Writers could learn a lot from that. That said, having done that hundreds of times, it's not a lot of fun. Especially when something is close, but just not close enough.

That's interesting. Looks like you've got to really hook her in the first few pages. Which makes sense, but all great books aren't like that. Well, maybe they are.

But they're all supposed to be, for the most part. If you have a really slow-moving and boring first chapter, most people aren't going to stick around to figure out how awesome the rest of the book might be. Ideally, your first scene hooks the reader, and failing that, a really strong narrative voice.

Well, "hook" means different things with different writers, right? I mean, with Elmore Leonard, it could be a planned prison break, but with Anne Tyler, it could be "These people are weird and wacky..I want to see what they do next." Amy, in my tiny editorial role at the disability-arts mag, I ran into the "so close!" story all the time, although not as often as people trying to publish their therapy "homework". That is a rejection that will make you feel like a total asshole.But we got so much of that, given our "special-interest" status that it became easier to harden my heart.

I mean, with Elmore Leonard, it could be a planned prison break, but with Anne Tyler, it could be "These people are weird and wacky..I want to see what they do next."

That's what I meant by a strong narrative voice. Even if a book/story doesn't open with a really dramatic, action-packed scene, a unique and persuasive voice will do the trick in convincing readers to stick around.

My criteria as a personal reader used to be that if you can't hook me in the first 30 pages, you're outta there. (Goodbye, Dune.) And these days it's getting even more stringent. With fanfic, it's like the first three paragraphs just based on SPAG or formatting. After that (since some fanfic can be really short), I give it a couple more pages to see if they have any real world knowledge about what they're writing or at least made a decent attempt at research. I hate poor research. I'm harsh.

Big revision was sent off to my agent this week. Hoping it goes well and the next revisions aren't quite so big.

Ah, I liked Dune. Of course I was listening to the audiobook which had a full cast and was excellent. My favorite audiobook remains The Golden Compass though, also with a full cast with the author doing the narration himself.

Just sent out my first partial. Oh if there is book~ma to spare, I'd love some.

Good luck, lots of ~ma. It didn't take you long to get that first request :).