it worthy? Is it polished enough? Is it good enough? Deep breaths, now, deep breaths.
In the end, though, it wasn’t the manuscript that really caused the last minute attack of nerves. It was all the bits and pieces that you have to write for a submission – the hook, the log-line, the synopsis and the query letter. Never done any of those before and yikes, it’s tough. Not least because t’internet has a thousand and one different pieces of conflicting advice on how to do each. And I’ll be honest – self promotion and marketing copy are not my strongest points. Condensing the story down into two paragraphs, or even one sentence, I can do. That’s just a question of concise language, which I enjoy. But to do that AND phrase it in such a way that it demands to be read? That’s where I get nervous.
Anyway, with a bit of help from Miss Ju and some pushing from Tigermoth, it all got done and sent. Now we wait for three months and see if anything happens. In the meantime, some useful links. I trawled through many pages and articles, but there were three that actually helped: one for the log-line, one for the synopsis and one for the query letter. I hope you find them useful too. Here’s what I ended up with – I hope it makes you want to read the book, but any improvement suggestions are welcome for the next time I try to submit!
— SPIRITUS —
Thea Cirrus could have had a dazzling career as a wealthy and influential courtier. Instead, she threw it all aside to follow the only man that ever loved her – her brother.
The daughter of a Senator, Thea is expected to marry for political advantage but she defies the restrictions of society and joins her adored brother Astraeus in the army. She is caught up in an on-going war against invaders from the north and, when the enemy sparks a slave revolt that sweeps across the continent, everything Thea knows is destroyed. Only a handful of the immortal fae elite survive, protected by mist, a magical sleep and the Cirrus siblings.
Centuries later the mist is penetrated by a descendent of those slaves, in desperate need of help – the northern invaders are back. Resolved to finally defeat them, Astraeus volunteers to fight for the mortals and is cast out as a traitor. Thea once again ignores the rules and follows him but, as the enemy draws close to victory, she faces a difficult choice: to stay with him as she has always done, or obey his orders and finally learn to do her duty.
everwalker 