No, the blog isn’t moving. I’m talking about Tapper, the science fiction book I’ve been writing.
I had what I thought was a killer first chapter. It involved an incident that formed the foundation for the rest of the novel/trilogy/series. It was a bit laid back at the start, but once it got going it had plenty of action and a big hook at the end. The meat of the novel actually started in chapter two, but I believed the combination of the two would be a great way to start.
And then came time to query agents.
Agents are impatient, as I’ve learned. If your work doesn’t reach out and grab them from the first few words, there’s little chance that they’ll stick around until the action begins. They’ll toss the submission and send you either a form letter rejection or a note saying something like, “Thanks, but it’s not for me.” Not good for a novel that has a slow beginning, especially when the writer (me) doesn’t have a proven track record.
So chapter one had to move. I couldn’t just cut it, since it contains vital information without which the rest of the novel/trilogy/series wouldn’t make much sense. No, I had to find a new home for it as part of another chapter. I think I’ve found that home, but now I’ve got to figure out how to work the text into the existing chapter. It’s sort of like moving into a new home that’s slightly smaller than your old home: you’ve got to determine how much of your stuff stays and how much has to go off into storage. I’ve got to work that out now, and it’s not going to be easy.
Have you run into a similar situation? Please let me know about it via the Contact page. Thank you for reading!