Congratulations on completing the first volume in your series. If you are looking to get trade published then your first stage is to sign with a literary agent as the majority of publishers only accept agented submissions.

First step would be to research agents to put together a selection you want to submit to. There are several ways to do that: you can select books recently published in your genre and check the acknowledgements section at the end — all authors thank their agents in there so it’s a good way to find agents that represent your genre. You can also google search “agent + your genre”, or use places like Jericho to search their database of agents. If you’re looking for a UK agent, you can sign up to the free newsletter from the Bookseller, which is the trade magazine. You can then access a number of free article, including announcements on which agents have been selling books to which publishers.

Once you have a list of agents you can check the submission page on their website to confirm what they want writers to send, although most will ask for a cover letter, synopsis and the first 3 chapters or first 10,000 words. On a side note, the document you have attached is not a synopsis. A synopsis is a technical document (usually around 500 words) that covers the plot of the book, including any twists and the ending. Again doing your research on submission package before putting your own together is invaluable. Agents usually sign 4-5 authors every year and can receive anything between 3,000 to 5,000 submissions a year so the competition is very steep.

I hope this helps and good luck in your journey!

It’s hard to suggest an agency without seeing the first paragraph of your query letter, to orientate the manuscript in the correct genre…

To me, vanity publishing gives you no sense of the true worth of your work. They’ll publish anything if you pay for it. Conversely, conventional publishing (with all its many frustrations) provides the security of an organisation believing your work is good enough for them to invest in. I’d say, don’t do vanity.

Alan

I wonder if it would be helpful to look at other ‘sagas’ and see how they have been done. The Outlander series springs to mind. Possibly Game of Thrones. I haven’t read either (have watched them) but I am presuming there is a story arc to each book and then an overall story across the series.

Also, remember that readers -if your intention is to have readers – only read one book at a time. They may wait months or years between that and the next so I would say each needs to stand alone and feel satisfying.

I hope that’s helpful.