Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The much maligned prologue-with some actual guidance on when to include

I put a final coat of polish on my MS and am ready to start querying. But I have a question about prologues. It seems like everyone hates prologues. Even on your site you say that you want the first 3-5 pages of chapter 1, not the preface or prologue. Should I follow that rule for all my queries or just from the agents who explicitly tell me to start with chapter 1?

The prologue isn't long, maybe 100 words or so, and though I think it adds a nice bit of setup, I definitely don't think it's worth aggravating the agent over. 

The fewer pages you're asked to include with your query, the less likely you should be to include the prologue.

I ask for 3-5 pages. That's 750-1250 words. If you want to use 12-15% of your page allotment with a prologue, be my guest.

I've never rejected anyone because they included a prologue.
I have passed on HUNDREDS of manuscripts because I had no sense of the story in the pages.

Even ESSENTIAL prologues give depth and resonance to the whole story. Agents don't have the whole story at this point.


If the agent asks for 20 or 50 pages, the prologue drops to 5% or less of the content.
You're safer here.

I'm actually thinking of upping the page count for a query because so many people start their books in the wrong place.

20 pages embedded in an email is going to be a huge pain though.
I'm probably going to need to rethink format.
That odd sound you hear is me thinking. Pay no attention unless you smell smoke.

25 comments:

Tim H. McEnroe said...

Very helpful advice. Thanks!

Kitty said...

If you think the prologue is essential to the story, don't label it as a prologue. I resist prologues, but I always read a short piece before the first chapter.

MA Hudson said...

So much writing advice tells us to avoid prologues at all costs but so many published novels have them. Personally, I can't stand them. Just when I think I'm getting into the story, the earth shifts under you and you've gotta start over again with chapter 1. It's not a deal breaker for me though, they're easy enough to ignore, and it certainly doesn't seem like a deal breaker in the publishing industry either.... Good luck OP. If the rest of the book's a winner then I doubt that a prologue will hold you back.

Aphra Pell said...

My rule of thumb is to interrogate what the prologue does that chapter 1 can't do - and whether doing that as the first thing the reader sees is actually necessary.

That resulted in my prologue disappearing into my deleted scenes archive, never to be seen again.

So, if it is a nice bit of set-up, is it a nice bit of set-up that the reader MUST have as the first part of the story they meet?

A good example of a necessary prologue I found recently is the Essex Serpent. The prologue is poetic but still tightly and creepily written. It shows the promise of the central mystery to hook the reader, which frees up chapter 1 to develop a more leisurely, almost Dickensian style.

Timothy Lowe said...

I would think your pages should feature your MC. Feature your voice, get the story moving. Prologues sometimes don't do those things, for many reasons. There's nothing wrong with leaving them out, then sending along with the full MS upon request. I'd mention it when sending the request, though. If an agent falls in love with your book, but has an issue with a 100 word prologue, you're still going to get an offer.




Jeannette said...

Janet's point about prologue's adding depth to the whole story is such a good one; that's the best reason I've heard to not include a prologue in a query.

E.M. Goldsmith said...

Very helpful. I do not have a prologue. I have something else that is common in fantasy but not sure what you would call it.

I have these little blurbs at the beginning of each part that frame the entire series. I will NOT be including it in my submission materials. I was going to talk to the agent about it on the phone call (or maybe with the requested full) when I get to that point as I don't want it soaking up my word count.

I love what these little blurbs do myself. This content works like the correspondence included in Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles in which by the end of the series, you have another lovely story completed that frames the action. It adds another level to my tales and has a really cool twist for the reader over the life of the series. But it does require that the whole series proceeds.

I don't think it would be useful in selling an agent on the first book. I need to simply sell that first and then I will figure out if it is useful for selling the book to a publisher. Does that make sense?

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Call me crazy, call me one tool short of a full garden shed, (um...a garden shed shows up in my story), but I cannot imagine my book without its prologue. It creates a 60 year old setup for an early-on surprise (there are a few more surprises) that is staggering.
During my last read out loud edit I'm calling it Chapter 1 but
it
is
not.
It is a prologue through and through.

I guess I'll just have to figure this out and bank on agents who will be intrigued enough to believe that the taste of the appetizer will lead to an unforgettable meal.
Aw-jeez, now I have to go back and change all the chapter numbers again. Have a great day boys and girls, snow is on the way.

Craig F said...

heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's of to Carkoon I go.

I have read a few prologues, that are less than ancient history to the story, that have worked. Often, though, they are spoilers.

