Thursday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THE FIRST 250 WORDS OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT

By: Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

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.

And you do that by giving readers questions they want answers to. Why are the characters doing X? Who is following them? What's the deal with these two people? It can be anything as long as it's not "What's going on?" A vague opening that confuses is not the type of question you want readers asking.

The adage is "start with action" but that doesn't mean blow up a car or rob a bank. It means start with something in the process of X. X can be something going wrong, (my personal favorite), something revealed, something denied, etc. But there's a sense that something is about to happen, and that it won't be good for somebody.

Let's look at four common opening killers. Agent Kristin Nelson said 90% of submissions don't get beyond the first two pages for these reasons.

1. Opening pages that are nothing but backstory and explanation.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Google Play — Should You Be Uploading Your Ebooks There? | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/yaJzA
2. Italics, Quotation Marks or Capitals? « Perfect Prose Services http://ow.ly/yaN5o
3. Terry Tyler’s Literary Blog — UK Arts Directory http://ow.ly/yaNkL Editing and Proofreading ~ their differences, and where they merge
4. The Educated Imagination: An Intricate Balance http://ow.ly/yaNug "The work of a writer is a balance between these two polarized forces"
5. 50 Cheap And Easy Ways To Improve Your Writing This Summer | 10 Minute Writer http://ow.ly/yaNHe
6. Of rainbows and unicorns – Part 2 – Do fairy tales and fantasy still have a place for children? | Norah Colvin http://ow.ly/yaNXr
7. Branding, Persona, and Platform | Indie Chick Lit http://ow.ly/yaQ74
8. The Social Media Frequency Guide: How Often to Post to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn And More | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/yaQJM
9. Fiction University: The First 250 Words of Your Manuscript http://ow.ly/yaTk5
10. Your Character is Lying http://ow.ly/yaTpi
11. Quick Tips: Speak Your Dialogue - Write Divas http://ow.ly/yaTxd
12. How much time should writers spend blogging and building websites? | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/yaTTS
13. 5 Publishing Industry Myths Debunked - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/yaUYd
14. The Independent Publishing Magazine: Kobo Writing Life - Reviewed http://ow.ly/yaV5I
15. 5 Tools To Get Happy Now | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/yaVid
16. Facebook: How to "unfriend" someone without really unfriending him http://ow.ly/yaVxB
17. Anne R. Allen's Blog: How to Blog: Essential Do's and Don'ts for Author-Bloggers http://ow.ly/yaVFG
18. The Bargain Ebook Buyer: Exclusive Data from #BookBub http://ctt.ec/zfeyn+  @BookBubPartners  
19. Brand Management - Six Stupid Things Marketers Do to Mess Up Their Brands : MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/ycocS

Happy writing and running, Kathy