The most important part
of any romance novel
is the first one thousand words.
Readers decide in those first one thousand words
whether or not they will buy the novel.
I have rewritten the first one thousand words
of my latest manuscript
at least ten times this week.
I’m still not happy with it.
What am I searching for?
A few things…
emotion – something that makes readers feel
a hook – something that distinguishes the story
and
a connection – characters and a plot that readers care about.
I won’t be happy until I have all three
because the story won’t sell
unless it has all three
and a product that doesn’t sell
is a waste of everyone’s energy.
Know why your customers buy
and then give them that something
as soon as possible.
Everything else is gravy.