Prologues ???

sparnols · Mar 4, 2012

I am a newbie to the publishing world. I have written for many years however this is my first try at getting published. I have my MS finished and edited and and I am worried because I have read that prologues are not exsactly favored upon. Yes, I have a prologue and feel my it is needed as I am sure most do when they include one in a novel. The problem I am finding though is how do I write my quiery letter with out the agents feeling like they are rereading part of the same information and getting bored?

Sorry I know I spelled prologues wrong...

Aggy B. · Mar 4, 2012

sparnols said:
I am a newbie to the publishing world. I have written for many years however this is my first try at getting published. I have my MS finished and edited and and I am worried because I have read that prologues are not exsactly favored upon. Yes, I have a prologue and feel my it is needed as I am sure most do when they include one in a novel. The problem I am finding though is how do I write my quiery letter with out the agents feeling like they are rereading part of the same information and getting bored?

Sorry I know I spelled prologues wrong...

Why would they feel they are rereading part of the same information? The query is supposed to give an overview of the whole story, not just the beginning. And if the prologue is giving an overview of the whole story... it might not be necessary.

So, either I'm misunderstanding the information you're putting in the query or your prologue may not be doing you any favors.

ChaosTitan · Mar 4, 2012

Your prologue is not included in your query letter. The query contains a brief summary/blurb of what your novel is about. If the agent requests you include the first five or ten pages as part of the query, use pages from Chapter One, not the prologue. The prologue can be sent along as part of a full manuscript request.

And since query questions belong in Ask the Agent, this is heading down there.

BRDurkin · Mar 4, 2012

The debate continues to rage about prologues. Some agents like them, some don't. Some readers like them, some don't. One of the major reasons prologues are out of favor with a lot of agents is because writers try to use them as info dumps, or present a lot of information and characters which aren't directly necessary for the main plot of the book. Thus, it becomes a waste of space.

But that isn't to say that all prologues are bad. Books with prologues are still being published. But those prologues are done very, very well, and are directly relevant to the rest of the book. They're not just infodumps.

Remember, your query letter isn't just setting up the premise of the book for the agent. It's a complete view of the book, including the protagonist, his/her/their conflicts and goals, and what is at stake if they can't achieve those goals. So I wouldn't worry about a prologue in relation to a query letter, but rather whether the prologue actually contributes to the story, or is just dead weight.

sparnols · Mar 4, 2012

Ok i could see how that would confuse you. My prologue introduces a realm that the gods created after a war. The war itself and the gods themselves are not in the book so I believed it best to write a prologue so the readers understand the realm in which is essential to the novel. In order to write my query would I not have to explain some of this information the introduction of the story.

sparnols · Mar 4, 2012

sparnols said:
Ok i could see how that would confuse you. My prologue introduces a realm that the gods created after a war. The war itself and the gods themselves are not in the book so I believed it best to write a prologue so the readers understand the realm in which is essential to the novel. In order to write my query would I not have to explain some of this information the introduction of the story.

Maybe this will be easier would you include this as a prolougue or cut it.

Ancient scrolls tell of a time when evil walked among us. Undetected by the human eyes, but known by the gods as the Traldori. A race of phantoms that can only walk in daylight, and are only able to remain in human form as long as they consumed the souls of humans. Placing the human race in danger of extinction. If the Traldori were to gain control of the gates into their world, they would not only release the rest of their kind, but every other creature held within. In the effort to take back the human world a war arose for control of the gate. The Gods were victorious following a long and bloody battle.
Shortly afterward a priestess had a premonition that this battle would one day come again. As a result the Gods created Aionios, a realm in the lands surrounding the gates, hidden from human eyes and outside of time as we know it. Appointing a king and bestowing unto him the ability to send the warriors of Aionios, not only into the past, but also into the future to catch any Traldori that may escape. Aionios was the last defense between the Traldori and the human world. For they knew what the world did not, that evil lurks.
Now years later the priestess’s premonition is coming to pass. The warriors that were given the position of guarding the gates of hell from the traldori’s release are close to defeat. The scrolls tell us that there was only one way to seal the gates and drive this evil back to hell. A group of individuals were hidden within the world, raised and prepared for this sole purpose. Each one of them given a guardian whose duty was to oversee, protect and train them; making sure that they were prepared for the final battle. Each one of these chosen were instilled, by the gods, with a unique power that is unstoppable when bound, and it was not until they were bound that their powers would awaken. They call the chosen few the cannei.
Now however, when time is against the warriors of Aionios an even harder battle begins. They must find the cannei before the Traldori do, something that has become almost impossible. For some of the scrolls that tell the people of Aionios how the Gods won the battle have long since been lost.

sparnols · Mar 4, 2012

Sorry thank you Chaos I believe you answered what I was trying to figure out. Sorry about posting the whold thing I was not sure how else to explain it and missed the post.

Aggy B. · Mar 4, 2012

Quite frankly I would cut that. It's more of a "Let me tell you what the story is about" kind of prologue and simply tells the reader information that would probably best be revealed as the story unfolds.

Just my two cents.

sparnols · Mar 4, 2012

Thanks for the input all two cents are welcome. As I said I am new to all of this. I have wrote for many years but mostly poetry this is my first try at a novel and it just kind of poped out of my head and onto paper.

Prologues ???

sparnols

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

ChaosTitan

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BRDurkin

Trigger-Happy Pyromaniac Writer

sparnols

sparnols

sparnols

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

sparnols