Periodically, discussions on writers loops come around to hooking an agent . . . or an editor . . . or a reader. The “high-concept” premise is thrown out as something to aspire to: explain your story in 25 words or less using ideas and images readily understood by the average buyer.
But when it comes down to the actual book–and getting readers invested into the story–it’s the first couple pages that often make the difference.
Sol Stein said in Stein on Writing:
Some years ago I was involved in an informal study of the behavior of lunch-hour browsers in mid-Manhattan bookstores. In the fiction section, the most common pattern was for the browser to read the front flap of the book’s jacket and then go to page one. No browser went beyond page three before either taking the book to the cashier or putting the book down and picking up another to sample.
Scary.
I happen to agree with Stein on this one. So does Miss Snark. I can’t find the exact post on her blog, but a month or so ago she said that she generally gives a book 5-10 pages to draw her in. Noah Lukeman has his theory (and book) about the “first five pages” and the list goes on.
The market is competitive. You need every edge you can get. You have the covers, you have the title, you have an enticing blurb. Most of which you have little or no control over.
You have control over the first three pages. The first paragraph. The first line.
So as an experiment, I pulled a bunch of books off my shelf to see how the big guns handle their openings.
Now because most of my books are in the suspense and mystery genre, the readers of this blog might already have read these. I’m not going to tell you the author, but I’d be interested in which book you’d be most apt to read based on the opening alone.
1) The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective. Take right now, for instance. (James Patterson, MAXIMUM RIDE)
2) I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street waiting for Nora to finish her Christmas shopping, when a girl got up from the table where she had been sitting with three other people and came over to me. She was small and blonde, and whether you looked at her face or at her body in powder-blue sports clothes, the result was satisfactory. (Dashiell Hammett, THE THIN MAN)
3) The man in the holding cell loosened his tie, tossed his rumpled suit coat into a corner, and stretched out on the hard plastic bench. The woman in the facing cell slipped out of her glen plaid jacket, folded it carefully across an arm, and began pacing. (Paul Levine, SOLOMON VS LORD)
4) The event that came to be known as The Pulse began at 3:03 p.m. , eastern standard time, on the afternoon of October 1. The term was a misnomer, of course, but within ten hours of the event, most of the scientists capable of pointing this out were either dead or insane. The name hardly mattered, in any case. What mattered was the effect. (Stephen King, THE CELL)
5) With draft beer and a smile, Ned Pearsall raised a toast to his deceased neighbor, Henry Friddle, whose death greatly pleased him. (Dean Koontz, VELOCITY)6) Death was not taking a holiday. New York may have been decked out in its glitter and glamour, madly festooned in December of 2059, but Santa Claus was dead. And a couple of his elves weren’t looking so good. (JD Robb, MEMORY IN DEATH)
7) When does murder begin? With the pull of a trigger? With the formation of a motive? Or does it begin long before, when a child swallows more pain than love and is forever changed? Perhaps it doesn’t matter. Or perhaps it matters more than everything else. (Greg Isles, BLOOD MEMORY)
Pick one. Which would you read first?
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.
Probably 4, but 1 would be a close competitor. They both made me curious to find out more.
So, do we get to find out what the books are, so I can go get them and read them? 🙂
I know number 6 is a JD Robb, but it’s one that I’ve not read. I think, given that I stopped after Imitation In Death. There are other voices out there, just as good, and I’ve spent enough time on the In Deaths.
I’m most likely to read 1 or 7 first. I can’t pick one, sorry. I know I wouldn’t read 2 or 5, and 3 and 4 would depend on the back blurb (not the author blurbs, those rarely matter).
I agree that it’s very important. I’ve just finished Jim Butcher’s Furies Of Calderon, and I realized the first time I put it down (after about 30 pages, and only because I had to get off the train) that I was definitely going to glom the rest of his books.
I think of it like making friends, the kind that you can be out of touch with for a year, and the next time you meet again, bang! You are talking about everything under the sun, as though the time didn’t pass at all.
And you will tell us who wrote them soon, right?
I think I’d start with number 1. I’ve just finished number 4, Stephen King’s, Cell, and isn’t number 5 Koontz’s Velocity? Read that one about a month ago. 🙂
I’d read #1 first without a doubt. My book starts out with a similar opener, so hopefully that’s a good thing — I guess we do write what we like to read.
I’ve read #6 – the first JD Robb book I read. #2, 3 and 7 did not interest me.
Been lurking here for a while, love this blog!
I’d definately pursue 1 and 4. I might read a bit more of 5, and maybe 6. I doubt I’d go for 2, and 6 and 7 lost me.
Oh — forgot to say that was a fun, thought-provoking blog 🙂
Hmm… This is making me really wonder who wrote number one. Google to the rescue!
I’d read #1 first. It was the only one whose first sentence really grabbed me. None of the others turned me off so much though that I wouldn’t read a couple of pages and see how they worked for me.
Definitely #1 first. Then #4. Some of the others – I don’t know. A lot of them ,#2 comes to mind, were completely uninvolving to me.
Goes to show how important that first impression is, doesn’t it?
Good blog.
Mo
I love this! But I’m not picking one 🙂 It really depends on what I’m in the mood to read. Great blog, Allison!
1, 5, and 6 sound like definate reads, and in that order. Err well the order of 5 and 6 are questionable – but definate reads. Number 2 eilicited a negative reaction from me, and number 3 set me into critiquer mode right off – what small burg would put a man and a woman in a holding cell together? I wouldn’t read it.
Okay now, having googled number one, the cover would have kept me from reading the back or opening to the first page.
I see I’m the only one to pick Nr. 2. I love the book, THE THIN MAN, and all the movies. I liked Nr. 6 too. Nora is the best.
