I am stunned

I'm stunned, totally blown away. I just got an email from the Foster Literary Agency asking me to submit my contact information, Title and Genre (which I already did), the word count (which I also did), The page count (of which I have no idea, how do you find this out?) and whether it is finished (which I told them that it was, but this is from "How to submit" on their webpage) also, a brief synopsis along with my Query and the first three chapters.

Can someone explain a good synopsis to me please?

As far as the work being ready to publish, I have been working on it for over a year and have had five people proof read it, point out typos and give me better structure. I have lived this story day and night and really can't see how I can improve on it. The five that I let read it really seemed to like it. I know this is a far cry from being accepted but I fully expected just another rejection letter.

I am stunned, all atwitter and aflutter. Downright giddy. I know not to get my hopes up but this encourages me.

Well, I won't run out and spend my life's savings just yet. I still have a very long way to go. But thank you for the vote of encouragement.

I don't know if you asked a rhetorical question or what....but "a good synopsis" means just a short statement about what the story is about. It doesn't need alot of detail. I am sure that you probably have this on a computer.....where you print it should tell you how many pages it is.

Oh, yeah! I know what that is now! That's the thing that we read, usually on the back of a paperback novel, that helps us decide whether we might like to read it or not! Consider this very carefully. You want to make it very compelling! Make them NEED to read the book! .
:study:

Well done, my friend. Good luck!

Well it's a long way from being published. The rejection rate is 98% of what crosses an editors desk. And, it has to be double spaced, I hope Microsoft Work can do this, I'd hate to have to wade all the way back through it.

When I printed it out it was 188 pages.

I'll find out about double spaced from my smarter half

Under Microsoft Works I can easily double space it using "tools". The synopsis goes to the agent. They condense the book into what you read on the back cover along with the editor. The one that I send just has to grab the attention of the agent. How does this sound?

Hello,
I chose to submit to you because of your interest in historical fiction and your proven track record of success. I would like to submit my new novel for your consideration.

The Title of my book is Vengeance A Pirate’s Tale. The genre is Historical Fiction. This work is finished and consists of 90,149 words.

Felipe Montoya is a simple fisherman living on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the new colonies of Spain in the year 1612. His parents and Uncle, an aging master swordsman, made the Atlantic crossing to what they thought was a new land of opportunity. But far from the watchful eyes of the King, the new government is rampant with corruption. False arrests, land seizures and even unjust executions are routinely carried out.

Attempting to assist a stricken vessel, Felipe and his father are accused of piracy simply for the bounty. Felipe’s father is killed and he is imprisoned. Killing a guard to escape, he and his Uncle are forced to flee. Swearing revenge for his father‘s death, they free slaves who also hate the Spaniards. In a daring venture they steal a large warship at port. Together they ravage the Caribbean, eventually capturing the princess, the only heir to the throne.

My target audience are men and women alike, black as well as white. The work is strong in the devotion of men struggling together for a common cause against seemingly overwhelming odds. There is enough action and adventure to capture a male audience with enough humor to keep people entertained. The leading women in the book, although all strikingly different, are of strong character and take major roles in this tale. This work also has a strong appeal to the black audience, as four of the major characters are former slaves who take on leading roles in this bold adventure.

All of the characters are believable and express feelings of emotion that run a common thread throughout humanity. The slaves that are freed to fight against the Spaniards are brave, resourceful people, yet they never forget the abuse that they have suffered. This abuse of having their men whipped, their women raped and their children sold comes as a shock to the Princess who befriends them after her capture. When her eyes become opened to what her father has condoned, she rebels and embraces her once captors.

The interaction between the former slaves and she is interesting as she has always been given to commanding others and now lives as an equal to those who were once slaves. She and Felipe fall in love and have a male son, the heir to the throne. Learning of the child, the King’s personal assassin has the boy kidnapped and returned to Spain. This leads to a daring rescue by an unlikely group of friends as they go into the very heart of the kingdom and castle to retrieve their son. Women play a strong role in this tale of adventure, vengeance, love, betrayal and uncommon devotion against the most powerful empire on earth.

The Title of my book is Vengeance A Pirate’s Tale.

Should be, Vengeance: A Pirate's Tale

Yeah, I'm still nit picking! LOL But it sounds very good to me!

I'm thinking that the title would appear like this.

Vengeance

bullfrog wrote:Well it's a long way from being published. The rejection rate is 98% of what crosses an editors desk. And, it has to be double spaced, I hope Microsoft Work can do this, I'd hate to have to wade all the way back through it.

BF, In MS Word or Works you should be able to double space the whole document at once.

GO to 'edit' then 'select all' The whole document should highlight

Go to 'format' then 'paragraph'
Click on the 'spacing' tab
There should be a drop down menu titled 'spacing' where you can select how you would like the document spaced.

