It’s like speed dating, but the stakes are much higher.
I believe
that the most valuable piece of real estate in any kind of writing – short
story, essay, novel, you name it – is the first page, or what might take an
average reader sixty seconds to read. It’s what casual browsers in book stores
might look at, or what the sample page on Amazon or Smashwords might show.
That’s where the game is won or lost. Hook your reader there and celebrate as
they read the rest of it, or cry like a little girl as they move on to another
book. So much like speed dating. Although the people who run speed dating
events discreetly ask you to leave if you start hooting or weeping. Then they
insist. And they've already called security.
Good times.
But I digress.
