Judged on Your First Line

[Éclairer]

How important are they?

I usually judge a book by its opening sentence.

The first line might make me read further but I don't decide a book is worth reading until I've read a few paragraphs at least and leafed through the book. The first line can make me decide NOT to read the book, though.

^ that's what I meant. :)

What about you guys?

By the way, I'm new here. Hello. :hooray:


PS The title, "Judged on your first line," sounds grammatically incorrect to me.

[TrainofThought]

I don’t judge by the first line, but I read the first page or two. The writing needs to be appealing before I will buy it.

As for my WIP, I want the first line to hold the reader and because of this my prologue has completely changed. It is important to me as a writer, but not as a reader.

[ChaosTitan]

Unless the sentence is extraordinarily fabulous or utterly awful, I don't think you can judge a book by it's first line (at least I can't). I give it at least a page before I decide if I'll read it/buy it, and at least fifty pages before I decide to chuck it completely or continue to the end.

[Éclairer]

Unless the sentence is extraordinarily fabulous or utterly awful, I don't think you can judge a book by it's first line (at least I can't). I give it at least a page before I decide if I'll read it/buy it, and at least fifty pages before I decide to chuck it completely or continue to the end.

That's probably a good way to do it.

I wouldn't buy a book on the first line; but I would decide not to. If I like the first line, I read the page; if I like the page I buy the book. Usually it takes me about fifty pages as well to make a definitive decision about getting to the end and even then it's not entirely a sure thing. I'm a bit of a scatter when it comes to reading. It took me years to read some of my favorite books, haha. I'd read them in pieces.

[icerose]

No, but it definitely has to hook me within th first page or two, the sooner it hooks me, the better!

[janetbellinger]

The first line might make me read further but I don't decide a book is worth reading until I've read a few paragraphs at least and leafed through the book. The first line can make me decide NOT to read the book, though.

[blacbird]

Most writers submitting anywhere get judged first on their name. If your name is known and recognized, the first line is a lot less important than if it isn't. If your name isn't known, there's a fair chance your first line won't even get read.

caw

[Mr. Funktastic]

I won't really judge a book by its first line. I mean, I really love a great first line, but I can put up with a bad one. If the lines after are also bad... Well, it really has to hook me within the first twenty or so pages.

[jpserra]

How important are they? I usually judge a book by its opening sentence. ...

Many of Hemingway's, Faulkner's and even Vonnegut's works have uninspiring first sentances. (I know I'm bound to get some posts on this.) It is up to the individual to determine what is good. There is a body of critical work out there to suggest what is good. You can send a piece to 10 different editors, and they might all disagree as to the critical nature of the content of your first sentance.

Using well punched, clear and enticing english in your opener will help. But this does not define the work, it only introduces it.

John Serra

[FennelGiraffe]

First, I pre-filter by author, genre, blurb, the mood I happen to be in, reviews, etc.

Once a book passes those tests, however, I give it at least five or six pages. In rare cases, extreme craposity may trigger an earlier rejection, but multiple pages is my norm.

[KiwiChick]

I don't think I can tell anything from the first line of a book (unless it has three spelling mistakes and doesn't make grammatical sense). I'm more likely to judge a book by the blurb on the back. That being said, I use the blurb to tell me if the story is going to interest me, and the first page or two to tell me if I like the writing style. A nicely done description of the weather and absolutely nothing happening won't put me off.

KiwiChick

[Simon Woodhouse]

I don't judge other books on the first line, but I do put a lot of thought into my own. It's a bit like how you dress to go on a date – you spend far too much time in front of the mirror wondering about how you look, but then you hardly notice what other people are wearing and they probably do the same with you. But no matter, you still spend ages trying to get it right.

I see reading a book as a long haul thing, so I'm not after instant gratification. If I'm looking at a short story, that's a different matter. I think the first line counts more in a short, because the author hasn't got so many words to waste (for want of a better expression).

[Danger Jane]

First, I pre-filter by author, genre, blurb, the mood I happen to be in, reviews, etc.