I think it is a good thing to, first, check and see if it hits any back story buttons. If it does, trash the prologue.

If you can't live without one, do not send it as pages, ever. Do make sure the story starts at the right place and go from there.

Yes, I still owe Dena a beer. Someday.

Matt Adams said...

I think a lot of people think of sample pages the wrong way. The query is basically to see whether you have a story, and have the skills to entice someone. If you're going to "hook" the agent with your premise, it's going to be in the query, not the included. I think the pages are just to see whether you can words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into successful passages. I don't think the pages are nearly as much for telling story as they are for checking writing ability. And, based on what I've experienced and read about how long it takes agents to read/get through full requests, I don't think those pages are nearly as much about sucking them into our stories as we'd like them to be, because even if you get them aroused with the pages, it's going to take a while for them to read the rest of the book. So when people ask me -- and they don't often -- I generally suggest you work on the writing in the first pages -- your best flourishes, the best way you have to put words together.

But I've been wrong on just about everything I've thought about publishing so far, so I might be wrong about that, too.

Kari Lynn Dell said...

From a purely practical standpoint, if you want to request more pages, could you do it via a Dropbox link, or something similar? It is an extra step or two to access the doc, but probably not much more than cutting and pasting from the email.

I do not recommend Google Docs when receiving links from strangers, though. There is a virus type thing that pretends to be a Google Doc link that is responsible for crashing my entire previous email account. I'm not aware of any similar issues with Dropbox but maybe others in the group would know.

Mister Furkles said...

Janet: "...so many people start their books in the wrong place."

Craig: "...make sure the story starts at the right place and go from there."

Do any of you know of methods or websites that help a writer determine where to start a story?

My WIP starts in a 'beginning' that I like but it isn't much of a hook. In the absents of a dynamic hook you must have a really good voice hook. And I doubt my writing ranks with the very best in voice.

Dena Pawling said...


From what I've read, the query needs to show your story has (1) interesting protagonist, (2) intriguing plot, (3) a choice, and (4) consequences/stakes. Then your first pages need to show that you (1) can string words together, (2) start with interesting action, and (3) have voice.

My ms has 2 POV. All of my beta readers have indicated that the story should start with the female MC but the voice is better for the male MC. Therefore, I still have work to do.

And Craig, about that beer............


Lennon Faris said...

In a bookstore, I am a prologue skipper.

I've felt the Prologue Temptation several times in my own writing, but I think of this and resist.

Brenda said...

Often, I think, we are telling ourselves the story when we begin a work. Later we come to find that the information we need to have as an author’s isn’t necessarily information the reader needs to have.
Mr. Furkles, a good beta can point out where your story begins.

Cecilia Ortiz Luna said...


I'm not a fan of prologues either but there have been two novels whose prologues I really love and IMHO are prime examples of prologues done correctly and well.

The Dry by Jane Harper
The Nix by Nathan Hill

Craig F said...

Mr. Furkles, I will be the first to admit that I am not bright enough to find the proper start of my current work. A beta noted it.

Dena: I know, interest, interest, and more interest. I figure that beer should be round about a case of Blue Moon by now.

Back on track: A query is meant to entice an agent to read the pages. The pages are to entice the agent to request a full. The full is to entice the agent to want to see more, after the dollar signs fade into the sunset.

That is it, you want readers to want to read more, more and some more after that, even if it is rocket science.

Laina said...

Gmail doesn't freak out on me til about 50 pages. Then it's a pain. 15-20 are usually fine.

Bonnie Shaljean said...

> I'm actually thinking of upping the page count for a query because so many people start their books in the wrong place.

Yesssss!! But a request... nay, a plea: Could we please have the limit in numbers of words as well? Your statement "I ask for 3-5 pages. That's 750-1250 words" is immensely helpful, and I'd be soooo grateful for a word-count guideline, because it's usually just cited in pages. What sort of number would xxx pages [your preferred amount] play out at?

I ask because in these days of paperless writing, I have the damndest time trying to work out what a "page" is, given that arcane calculation I read somewhere that it has to allow for the spaces left around dialogue, which means fewer words per page so it needs to be averaged out with non-dialogue text... etc... (Whatever anybody might be going to ask me about this, the answer is I Dunno. My brain curled up into a little ball and isn't coming out till spring.)

This also affects the word-count tool in the word processing programmes, of course. But I just go ahead and use that feature anyway. Assume this is OK...?

