The first page, part 1 - Craft a great opening line
I’m going to be doing a series on things to look for in your first page. Why just the first page? Realistically, that first page is all you have. That’s what will either grab an editor or make him/her put the manuscript in the reject pile. Editors have very little time, and they get thousands of manuscripts a year. If they’re not hooked by that first page, most will not bother to read on to the second page. Editors just don’t have time anymore to “grow” an author and help them improve his/her writing. In past decades in publishing, an editor might contract an author with incredible potential and help them to become a better writer with successive books. That doesn’t happen anymore. A debut author that’s contracted these days has to have very strong writing skills right off the bat—an editor will not contract a writer who’s “good but not quite there.” It’s the same with a reader. Think of yourself in a bookstore. There are thousands of books on the shelves. How do you decide which book