Once a book passes those tests, however, I give it at least five or six pages. In rare cases, extreme craposity may trigger an earlier rejection, but multiple pages is my norm.

Same. I'm generally a pretty forgiving reader...until something starts to really BUG me, I'll keep reading.

[RG570]

I don't judge a book by the first line. I can see no correlation between first lines and whether or not I enjoy a story.

I judge the book once I'm done reading it. I decide if I will read any given book based solely on what I hear about it and the blurb on the back.

[FolkloreFanatic]

I agree with Eclairer; the first line doesn't have to sell it to me, but if it's weak, it might cause me to put the book down. Usually, though, I go through several steps:

1. read the back cover or the inside flap of the dust jacket
2. read the reviews and see if anyone worth their salt liked it
3. open to a page at random and look at the format, dialogue/description ratio, style. Can I tolerate an entire novel worth of this person's voice?
4. pick a second random page and read a paragraph or two. Is it interesting out of context?
5. *maybe* read from the beginning of the first page

It's definitely last on my list of priorities when evaluating a book. As much as I advocate having the strongest opening possible, some people don't make immediate hooks; their hooks are more gradual.

For instance, if I were to skip the opening poem of Palahniuk's "Haunted" and go to the first sentence of the book a page after, I wouldn't get much of an impression of him as a writer. The poem in itself is powerful, but it takes a page or more of his prose to reel me in.

[Nickie]

When I'm considering a submission, I must say that the opening lines ARE important to me. Very often they'll tell you a lot. The opening of a novel should catch the attention. It if does, I'll read on.
Then, when the opening appeals to me, I'll have a look at the first chapters. Reading through them gives me almost always the right impression: this book deserves a chance - or not.


Nickie

[icerose]

I am adding in that if the opening line is clumsy, annoying, or just plain flat, it has a higher chance of being set down than one that is okay to great.

[jpserra]

I did not mean to say that you should not do the most to present a great opener. Yes, absolutely perform at your finest in writing a strong, catchy, exquisitly perfect opening. But you'd better have something behind it to work for the rest of the story.

John Serra

[maddythemad]

The only time you can judge a book by it's first line is when it begins with "So-in-so took off his bra and threw it on the coffin."

I don't remember where I read that, but that first line alone was enough to make me go, "That's it. I'm done."

[Éclairer]

The only time you can judge a book by it's first line is when it begins with "So-in-so took off his bra and threw it on the coffin."

I don't remember where I read that, but that first line alone was enough to make me go, "That's it. I'm done."

That's so creepy. Funny though.

[Éclairer]

I don't judge other books on the first line, but I do put a lot of thought into my own. It's a bit like how you dress to go on a date – you spend far too much time in front of the mirror wondering about how you look, but then you hardly notice what other people are wearing and they probably do the same with you. But no matter, you still spend ages trying to get it right.

I love your analogy.

[PeeDee]

Generally, I just read for a while, regardless of the book. Eventually, something causes me to put the book down (by which I mean, the wife calls me, dinner is ready, I have to go to work, stuff like that) and I stop reading. THe thing is, if I pick the book back up again, then I'll keep going.

[Neeli]

In fact, it's becoming a turnoff when the first sentence has too much punch - just seems to be trying too hard.

I agree. There is too much emphasis on the first line.

When I choose a book to read, it is usually by the recommendations of others. Then I read the blurb, scan a few paragraphs inside, and check out the opening page. These might turn me off, but sometimes I'm pleasantly intrigued.

But I must admit that cover art is important to me. Got a dragon on it? Hey I'll take a look. Got spaceships or military types? Nope. The cover tells me in an instant if I might like the subject matter.

[Declan]

The price of the book is the most important thing.
If you get a good book cheap, somehow, the first line seems pretty darned good.

Dec.