Be sure to save

fishlipsmcgee wrote:

bullfrog wrote:Well it's a long way from being published. The rejection rate is 98% of what crosses an editors desk. And, it has to be double spaced, I hope Microsoft Work can do this, I'd hate to have to wade all the way back through it.

BF, In MS Word or Works you should be able to double space the whole document at once.

GO to 'edit' then 'select all' The whole document should highlight

Go to 'format' then 'paragraph'
Click on the 'spacing' tab
There should be a drop down menu titled 'spacing' where you can select how you would like the document spaced.

Be sure to save

Thanks, I got that done. Now I have to number the pages, I printed out how. Aren't most numbered in the upper left and right sides? That would be a challenge. I think I'll number them at the bottom center.

Well, I'm going to remove the story this evening from Mango. I have to print out the first three chapters and mail them. Prayers are good.

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(that was a standing ovation by the way....)

Well, the first three chapters are in the mail to the agent. I'm now printing out chapters 1-10 for my wife to read. God bless her, she has been an inspiration to me, giving me ideas and watching me pound on the keyboard for months now.

The sequel "The tribe" is moving right along. The evil bastard Felix Chavez is relentless and his hatred is soon to deepen. Fanning out on all of the outward islands, he employs small fishing sloops and trawlers to expand his search.

Batu, Ajamu and Tor are picking their way through the booby traps in Belize. They are hoping that the freed slaves who have formed tribes there won't kill them thinking that they are trackers for the Spaniards. They need to make contact and befriend them so that they have a safe haven to flee to if the need arises.

Meanwhile, the women are on the island of Tortuga when...

I have no advice but just encouragement for you. After all that time and work, it deserves to be published. I have read bits and pieces as we went along and found it very interesting even though I don't believe I ever commented on it before. I have no knowledge of that era and not much of writing, publication, or editing. I just wish you all the luck out there, in this effort.

Thank you Esther. My knowledge of that era was limited so I researched a lot. Did they wear makeup? Were there rifles? (no, actually muskets) What did a cannon weigh? How did they raise the anchor? What is the topography of Tortuga? Who owned it in 1614? The topography of Belize and it's ownership in 1620? How did they remove arrows? How did they close wounds? What torture devices were used in that era? How does a jaguar kill it's prey?

A lot of it just holds true throughout the ages, like when his mother found out that he had stolen a ship and had become a pirate, some things never change.

I know the area well, I have been scuba diving in Cozumel and Paamul off the coast of the Yucatan and have explored the ruins of Tulum, Coba and have climbed the pyramid at Chitchen Itza. The jungle there is very dense and jaguars were common. But spending time along the coast of the Caribbean helped me to be there in my mind.

I can't imagine the type of research you'd have to do with your story because you'd have to be soooo careful to make everything true to the area and era. Even mention of clothes or what they ate and how they cooked, let alone the ship structure, tools, language----it all just boggles my mind. From time to time on TV I see things that don't make sense and laugh a bit at the silliness of their mistake. Pete points out from time to time too when he sees plumbing or construction booboos.

Well I sure hope someone gets it that has an eye for your type of writing and that they are able to make it all work for you.

Esther, remember when I was building model ships as my knee healed? I always wanted to build one and tie the rigging since I was a child. It's like God was showing me the inner construction of a Spanish Galleon, the gun decks and the capstan they they used to raise the anchor. This all came into play as I wrote the book.

Bartender asked me if they really had colorful clothes and the dye indigo was used many centuries ago as well as makeup, it dates back to ancient Egypt. There is also mention made of a lot of things in the Bible. Still, I research every day as I proof read it for the final submission.

Aha, you never stop learning until the day you die I guess, especially if you are willing and open to learn. Interesting fluke though that choosing to build the models assisted you unknowingly in writing your book.

Esther wrote:Aha, you never stop learning until the day you die I guess, especially if you are willing and open to learn. Interesting fluke though that choosing to build the models assisted you unknowingly in writing your book.

And that work sent me home for a month with pay right now. This gives me the time to fully edit the book for the final submission. Another (coincidence?)is that the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest is taking submissions for one week starting only on the 25th.

I submitted the work to two agents and prayed for success while driving to Walmart. I told God that winning the lottery would be great, but how much more would it mean to me if I made my way in life with nothing but the talent and drive that he gave me?

When I got home, there was an acceptance letter in my email. Another coincidence?

I told my wife that it would really piss me off in a way if I struggled all of my life and then made it by just writing stories. She said that I never had the life experience until now to pen this work. The pain that Felipe felt at his fathers death was my pain. The prejudice that the slaves faced was that which I faced growing up the only Spaniard in my community. The struggle against the seemingly overwhelming odds of poverty. All of this made me the man that I am today and she is right, there is no way I could have written this story years ago.

I think that God is pointing the way and believe that he will open the door for me.