This is my story/story plot - i need help?

Question

My novel is about a dragon and his rider, who live on a mountain. They do not know that inside the mountain lives a beast, the beast who had created their land. And lately, they had been hearing these strange shrieks from somewhere. They find out that it is one of the four elemental creatures, the creature of air: It is trying to wake up the beast inside the mountain, for it is displeased with the beast's creation. The creature of air is also trying to wake the other three elemental creatures, so their shrieks will be so powerful that the entire human population will become deaf or even die from the force of the noise. The rider is set out to destroy all four creatures so the beast that had created the land would not destroy their world or wake up.

Well, I wrote the summary as part of the book, but what do you think? I'm very determined with this book, and I want to send it to a publisher. What publisher should I send it to, and before that, what should I do after I finish my novel?

*sigh* I am NOT trying to copy Eragon or Paolini, I wasn't even inspired by Eragon (I had begun writing the story BEFORE I read Eragon/Eldest), and so it was just (not a mere whim) an avocation in my leisure time to write my story and something for friends to enjoy reading. As for the characters, there are many of them, but I don't plan on giving them away. In my defense, my story is nothing like Eragon/Eldest except for the fact that there are dragons in the novel. In Eragon/Eldest, the mission is to destroy the Empire or whatever, but in my novel, the mission is to kill the elemental creatures and save the world. A little too sci-fi, I know, but still. I think this plot is totally original - don't think that I had mentioned it all. There's a little romance, a little 'offensive words', and etc. And yes, I do expect rejection letters, because I am just as determined as J.K.Rowling was when publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (got loads of rejections, etc, all of that)

Answer 1

No, there isn't anything you can do until you have finished writing and having it edited. There are many starred Q and A on my profile about writing and publishing you can print out and study. They will help you through the process a lot.

The dragon thing is quite overdone and I don't see many publishers being interested in them now. Anne Mc Caffrey's Pern series is where it started and all dragon books since then have been pretty much pale imitations.

You don't really have much of a summary or plot there. You need a LOT more. You need characters for one thing and characterizations.

All you can do is give it a shot. Write it and then seek some publishers to send query letters to. But expect a LOT of rejection letters. There are an awful lot of young kids writing dragon books now. They believe they can duplicate Christopher Paolini's success. However you should know that his parents are in the publishing business. They published his book. Not everyone has a mother and father who owns a publishing company. Pax - C

Answer 2

This sounds pretty interesting. I mean, dragon stories aren't really my bag, but your plot I haven't seen before. I'd like to know a little more about your main characters, the rider and the dragon. What kind of personality traits do they have? How does this influence the plot? I think that if you're determined, and you know your characters very well, you can do this for sure. When you're finished this, you'll probably want to get a book about what to do with your finished manuscript, I know I have a few at home. "Fiction" by...gah, I can't remember the author, but the name of the book is Fiction, and it tells you what to do with your writing step by step, from the first conception to the final touches and sending it off to an agent/editor/publisher/etc. Super thorough and an interesting read. Not dry or anything. You should check it out. And good luck with your story!

Answer 3

It's pretty much just a different theme to Eragon, scrap the dragon-rider ideas, kid. It was hackneyed when that Paolinni kid did it, so anyone doing it after will just seem completely shameless.

What's even funnier is that I just called Paolinni a kid and he's older than I am!