The most important page in your book
For December, instead of doing a Query Guru critique, I’ve decided to try something new: looking at the first page of a published book and discussing how/why it works.
This is still highly pertinent to all you querying folks. Although you’re usually submitting the first five or ten pages, most agents, if unimpressed with page 1, will not read on. So page 1 may well be the most important page in your entire book.
No pressure or anything.
When you’re querying agents/publishers, your letter works in conjunction with your sample pages. Even if agents aren’t convinced by your query, there’s a good chance they’ll take a peek at your first page. If they like it, they’ll keep reading, and if they really like your entire sample, they may request the manuscript, even if your query wasn’t quite selling them on the story.
On the other hand, maybe your query letter makes your book sound awesome. The agent goes eagerly to your sample pages, but if your sample pages have major issues, there’s a good chance they won’t request the manuscript.
You have to show you have a great story in the query letter, but you have to show you’re capable of telling the story (and telling it well) in the sample pages. And you have to do that right away, starting with page 1*.
*Sometimes I have writers tell me, “well, the story really gets going in Chapter 2.” If that’s the case, maybe Chapter 2 needs to become Chapter 1. You have to hook the agent — and your readers — right away, or they won’t make it to Chapter 2.
Musts for the first page of fantasy
For this first “Fabulous First Page” installment, I’ve chosen a YA fantasy because fantasy novels have something tricky to accomplish on page 1. They must introduce the reader to the fantasy world without info-dumping or being confusing. (I’ll talk more about info-dumping later.)
Page 1 of a fantasy novel must give the reader the right amount of detail to orient them to the world, while also doing all the normal things that a first page should do…
A first page should:
Hook the reader right away and invite them into the story.
Set the scene and the overall tone of the novel.
Introduce a main character (and/or introduce a main setting or theme).
Hint at a conflict, situation, mystery/secret, or question.
I have more to say about all of these things, but, without further ado, let’s read the first page from the YA Fantasy I selected:
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