[KiwiChick]

But I must admit that cover art is important to me. Got a dragon on it? Hey I'll take a look. Got spaceships or military types? Nope. The cover tells me in an instant if I might like the subject matter.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Aways judge a book by its cover. :) I won't read anything with cheesy looking cartoonish people on the front, so don't try to make me!

[PeeDee]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Aways judge a book by its cover. :) I won't read anything with cheesy looking cartoonish people on the front, so don't try to make me!

Good to know you don't read Chick Lit. :D

[Gary]

First lines are always in the equation when I'm buying a book. First is genre, then where the story takes place. Next is a look at the main characters and finally, I read the first few paragraphs. I don't know why I always consider those things, but it has become a habit that controls my buying.

[oswann]

I stay in the shop and read the whole book. I don't like financial issues clouding my judgement.


Os.

[Éclairer]

Lol.

[aruna]

My son brought back a book from a trip, he;d bought it in an airport, The first line was "soandso had the biggest penis in the world" or something to that effect. I read not a sentence further. Though I suppose that sentence woul dmake some people WANT to read on! Thebook was called Dirty White Boys or something like that.

[aruna]

OK, you can check that book and read the first sentence/paragraph on Amazon,. It's a bit more elaborate than that. It goes on to describe this enormous penis as ropey, veiny etc. Go on, read it: Dirty White Boys. Free publicity here. Seems to be quite a bestseller.

[blacbird]

I don't buy books anymore. Nobody buys mine, why should I?

caw.

[triceretops]

My personal preference (after 28 years) is to use the first line as a hook, to demonstrate the person, the place, the problem. It's a hook device, only. I back-peddle from there.

Tri

[Tracy]

I too like to use the first line as a hook, to intrigue the reader into reading more. Then there's the challenging bit of introducing Who, Where and What without getting into too much exposition, or As-you-know-Bob-ing, over the next page or two. Maybe it's lack of confidence but I like to snare the reader straight off, and readers HAVE said that they love the way my books are straight into the story, no faffing around.

I think that in this extremely competitive industry you've got to use every angle you can.

As a reader, too, I very much judge on the first line. I WILL give it more than that, but I'm already forming judgements about whether I like the book or not.

[seun]

I didn't think I judged on the first line although a Da Vinci Code rip-off that came across my desk the other day may have changed that. First line was past tense; second line (and the rest of the chapter) was present. :Shrug:

[Jamesaritchie]

I won't buy a book because of the first line, but I have rejected novels because of the first line. If the first line is horribly written, or if it simply doesn't make me want to read the next line, I'll probably put the book back on the shelf. If I do not enjoy the first line, why read on? It's not as if there's a shortage of other novels, and I have to sort them somehow. There isn't time to read them all.

Now, I tend to like slow openings, so a first line does not have to have a big punch. It does, however, have to be well-written, and does have to make me want to read more.

[Jamesaritchie]

I agree. There is too much emphasis on the first line.

When I choose a book to read, it is usually by the recommendations of others. Then I read the blurb, scan a few paragraphs inside, and check out the opening page. These might turn me off, but sometimes I'm pleasantly intrigued.

But I must admit that cover art is important to me. Got a dragon on it? Hey I'll take a look. Got spaceships or military types? Nope. The cover tells me in an instant if I might like the subject matter.

What about the bazillion novels out there where the cover artist has never even read the book?

[PeeDee]

What about the bazillion novels out there where the cover artist has never even read the book?

You know, the huge backlog of sci-fi novels from 1950 and earlier, where it didn't matter what your novel had it in, it had a dinosaur and a scantily clad woman on the cover.

.....I miss that.

[Selcaby]

It would take a really bad first page to turn me off a book if the cover interested me. I don't expect openings to be good. Yeah, yeah, I know, "don't judge a book by its cover," but realistically the cover, title, genre placement and the author's name are all factors in whether I even pick it up to start with. So I look for books that look as if they're going to be about something interesting, or whose authors I trust, and if I'm interested enough, I don't even open them before I buy. But I have to admit that books that looked less interesting on the outside, but which passed the first-few-pages or random-sampling test, are more likely to go on to be my favourites. Some publishers have terrible blurb-writing skills, so I try to take that into account too.

