[Ishar]

Well, see, that also poses another dilemma. As if I shoot for agents outside of Australia and somehow manage to land one, isnt it more likely they will attempt to get me published in their own region.

What I might do is fix it up (as you say, I will likely be adding a lot, I feel my style has matured much in this short time. And I keep doing things that I have to remember to add in later) and then get it submittable. Get it into a few Australian agents and maybe one or two overseas, and see if I get any replies back at all. At the same time continue writing the chapters as if making it a two book series. If all goes well, I could always change the 21st chapter into a 1st chapter of a 2nd book.

Maybe in my covering letter I could mention the length ofit and the current expected book count and then the fact that if the story is good enough but the length isnt acceptable that I can do it as a two book series, bringing the length more in line with current books.

Unfortunately I havent read too many Australian authors. Jennifer Fallon being the main one I read.

With 80K roughly being over 300 pages I did have a look back at some novels I have read previously. Legend in PB is 345 pages. Pawn of Prophecy is 330. I know these are old, and no reflection of current standards, but they do make you think. Jordan is obviously of no help in any of this.

Now you say that a series is pretty much the keystone to all of this. But by that do you mean it pretty has to be a cohesive single storyline where you must have read the first book to read the second? Or can it be more like Gemmell and Pratchett, where each book could be read as a single novel, obviously not understanding all characters, but each storyline is completely singular. You could pick up an Discworld or Drenai novel and just read it without having a knowledge of prior novels. It does help to know, but isnt neccesary. My story is open to being written like this.

There is the possiblity of doing something similar to what Eddings did eventually with Belgarath and Polgara. I have eluded to something from the past when the Gods walked the earth and among the humans the animals. And I feel something could definitely be written up for this.

And the ending I have is reasonably open. It is a definite ending to my story arc that I have for my current writing. But it does leave something open for a continuation, of which you likely wouldnt need to have read my current writing to understand what is happening later.

Oh my.

Come back and edit my post:

Now, I am not trying to write a bestseller here. I am not trying to emulate Eddings, Gemmell, Jordan, or Pratchett. I am just trying to write something I have had great fun writing (though it has been pointed out that my fight scene chapters are much better than my slow ones due to the energy I seem to put in them) and something that hopefully many others will enjoy reading.

I am not after fame nor money. Though I would like to see it commercially available in stores (not by order but on the shelves), but thats just to spite my Dad who thinks that if he found any errors in it I would think he was having a go at me (which he undoubtably would be). I want to have that good feeling of someone saying "we really like what we have read and want to print it for you".

Am I crazy in wanting that? No more than you other people. I personally think I crazy though for having wolves as the only thing on my mind.

Which leads to another point. I have difficulty trying to say what is actually similar to what I have written. Watership Downs is by far the closest I can come up with. But this is definitely more fantasy orientated than that was. Then theres Redwall. But the animals in that act too human, standing on hind legs, wearing armour, using weapons. I havent written it like that, a wolf is just a wolf, except for that wolf over there obviously, the one that got hit by the big ball of blue energy.

To quote one of my favourite characters of all time (i am 24, leave me be about this):

"Oh bother" - WInnie the Pooh

John: "I cant comment about specific books I havent seen!" - right you are, give me a bit to do the first 6 chapters up and watch it come, lol. You're a target!