Editing and Writing

I reread the last two chapters of my WIP and edited them as I read them. I usually do that, and I was very satisfied with the polished result. I found myself thinking that those two chapters might make a good sample when the time comes to submit.

But no, agents and most publishers are pretty firm in seeing the first chapter(s) of a manuscript. I'm sure it's because they want to get a feel for how your story starts and if it will hook a reader. But that's OK, at least for my WIP. The John Dunn story begins with the Zulu Civil War. Near 40,000 Zulus were massacred by Prince Cetshwayo, including several of his own brothers.

What makes this story even more interesting is that my main character, John Dunn, fought on the side that lost. He fought against Cetshwayo, killed a lot of his warriors, barely escaped with his life, and then he goes and visits him afterward. He might have been executed on the spot. But instead, Cetshwayo becomes best friends with him and rewards him with a kingdom of his own. Who'd have thunk it? You could write that story and people would say, Come on, that's ridiculous. But hey... that's what really happened. Yep, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!