I noticed that agents often request three chapters. Do you send the first three if they don't specify which ones they want?
Three Chapters
- Thread starter billyf027
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If your first three chapters are boring, revise the MS until they are awesome. An agent won't wait 5 chapters for it to get good, and neither will a reader!
From what I understand, prologues count as a chapter. Agents want to see the beginning of the book as a reader would see it.
If there's a prologue, then send it plus 2 chapters. Like Kitty said, if your first 5 chapters are "boring", you may have started your story in the wrong place.
Are you completely done with the novel? Like ready to go and send out?
You should take a look at the beginning and change it. If the first few pages are interesting for me, I don't read the rest of it.
You should take a look at the beginning and change it. If the first few pages are interesting for me, I don't read the rest of it.
Ya mean if the first few pages aren't interesting?
haha yeah.
But it applies for the entire book, too. If the middle of the book gets boring with just a ton of information but no action, I either skim over it and get lost in the story because it was too boring to read, or I put the book down.
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My novel isn't either. If I do chapters I'll make them when I revise. I don't think in chapters; I think in scenes...
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Agreed. There's no point in having a great chapter 6 if the chapters before aren't as interesting.
PS an editor wrote about the request of the first three chs here: http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-to-front.html
a wee snippet:
a wee snippet:
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If prologue counts as chapter 1, then I have tons of action. Though, now that I think of it, since everyone says prologues are out, I guess this could be chapter 1. But that seems so flash forward. Flash forward inside the chapter parts. Hmm.
That's not such a bad idea. I already took 3, 4, and 5 and turned them into a new chapter 3. Though I really lose some meet-und-greet, it was all just too talky. I thought it was fun to see my guys chatting it up, but is sure went no where. There is some graphic violence in two, but nothing I'd call action. Well, there's gunpay in one also, and flat out gore in the prologue.
But six would make a great one.
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My novel is not broken out in to chapters.
In that case, there's usually a page count option for partials. You send the requested number of pages to the nearest complete paragraph.
If someone is requesting chapters or pages, they always want the first chapters and the first pages. Not random ones from throughout the manuscript.
It's not a question of action. It's question of them being good, interesting, setting the tone for the story, hooking the reader, and compelling them to read further. If your first three chapters -- or your first five -- aren't doing this, you need to get to work rewriting and revising.
I want to send chapter 13. Seriously, my chapter 13 is awesome. But those silly agents want to read things from beginning to end so the story actually makes sense. Weird.
If your first three chapters aren't great, no reader or agent will have interest in getting to the future ones, no matter how awesome they are.
I'm not an agent, but I can't imagine wanting to start a story in the middle, skipping all the buildup, characterization and exposition.
I'm not an agent, but I can't imagine wanting to start a story in the middle, skipping all the buildup, characterization and exposition.
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