Definitely #4. Who can resist the ticking clock and the promise of universal death story? Insanity? Well, that’s just plain gripping!
I promise . . . by the end of the day I’ll edit the post and add in the author. So far the ones guessed are right. I knew #1 was going to be very tricky . . . but I assure you, every book I picked was written by a bestselling author, all published within the last year (except for THE THIN MAN) and all I have either read or am about to read when I finish the RITA entries.
I’ll tell you that I bought book #7 after reading the first page. It’s an author I’d read a long time ago, enjoyed, and he has several other books out. I was looking through them deciding if I wanted to try him again, and that opening really sucked me in. But that’s my own interest . . . I am fascinated about what turns people into killers.
I’d read #6 first, because I give any Christmas story a try, even when it’s a murder/suspense. #3 second, only because I want to find out who the man and woman are–but if they didn’t have interesting backgrounds, I would stop reading. #4 last, because it seems like an “important”, widesweeping plot (but it would need to focus on an interesting character pretty fast. #1,2, and 7 just don’t grab me enough based on what’s there. #5–iffy. This being the first fact I read about Ned’s character/thoughts doesn’t make me care sufficiently about him. Kind of like seeing a car wreck on the highway when you don’t know anyone inside.
Interesting blog.
Cele, you cheated! LOL.
I just looked at the cover again. You’re right, it’s not quite “there” but the premise is fantastic.
Covers will be another blog . . . off to get the kiddos from school.
A
Definitely #1! and whichever is the JD Robb beginning – you can always tell her “voice”. And I think the last one about what turns a child into a murderer as well….I had to think about it but going back over the blog, on second glance I probably would’ve read the whole page. Thanks, Allison, this was a great exercise. Makes you realize how “catchy” you have to be to pull your readers in. Catchy and clever!
The only one that really grabbed me was #7, because it seems like a psychological type mystery/thriller that might look into the killer’s motive, which is often not explained (and I’m always curious about it).
after that was #1 and #5.
Interesting how they all appeal to some of us.
Pam
I’m pretty sure #4 is Stephen King. That man is scary! I’d opt for #1 because it has a sarcastic tone that just grabs me. I like the character’s voice immediately. Makes me think of V.I. Warshawski, but I don’t think it’s her. I love first lines! 🙂
#7 was my first choice, probably because it sounds alot like the way I write. #4 would be second. #2 and #3 didn’t interest me at all. #1 wasn’t bad though, I’d probably read that one too.
Okay, I’ve added in the authors. Some of them people guessed (year 2059 isn’t much of a secret, LOL.)
James Patterson’s book is an older YA novel I bought for my daughter. The premise is . . . it’s the future and what if some people were 2% bird? I thought it was great, because I think everyone when they were kids wished they could fly.
Now, I did a quick accounting of what “hooks” were most appealing.
#1 — 11
#2 — 1
#3 — 1
#4 — 4
#5 — 2
#6 — 4
#7 — 3
I think it’s interesting that the one older suspense/mystery novel I put in the mix, THE THIN MAN, brought out negative reactions. Maybe the era? Maybe the blatant sexism? Maybe just the language? But it’s a great book, and like Edie, the movies are among my favorite!
The fact that James Patterson’s opener was the most appealing — and that it was a YA novel — was also interesting, but not surprising.
Now the comments about #3, SOLOMON VS LORD, are interesting . . . I think the opening is a fantastic introduction to character with the minimal number of words. And, BTW, Cele, you know why the man and the woman were in a holding cell together? They are both attorneys and were in for contempt of court. It’s a great book.
Flo, Ned has absolutely nothing to do with the book other than being a patron in the protagonist’s bar. But it’s very interesting that you immediately assumed that Ned was the main character because he was introduced first. I think a lot of people would do the same thing. VELOCITY is written in the very close third POV of one character.
This was fun! I’m going to have to do this again sometime. But I think we all learned something . . . beginnings matter. We have strong reactions to them. Definitely gives me something to think about!
I’ve Solomon Vs. Lord on my wish list. Even before you mentioned it.
Yup, it was a very thought provoking post. And it’s made me realise that there is a common theme in the ones I like, and the one that I’ve written.
They all begin pondering rather deep thoughts.
Great job and terrific post, Allison. 🙂
deb
I find the “Thin Man” reaction interesting too — but I think I may have a different insight. I was assuming it was a “current” publication. I think if I’d picked it up, knowing it was a Dashiell Hammett book, I’d be expecting the stylistic change and wouldn’t have reacted so negatively. I’d have given it more of a chance, especially since I’ve seen two or three of the movies and enjoyed them.
But, I think this just validates your point in a way too, especially for new authors. If you don’t have the name recognition, you’d better have the hook.
BTW, I’ve enjoyed everyones posts here. Keep up the site.
Well lawyers, okay that makes a difference… ha I’m laughing at myself
I am ashamed of myself I love Nick and Nora, yet have never read on of the Thin Man books. Bad on me. I will have to make up for that soon. If you put it into the context of when it was written, it makes the sexism of it rational (ugh I can’t believe I wrote that, let a lone believe it, but I did and do.) So I agree with Julie.
I didn’t cheat, but my cat is dead….The one thing about post of this ilk, it makes those who read and jump in, consider their reading habits, and expand their own personal whys and wherefores. Then go read outside their own box. Thank Allison great post.
Solomon vs Lord, great read. Good post A. I copied you.
Well, this is interesting, the one that I said I liked the most, #7, Blood Memory, as it turns out, I recently bought! Just a few weeks ago, after reading the first few pages…and didn’t make the connection until now. It’s in my pile of books ‘to get back to later’. I’ve gotten sidetracked by a few others, such as my first Lee Child book, his first Killing Floor….I’m amazed at how good it is, such a page-turner that I’m dying to get back to it…
🙂 Pam