slushpilehell:

My writer’s group tells me that my epic novel is highly likely to land me a publisher…

I’ve read your query and sample pages, and I can give you a list of 5 things more likely to happen than your manuscript landing a publisher:

5. Rebecca Black will have a long, critically-acclaimed singing career.
4. I’ll start savoring the taste of lite beer.
3. The NY Times will proclaim Snooki’s next novel to be, “a subtle triumph, richly textured… a transformative work that makes us glad to be literate.”
2. Glen Beck will be featured in the next P90X infomercial.
1. Harold Camping will be right about May 21.