[Selcaby]

This thread keeps making me think of the character in Camus's The Plague who's spent years perfecting the first sentence of his novel, but has never written sentence two.

[Éclairer]

You know, the huge backlog of sci-fi novels from 1950 and earlier, where it didn't matter what your novel had it in, it had a dinosaur and a scantily clad woman on the cover.

.....I miss that.

Lol

I have a dream: books with NO covers. Bound like 19th century books, in leather, with beautifuk gold print, and only print. *sighs* To judge a book by it's title! Such a dream cannot be, and yet I still yearn.

[PeeDee]

Covers do tend to catch my interest. I've bought books based solely on the covers. "The Prince of Nothing" trilogy is a good example, and so is A.A. Attanasio's books (The Dragon & The Unicorn, those books).

If there are different editions of a book on the shelf, I'll go for the one with the best cover (unless it's paperback, then probably not; I avoid Mass market paperback these days.)

[PeeDee]

I have a dream: books with NO covers. Bound like 19th century books, in leather, with beautifuk gold print, and only print. *sighs* To judge a book by it's title! Such a dream cannot be, and yet I still yearn.

Ah, you want Easton Press (http://www.eastonpressbooks.com/leather/) books. I hope you have a lot of money.

[Éclairer]

Ah, you want Easton Press (http://www.eastonpressbooks.com/leather/) books. I hope you have a lot of money.

Ahh, yes, those books are gorgeous. I grew up reading my grandmother's old school books; dull little books with so much print.

[PeeDee]

Ahh, yes, those books are gorgeous. I grew up reading my grandmother's old school books; dull little books with so much print.

I have this ancient little English handbook from 1922. It's stained green...vynil? Maybe? I don't know. Perhaps cloth. At any rate, the type is microscopic. Even my reading glasses barely help.

[jpserra]

The only time you can judge a book by it's first line is when it begins with "So-in-so took off his bra and threw it on the coffin."

I don't remember where I read that, but that first line alone was enough to make me go, "That's it. I'm done."

Just catching up, but this opener would make me want to read the rest!

John Serra

[PeeDee]

I have to agree. I'd follow through after THAT opening line, but if it got any stranger, I could be weirded out into shutting the book and going to take a shower.

[jpserra]

I agree. There is too much emphasis on the first line.

When I choose a book to read, it is usually by the recommendations of others. Then I read the blurb, scan a few paragraphs inside, and check out the opening page. These might turn me off, but sometimes I'm pleasantly intrigued.

But I must admit that cover art is important to me. Got a dragon on it? Hey I'll take a look. Got spaceships or military types? Nope. The cover tells me in an instant if I might like the subject matter.

Isn't the first line for Agents, Publishers, Editors and Literary afficianados? Most regular Joe's care less, but the industry elite are the ones who are judging and evaluating based on the minutia.

That's a sweeping statement, but I mean it in generalities. (This is to keep certain people from assaulting me with PC rhetoric). That's my perspective, Dave, now onto the weather.

John Serra

[PeeDee]

Isn't the first line for Agents, Publishers, Editors and Literary afficianados? Most regular Joe's care less, but the industry elite are the ones who are judging and evaluating based on the minutia.

I write for hours each day, and I still don't care about this stuff. Mostly, I just try to write good books and when I'm not doing that, I try to read good books.

When it gets too much more complicated than that, I get annoyed after awhile.

[jpserra]

OK, you can check that book and read the first sentence/paragraph on Amazon,. It's a bit more elaborate than that. It goes on to describe this enormous penis as ropey, veiny etc. Go on, read it: Dirty White Boys. Free publicity here. Seems to be quite a bestseller.

Wasn't that the new and improved revision of Gray's Anatomy (the reference book, I mean)?

