Pretty much every novelist has heard some version of this advice: Make sure your first pages sing. There are good reasons for this. Literary agents and publishers often ask to see just the first chapter–or sometimes just the first five to ten pages–of a novel from authors who query them. If those pages don’t engage them, they’ll take a pass on representing, or publishing, the book.

Once a novel’s been published, a similar scenario unfolds. If the opening pages don’t hold readers’ interest, they’re likely to give up on the book.

For these reasons, many novelists (including me) spend a lot of time rethinking and revising the first chapters of their books. Although my revision strategy varies somewhat from novel to novel, I generally try to make sure I’m doing the following in an opening chapter:

• Introducing the main character(s) in a compelling way.
• Grounding readers in the novel’s setting.
• Getting the story arc/plot rolling. This might mean introducing the key conflict or mystery, or portraying a life-changing event or decision for the protagonist.

I also try to make sure that I’m not bogging down the chapter with too much information. This means asking myself what plot points could, or should, come later for the sake of good pacing and what details or observations could be dispensed with entirely.

Sometimes, I come to understand that an even deeper revision is called for. I might realize, for example, that the novel is starting at the wrong place and that it would be better to begin with a scene that’s a bit later in the story arc, where more is at stake.

With my forthcoming novel, The Inhabitants, the shadowy old house at the center of the story is so important to the narrative that I wanted the first chapter to introduce the mystery surrounding it while also introducing the protagonist and another key character. If you’d like to check out the first chapter, here’s a link to it.

For more information on The Inhabitants, and to pre-order the book, visit this link.