That loud squeaking you hear in the background is my hamster wheel in overdrive. It been going round and round so fast it needs oiling.

Re prologues (which I don't use): As a reader, I really don't mind them at all, as long as they're (a) short, and (b) label themselves clearly as such, so I know what exactly I'm getting, and don't have to invest too much time in it.

Lennon Faris said...

Oh my gosh Bonnie Shaljean I'm going to try to slow down that wheel before it spontaneously bursts into flame (it is smoking).

I have no idea what you heard about spaces and averaging, but what you said sounds more like geometry than writing! One page is generally on average about 250 words. There are other conventions too which I am sure you are familiar with - Times New Roman, size 12 font, double-spaced, one space between words and sentences, etc.

I think page guidelines are there to get an idea of your writing and NOT get the whole manuscript / clog their email. Hope this helps!

charlogo said...

I think prologues, like meatloaf, can be good or dreadful.

Steve Stubbs said...

Mister Furkles said: "Do any of you know of methods or websites that help a writer determine where to start a story?"

There are three places to start: beginning, middle, and end.

Some stories start at the end and flash back to the beginning.

Can't remember the title, but Michael Crichton wrote a novel in which a police detective is being interrogated about a crime already commited. At the end of chapter 1, the interrogator says. "Tell us in your own words what happened."

There is NO WAY you're not going to turn that page.

Some stories start in the middle and slowly disclose the first half.

Murder mysteries start in the middle. The crime has already been committed and the MC and reader have to figure out what, when, and why.

The movie BODY HEAT starts in the middle. Kathleen Turner's character has already decided to kill her gangster husband and tracked down a patsy, played by William Hurt, to take the fall. It is so skillfully done that the viewer does not know the whole beginning of the story until the end.

If you start at the beginning, introduce the bad guy ASAP. You can start with the MC also, or the MC can come along later, but we need to get introduced to the bad guy early on. 50pp. of yawning about a yawning canyon called Yawning Canyon may not work.

That only applies to crass, commercial fiction. If it is literary fiction and you write as well as Dickens or Shakespeare, forget all that and do it any way you want.

Tammy Pigott said...

Oh the dreaded prologue! Almost two years ago, I discovered the great shark’s blog and was heartbroken to read the opinions on the matter. I had one that was awesome, amazing, and untouchable! If someone would just read mine, they would change their mind . . . Well, after finally coming to terms with the idea, I got rid of the prologue and added it within the context of the story. It was so much better!

Then, I guess with time, my memory failed and I wrote another one! Granted, there was a major plot hole and it settled everything. However, all of my beta readers suggested that I give agents the first chapter rather than the prologue to pique their interest. That made me think, “If it’s not good enough for an agent, why would readers be enticed? Why not start at the most gripping part for everyone?” So, I reworked it, added it to chapter seven, and have an even better story . . . again.

Colin Smith said...

I just checked. Every novel in the GAME OF THRONES series so far starts with a prologue. They seem to be de rigueur for fantasy and sci-fi--at least it seems from my limited experience. My take: if your novel needs one, it needs one. Don't fight it. But if your novel is neither the better or worse for one, drop it. If chapter 1 needs the prologue to make sense, then include it with your query pages. If chapter 1 works fine without it, then don't include it. As has been said, at the query stage, the pages serve to give the agent an idea of whether or not your writing skill lives up to the promise of the blurb. Kan you spel? String sentences together? Does you know you're grammar? Is this going to be a huge editing job? Is the agent gasping for what comes next?

As for word count/page count... when an agent says "Paste the first 5 pages in your email," they don't intend for you to cut off mid-sentence because you just hit the end of page 5. They will allow some leeway for you to finish at a logical point. Hopefully they'll be disappointed you didn't paste more!

My whole point: This stuff is so easy it's hard. So don't sweat it or overthink it. By the way, kettle--nice black coat you've got there... ;)

Aphra Pell said...

Mr Furkles The consensus from a lot of people (including iirc our sharkly queen) is that the story starts where something changes for the protagonist that motivates the plot.

So for example in the first Falco book, it opens with Falco inadvertently rescuing a girl from kidnappers in the forum. That's exactly right for the book because it's entirely first person pov, and that's the event that involves Falco in the case. If it started any earlier, you'd be in set-up and backstory for the character, rather than the plot.

In Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, it starts with the murder of Bod's family and his escape to the graveyard as a baby. That sets the plot going and provides the later motivation for what Bod wants, what the ghosts who find him want, and what the assassin wants.