John

[Éclairer]

I have this ancient little English handbook from 1922. It's stained green...vynil? Maybe? I don't know. Perhaps cloth. At any rate, the type is microscopic. Even my reading glasses barely help.

Yeah, old books are interesting. That one sounds cute (how big is the actual book?). I absolutely love old books. I have some really strange stuff lying around the house, aside from my grandmother's old school books (which, incidentally have boys' names scribbled in them in flowery print --my grandmother was always more interested in boys than books) I have a bunch of old Reader's Digest books from the fifties and a bunch of old prayer books. The oldest book in the house is from 1804. Book of Psalms. London, Printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode Ltd, Printers to the King's most Excellent Majesty... well, that's what written in the front. The other two interesting books: I have some portion of the bible entirely in Greek circa 1923; and the New Testament in Phonography, whatever that is, it looks like chicken scratch, circa 1894.

[PeeDee]

We have lots of old books, because we like old books. We like all books. We just have lots of books.

This little English book is about four or five inches tall, about the same width. Very small. Mostly useless, but it's fun to say "1922, that one."

(though I have some that are older)

[Éclairer]

We have lots of old books, because we like old books. We like all books. We just have lots of books.

This little English book is about four or five inches tall, about the same width. Very small. Mostly useless, but it's fun to say "1922, that one."

(though I have some that are older)

I know, I love being able to say that. My friends come over and I start showing off.

[James D. Macdonald]

Sure you're judged on your first line. And your second, and your third, and your fourth....

That's why you have to make every line the best line you can.

[Jamesaritchie]

You know, the huge backlog of sci-fi novels from 1950 and earlier, where it didn't matter what your novel had it in, it had a dinosaur and a scantily clad woman on the cover.

.....I miss that.

Yep. I miss those, too, though I still have quite a few in my library. And I remember reading a lot of hardboiled, paperback mysteries from the period, and then wondering where in the world the cover artist got the idea for the cover art. Seemed like they all had a naked woman on the cover, and some tough guy with a big gun standing over her.

[Jamesaritchie]

Isn't the first line for Agents, Publishers, Editors and Literary afficianados? Most regular Joe's care less, but the industry elite are the ones who are judging and evaluating based on the minutia.

That's a sweeping statement, but I mean it in generalities. (This is to keep certain people from assaulting me with PC rhetoric). That's my perspective, Dave, now onto the weather.

John Serra

I wouldn't say that at all. Agents and editors judge books in the way they do because much experience in selling books has taught them how the reading public judges books. They have reams of experience, tons of reader surveys, piles of statistics showing them exactly what the reading pubic wants, and this is what they ask from writers.

I don't think the average Joe is any less particular, or any easier to please. There are always those who don't care how a novel opens, as long as they can find plenty of bang, boom, sex, etc, but theere are also a great many readers who have taste as refined as any agent or editor, and the entire point of what agents and editors do is to find books that will please the reading public.

Judging a book by the first line, by every line, isn't minutia, it's an honest effort to find the best writing they can, and writing that many years of experience has proven the reading public wants.

Writers are judged by the first line, and by every line that follows, not only by agents and editors, but by the reading pubic. And they should be. Nothing wrong with this at all. Being asked to write well from start to finsih isn't minutia, it's what writing fiction is all about.

[jpserra]

I wouldn't say that at all. Agents and editors judge books in the way they do because much experience in selling books has taught them how the reading public judges books. They have reams of experience, tons of reader surveys, piles of statistics showing them exactly what the reading pubic wants, and this is what they ask from writers.

I don't think the average Joe is any less particular, or any easier to please. There are always those who don't care how a novel opens, as long as they can find plenty of bang, boom, sex, etc, but theere are also a great many readers who have taste as refined as any agent or editor, and the entire point of what agents and editors do is to find books that will please the reading public.

Judging a book by the first line, by every line, isn't minutia, it's an honest effort to find the best writing they can, and writing that many years of experience has proven the reading public wants.

