Yesterday I received an e-mail from Blair partnership. This is what it said...
Many thanks for getting in touch with us in February with your submission. We are very sorry to say that we will not be offering you representation for this work. We are truly sorry for the disappointment and as this is such a subjective industry we would strongly recommend that you contact other agencies.
And then....
As J.K. Rowling's agents, we think it's worth noting that some of the elements of your proposed story line seem to bear some similarities to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories. That said, we and J.K. Rowling's office have not seen the full manuscript and hope that it is sufficiently different but wanted to flag for you, that if you intend to distribute your book commercially that you should make sure that there are no copyright issues in this respect.
I have no magic school, never mention the word wand, Jacob would not even know what a professor is, they travel in and out of mirrors as a broomstick is for sweeping the floor as far as Erica is concerned and the only thing that is fluffy in my book is Lilly’s pink cushions in her bedroom.
I have closed my web site down and started the process to remove the book from Amazon. I have also sent Blair partnership the full MS and asked that they look for themselves.. No copyright. This is out of respect for Ms Rowling.
It was as if the pathway to publication was paved in glass, no matter how gingerly I walked the floor was bound to shatter beneath my feet.
Like a demented wandering soldier my finger now hovers over the delete button, eager to extinguish all life from the manuscript. I then turn and read a quote. Do less and achieve more or do more and achieve nothing. “Who said that”? I did replied my conscience.
The pain of self publishing.
Damien
As far as The Blair Partnership goes, that may well have been a standard letter so I wouldn't give that too much time.
Dust yourself off, change your marketing to be less Harry/more Jacob and then relaunch. We all hit snags and build them into lists of reasons why we shouldn't go on. I'm starting to think successful publication is really about winning a war with yourself.
Don't give up. Vxx
Hi Damien, I really don't know what I could say to help or advise you on something that has caused you to rethink your work.
I know when, as a writer we all hope that our own stories are unique to a point. It is usually the characters that are individually different. But the feel of the story can follow other stories, this doesn't mean you are copying that story. Just because you have a similar style does not mean you have committed any wrongdoing.
If you feel that, as you have said yourself, your story has totally different aspects to magical theme the don't give in. Stick to your guns. However if you feel that there are some parts of your story that could be mistaken as been similar to JK's work. Then just adjust it, make some subtle changes, but keep the core of your story.
I'm sorry that this is not of any great help but I can only tell you what I think I might do in your shoes. Good luck my friend.
Try, Fail, Fail Better - Samuel Beckett.