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| Gabriel Macht from SUITS |
If you are honing your First Pages as I am, then consider the sage words of Janice Hardy on her Real Life Diagnostics blog.
THE FIRST 250 WORDS OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT
"The first page of your manuscript is critical for more than just grabbing an agent's attention. When readers go to the bookstore, a book catches their eye, they read the cover blurb, and if they're still interested, they'll often read the first page or so. If those pages grab them, they'll buy the book. If not, they'll put it back on the shelf.
This is why agents and editors are so hard on those opening pages. They know this is how a lot of readers buy books. Those first 250 words need to grab the reader. As a professional writer, you need to be able to do that."
Reasons that 90% of submissions to agents don't get beyond the first two pages:
- Opening pages that are nothing but backstory and explanation
- Scenes that only do one thing (action, but no character development)
- Poor sentence structure, grammar and overuse of description
The Other Side of the Story with Janice Hardy
I'm a huge fan of Janice and her great advice.
ReplyDeleteSo true about the first page, though I only check out the first page when I'm in the bookstore. If there's a book I'm interested in and I order it online, I rarely check out the 1st page first. My son, though, always reads the first page before he commits to a book, even if it's a library book I've borrowed and there's nothing else new to read. If he's not interested, he reread one of his books instead.