Daniel Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 I have just completed my novel, The Cutlass' Daughters, 350 pages of pirates, blood, sails, cutlasses, gunpowder, sea spray, and all the grand things about the 18th century Spanish Main. I have submitted the first three chapters and a synopsis to Forge, the mainstream fiction division of Tor/St. Martin's Press. Having no illusions about the acceptance rate of beginning novelists, I realize there's a good chance I will end up submitting this book several dozen times. I would love it if anyone can suggest any agents who might be interested in piratical historical fiction, or any other publishers who have published good books of this genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Pirata Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Let me read it, I'll let ye know if it be any good... Pushing the limits means getting out of my comfort zone and giving more when I don't think I have any left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Westyn Elizabeth Roberts Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Daniel, Good luck, but don't give up your day job just yet. It's very hard to get published. I've been hacking away for years. I can't seem to get past that hump in the middle when the action wants to die down. Plus, those stupid letters from editors don't help either. Capt. WE Roberts "I shall uphold my indignity with the utmost dignity befitting a person of my undignified station." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Touring Gentleman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Congrats and good luck. The fun part is over... Having no illusions about the acceptance rate of beginning novelists, I realize there's a good chance I will end up submitting this book several dozen times. I would love it if anyone can suggest any agents who might be interested in piratical historical fiction, or any other publishers who have published good books of this genre. I'd recommend looking up Jeff Herman's guide to agents and editors. If you can afford it, get it; otherwise, do what I've seen a bunch other folk do: sit down in the store and pirate your information. On your side: a slightly increased market demand for pirate stories. Against you: unless you've got a strict historical bent or you're writing a romance with pirates in it, the genre is a notorious low-seller. That makes submission even harder unless you've got some cred to back up the prose (such as... you were a part of the u/w archaeology team studying sunken Port Royal). Only by great risks can great results be achieved. -Xerxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 14, 2003 Author Share Posted October 14, 2003 El Pirata, thank you for the offer, but I prefer not to transmit my manuscript in electronic form at this time. My e-mail is not secure and pirates (heh heh) are everywhere. Westyn, fear not, I won't be giving up my day job. I agree, editors are notoriously unhelpful, at least when they reject you. But I am proud of my baby, and I will still be proud no matter how many editors reject it. Thanks for the suggestion of Herman, Touring Gentleman. May I ask what you meant by a "strict historical bent"? I did take pains to be as historically faithful as I could to the setting of the 1716-1717 Atlantic world, but all my chief characters are imaginary, so maybe that disqualifies it from having a "strict historical bent"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redvipers Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Well Sir! I took a different route with my book " Falcon's Revenge". I self published with trafford.com a Print on Demand Company in Victoria Canada. My book has sold all over the world and is listed at tallshipsbooks.com , amazone.com , and barnesandnoble.com. It cost to setup the book on their server but the quality is very good, their distribution system is excellent and the book is never out of print. If you have any questions you may write me at viperj@bellsouth.net. Joseph L. O'Steen author of Falcon's Revenge book one of the Nathan Beauchamp of the Royal Navy Adventure Series http://josephlosteen.com Joseph L. O'Steen, Nautical Author Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Westyn Elizabeth Roberts Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Westyn, fear not, I won't be giving up my day job. I agree, editors are notoriously unhelpful, at least when they reject you. But I am proud of my baby, and I will still be proud no matter how many editors reject it. Good for you. Keep up that spirit. Anyway, JK Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) was rejected several times. HP's a multi-million dollar business now. Anyway, a lot of the times, I check in on eharlequin.com, which is the Internet headquarters for Harlequin Romance novels. Guilty. I read. I write. I am trying to publish. I've got one pirate romance novel...in which the WOMEN are the pirates. It sweeps about 20 years, and it's going slow, since I have so much research to do. Anyway, like you were saying, editors are notoriously unhelpful. One of the gripes that one of the gals on eharlequin had was that she entered a writing contest about Marriages of Convenience. One of the judges gave her a bad score and said that she hated MOC books! Even though that was the requirements for the contest! If that's not moronic, I don't know what is! Idiots! All of them. Keep up the good work. Hopefully, one of these days, you'll be fighting off autograph hounds and smiling to the paparazzi. Cheers! Capt. WE Roberts "I shall uphold my indignity with the utmost dignity befitting a person of my undignified station." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 15, 2003 Author Share Posted October 15, 2003 Westyn, that's an interesting coincidence. My novel, too, involves a crew of female pirates (the working title is The Cutlass' Daughters). It's not a romance, though; it's a pull-no-punches historical novel with a heavy strain of tragedy. There is, of course, nothing so unfair as to ding somebody points merely because you hate their genre. That editor was an idiot, certainly. I'm told, though, that there are a few good ones out there. That's what one of my favorite authors, George R.R. Martin, says, and he certainly ought to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Touring Gentleman Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 We're in the same boat, Daniel. Different genres, but same boat... May I ask what you meant by a "strict historical bent"? I did take pains to be as historically faithful as I could to the setting of the 1716-1717 Atlantic world, but all my chief characters are imaginary, so maybe that disqualifies it from having a "strict historical bent"? Not necessarily. By "strict historical bent" I would mean novelizing real-life events (with or without creative liberties). Sort of a Mark Boden doing "Black Hawk Down" on things piratical. In retrospect, though, that might be a little rigid. So what do you need? You need enough realism to induce "suspension of disbelief". If you took great pains, that should translate as an easy slide into the world you've created. Either that, or it has to be so colorfully outrageous that it takes us on a fantastic ride (ala "POTC-Curse of the Black Pearl"). Good luck, chief. Only by great risks can great results be achieved. -Xerxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Rhoid Pyle Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 Best of luck to ye, me hearty! I just finished me first book... Now I think I'll read me another! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
 {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '1074427760321280'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); </script> <noscript><img height=)
&ev=PageView&cd%5Bitem_id%5D=804&cd%5Bitem_name%5D=Suggestions+for+a+novelist%3F&cd%5Bitem_type%5D=topic&cd%5Bcategory_name%5D=Pyrate Pop"/>
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now