Writers are judged by the first line, and by every line that follows, not only by agents and editors, but by the reading pubic. And they should be. Nothing wrong with this at all. Being asked to write well from start to finsih isn't minutia, it's what writing fiction is all about.

James, I value your perspective. But the point I made was that most work is evaluated unfairly by Publishers and Editors in the scope of what they MUST accomplish in a day. Very few works are fully evaluated, and the minutia is the depth of the examination based on a few sentances that may be read by the Pub/Ed to begin with. You have to admit that some real turkeys have been published by large houses, and the probable reason is that the evaluation was on too small a sample of the content.

Yes, there are other reasons, and yes, once accepted, the evaluation process should and most times does happen through numerous rewrites. But that is not absolute.

I do believe the average Joe has a different standard than the publisher. Of course the publisher wants to make the big bucks on a given work. It's even worse now that corporate globe owns most of the independent houses. But the perspective is different and what may be comfort reading for one group is considered bottom of the pile for a Harvard educated editor in New York. No, I do not believe they have their finger on the pulse of America, let alone the Globe!

We'll agree to disagree on this score. I hope we are still speaking acquaintences. I like your posts too much to lose that.

John Serra

[Euan H.]

... showing them exactly what the reading pubic wants ...

... plenty of bang, boom, sex, etc, ...

I know it's bad form to comment on typos, but I howled when I read that. The reading pubic, eh? Must all that thick, veiny wossname that Aruna was banging on about earlier.

Actually, I agree with what James said: I think the first line is important to readers--maybe not on a conscious level, but it's certainly important. Think of the first line of 1984, frex.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I'm with those who may not be turned on by a first line, but can certainly be turned off by it. There are books where I read the first line, put them down and walked away.

A bad one is a red light, but a good one isn't always a green light.

[Willowmound]

Think of the first line of 1984, frex.

What's the first line of 1984? I don't remember it.

[Euan H.]

'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.'
How could you not read on?

And what about:
'Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.'
'It was a pleasure to burn.'
'He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf stream and he had gone 84 days now without taking a fish.'

[James D. Macdonald]

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

[James D. Macdonald]

Seemed like they all had a naked woman on the cover, and some tough guy with a big gun standing over her.

That was in the days of the ID sales, when the books that went onto the racks were picked by the truckdrivers. That is, the guys who drove the trucks that delivered the books. The cover art was selected to appeal to truckdrivers, and a standard piece of author-advice was to go down to the shipping docks at four in the morning with coffee and donuts, to let the drivers know you were an All Right Guy, and so would stock your books.

[jpserra]

I'm with those who may not be turned on by a first line, but can certainly be turned off by it. There are books where I read the first line, put them down and walked away.

A bad one is a red light, but a good one isn't always a green light.

Probably more to the point. A flat first sentance may not turn me off, but a very badly written first line sends up a red flag. I must agree.

John Serra

[Shadow_Ferret]

My time is critical and competition for my entertainment dollar is tight.

I'm standing there with a 6-year-old who wants to go to the kid's section and he's getting antsy and loud. I'll give you a couple paragraphs, but I can't devote much more reading time than that.

So yes, basically, if you can't hook me in that first line, I'm gone.

[Jaycinth]

First Line? Naawww. I read the back cover and the dust cover flaps to give me an idea of the premise of the story. If I am intrigued by the premise, then I'll buy the book. I'm not buying the book for the 'first line' I'm buying it for the story.

Cover appeal helps, too. And, usually, if the book is reccomended by a friend (as long as it is not a biography or something obcenely 'fluffy') I'll just buy it.

Authors I'm really not sure of I borrow from the library. Then, If I like them, I go out and collect the books in paperback and hard cover.

[Ken Schneider]

How important are they?

I usually judge a book by its opening sentence.

From that statement I can see that you've never read one book.
No first sentence of any book is good enough to hook this reader, period.

"It was a dark and stormy night." So what. And, I read a book all night?

Of course you don't judge a book by its first line, nor by the cover.

If you haven't read the first chapter, minimum, you can't know a thing about the book.