Texas Sam, Hired Gun series

Me too!

 

Hey OP, have you seen Secondhand Lions? It has a vaguely similar situation, although set during and after WWI.

 

Oooh oooh! How about a French Foreign Legion deserter? Traveled, seen the world, learned to fight, off on his own.

I mean, it has been done, but...

 

In my stories, the MC is not in the army or any other form of military. He's a professional gunfighter whose reputation grew worldwide. Think Have Gun, Will Travel.

 

So, does he look like this?

or this?

Certain sorts of gunfighters might be endemic to the west. The last character, from Sabata, is more of a swindler (but badass) who wears a tie and carries a derringer. He might be able to fit into civilization. More urbane. John Wayne wouldn't do well in Egypt because they won't understand his broken Spanish and there's no cattle ranching.
The thing about Have Gun--Will Travel is that it's set in the West. The western tropes are all in place. You can't walk into an Arabic saloon and ask for rye, then shoot up the poker table because someone stacked the deck. I would think more along the lines of a mercenary Indiana Jones if I were you, rather than a western gunfighter.

 

If it's going to have Rachel Weisz in it, I'd read it too.

 

I could see that your character performs some superhuman feat that a rich merchant hears about and passes on to his circle of friends - cigar smoking and brandy drinking buddies - and the legend grows from there, mysterious benefactor #1 makes contact and hires your character to rescue his child/wife from the evil that has taken them...

I could see this happening. I am pretty sure it has been used as a plot device in some stories already. Whether your reader will believe that it could have happened that way.....well.....this is called *FICTION* right? As long as you don't stretch the realm of possibility too much, I think it has a chance.

 

My first book failed. Mostly due to poor editing and marketing skills.

 

@Timben - I have just been coerced into reading a genre I never thought I would enjoy ...and I'm enjoying it. Pulp fiction. It is—as my friend who got me started explained—written just for temporary escape. It's not trying to make a point, or develop character, etc. It just immerses a reader in a setting and allows the characters to do what they will. The End. If it is well-written and immersive, the reader will become addicted and want 'more.' You'll be on a roll.

I suspect, from reading through this thread, that pulp is actually what you want to write.

However, make it clear you're NOT writing historical fiction. Send your Western stereotype guys to someplace LIKE Egypt, but not actually Egypt. Come up with another name—invent the country. Ditto the cities there, etc. You can make just as exciting a story this way as not. You can certainly model your locations after real places—which will add to reader immersion, if details are vivid and believable. But just make it clear that your story is Western Pulp and NOT historical fiction.

Western Pulp is a category in the pulp genre, and there are magazines that happily publish Western Pulp stories. In that genre you can get your characters to the Egypt-like country any way that suits you, and nobody is going to argue with you.

 

Finally, someone gets it. Yes, that's it. Exactly it, Western Pulp. I was going for self-publishing versus tradition. Because I can't get anyone else interested in the story. So, that's why it's poorly edited and no marketing. I did the best I could. I have no money to afford editors. It's difficult to handle these types of stories on your own when you have no support.

 

Two thoughts.

#1. Barter. Maybe you can pass this on to someone to edit in exchange for you doing _________ or ________ for them. For example, if you're a professional chef......you can cook a gourmet meal. Or maybe you live in X and someone wants a tour guide?

#2. Collaborate with someone and split the profits after paying the expenses. This may not be what you want to do because this is YOURS but you have 100% of zero tight now. If you partner with someone and it becomes successful, then you have 50% of whatever there is. Which do you want?

Before doing #2, be realistic. You *MIGHT* sell 200-300 copies of your first book at the most. It's more likely to be around 50. The genre simply isn't that widely read. Once you're an established writer and have a following, *MAYBE* readers stalk your book in bookstores and used bookstores.

There is a third option which I doubt would work, but you could look online for people who are trying to develop their free-lance editing business and perhaps they will edit your work for free in exchange for a recommendation from you? I doubt this is a good option because really, anyone who's good enough to do this, isn't going to do it for free but you can ask....