Each
chapter has a unique job to perform, but your 1st Chapter is CRITICAL
to your success as a writer. If you haven't incorporated at least 3 of
the
5 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
in your opening pages, you risk losing the agent/publisher/reader long before they get to that fantastic last middle or last chapter.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR?
Hook:
Main character(s) POV
Setting – ground your reader by setting
Goal – what does mc want?
Problem/conflict, why she can’t have desire
Pacing – careful with backstory
Tone – eerie, spooky, upbeat, quirky, etc
In Ten Times Guilty, I introduced m/c in 2nd chapter simply because I didn’t want a Prologue, but I kept the 1st chapter short and dramatic action to increase pacing.
In your 1st chapter, you must not only include all the essential elements, but you must do so in a way that the chapter still MOVES, doesn’t come to a halt when you introduce the elements. WEAVE it all in along with story.
And the further the reader reads, the less likely he’ll put your book back onto the shelf and search for something else.
When I queried my latest publisher, they replied with a request for ONLY the 1st 3 Paragraphs of my opening chapter. So your first page MUST entice them to read further.
Then they asked for the 1st 3 chapters, then the full.
After reading the full, they offered a contract.
As an editor, I specialize in a writer's FIRST CHAPTER, the critical OPENING PAGES that either entice readers to turn the page or replace your book with someone else's masterpiece.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER!
WITH YOUR IDEAS AND MY EXPERIENCE, WE'LL TRANSFORM YOUR OPENING
FROM DULL TO DYNAMIC!
I'll ANALYZE & EDIT
your 1st chapter up to
2500 words:
INCLUDES:
proofing, copyediting, and editing for content: