Gareth’s Blog

A good friend once told me that he always looked twice at the resume of someone who had written a book.

I asked him why: he answered that he knows the commitment and determination involved, and that this accomplishment tells him more about the character of the person than any menu of law degrees, MBA’s and magna cum laude credentials.

At the time I had written four books, so of course I admired his wisdom.

But I had never published one.

I have, for the last year, taken the prospect of publishing one of my books far more seriously (I am focusing on Church of the Epistles) and have realized that writing the book is the easy part. Every time I read the stats of the number of books written and the vastly smaller number published every year, my mind boggles, and I have to forget or I would give up. No rational mind could look at probabilities like those of winning the lottery, and continue to put in the mind-numbing hours and effort required to write a book.

No, I have realized that getting a novel published comes down to one very simple matter: the first chapter.

It’s a pretty obvious point, really, but it has taken me the longest time to see it. Yes, you need to have a book that’s well written, with believable, empathetic characters and a plot whose twists and turns keep you turning the pages. You need to have a publicity machine that extends you to a large network of agents and publishers, and that gives you a chance to pitch your hook. But with the right knowledge (all available) you can invest time, energy, and money in having these done professionally. Once you know your target, it’s just a metter of committing time and energy to getting to them. You could put your book in front of the President of the United States, if you work hard enough and are willing to ask everyone you know to help.

No, the challenge is not in finishing or even marketing the book. What really matters is when you find that one person who could make your writing career, and that person says, “It sounds interesting. Why don’t you give me something to read?” you can answer, “Sure. Why don’t I give you the first chapter?” knowing that it will knock that persons socks off.

The first chapter must be tight, compactly written, and take you to the heart of the characters and the first crisis of the book. The reader must be enticed by the first paragraph, fascinated by the first page, and leave the chapter breathless and gasping for more. Of course, if this happens the request for the rest of the book will follow, and it had better be finished and ready to go. But unless the first chapter is magnificent, no one will ever ask you to send them the book.

I’ve never had a book published, so what do I know? But having become very familiar with marketing and networking in a previous career, I’m pretty sure this is right. So I’ll sign off and return to the grind of polishing the first chapter of the book I’ve finished three times before into the shiniest jewel on the writing circuit. If I’m successful, the rest will come soon.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 at 8:03 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.