THE Group for Authors! discussion

I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial scene with each, or

2. A chapter or portion of a chapter from further on in the book that has more action/excitement

Norm

It's customary to start with the first. Your passage (book) should begin with a sentence/paragraph that grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let go and end in the middle of an unresolved conflict so the reader will want to get the book.

Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial scene with e..."

If your book is enrolled in KDP Select, you can only provide up to the first 10% of the book as a sample.

The usual advice is that it should be the first chapter. And if the first chapter isn't the one you would want to choose, you probably need to go back and revise your first chapter. If that doesn't grab the reader then they might not hang around for the really fantastic stuff that happens in chapter 21.

I'd avoid doing like some movie trailers where the funniest, most gripping/emotional or most action-packed sequences were seen in the previews. Where moviegoers leave theater reviewing it as "...already saw the good parts so wasn't worth the admission."

As a reader, I judge a book by the sample and how very much I want to turn the next page when it ends or I keep wanting to get back to the story later. Doesn't have to be something so exciting that the movie version would require extra stuntmen or even a cliffhanger -- but, I should get an idea of the writing style, editing standards and be sufficiently interested in the characters, storyline, worldbuilding to want to know what comes next.

Be careful how many pages of stuff in your sample come before first chapter. Some of that should be at back of book rather than a reader with a 14-page sample scrolling through 12 pages of quoted pages and promotions to read two pages too brief to give them an idea of the book.

Thanks, folks. I appreciate the feedback.
Norm

Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial scene with e..."
Your first chapter should be the chapter with the action and excitement. Otherwise, don't bother writing the rest of the book; no one's going to read further.
Or, to word it another way, delete your current first chapter and begin where the book takes off.

I would also like to place the first chapter of my new book. How and where do I do it?

Perry wrote: "Your first chapter should be the chapter with the action and excitement. Otherwise, don't bother writing the rest of the book; no one's going to read further.
Or, to word it another way, delete your current first chapter and begin where the book takes off. ."

Think of your book as a TV show. Every show opens with a teaser before sending the audience to the credits and first commercial break. The beginning of the story itself doesn't have to start with something exciting, but the beginning of the book needs to. If you need to open with an action piece and cut it off just when the reader dies to know how it turns out, then you can sort of flashback to everything that leads to that scene. You can create some excitement of drama in a character's past that might not have any bearing on the current events, but gives the reader an insight into what shapes that character. You can even create a bit of mystery, presenting the reader with a hint of the danger to come and leaving them to wonder "what is that?" or "who is this mysterious person."

Too often you see reviews for books where someone says the book started off slow, but got good later, along with dozens of other reviews from people who gave up after that slow beginning and never read the rest of it. You can think outside the box in how you create interest, but that opening chapter needs to be something leaving the reader for more.

Perry wrote: "Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial..."

J.J. wrote: "Perry wrote: "Your first chapter should be the chapter with the action and excitement. Otherwise, don't bother writing the rest of the book; no one's going to read further.
Or, to word it another w..."

Perry wrote: "Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial..."

J.J. wrote: "Perry wrote: "Your first chapter should be the chapter with the action and excitement. Otherwise, don't bother writing the rest of the book; no one's going to read further.
Or, to word it another w..."

Perry wrote: "Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial..."

Perry wrote: "Norm wrote: "I'd like to upload a sample chapter from my book for people to read. What is the most appropriate chapter to use?

1. Chapter One, which introduces some characters and gives an initial..."

Stop telling people how to read, unless you want every book to wind up exactly the same as the last one!

Perry wrote: "Your first chapter should be the chapter with the action and excitement. Otherwise, don't bother writing the rest of the book; no one's going to read further.."

What's left to write if the first chapter has all the action and excitement?

Granted, thrillers and mysteries usually open with something dramatic, but even those are designed to draw the reader into the "action and excitement" that is developed further into the story.

Sally wrote: "What's left to write if the first chapter has all the action and excitement?..."

Oh, the beginning should definitely not contain ALL the action. I was only comparing the two chapters Norm mentioned. All I'm saying is, if you give the book a boring start you'll lose a majority of your readers. But write your books the way you want.

It's an interesting point. The standard advice is to start a book at the point where something interesting happens. Don't automatically start at the beginning of the story. The purists would also advise not to include a Tolkienesque prologue. Just leap straight into the action.

Unfortunately, while this advice is undoubtedly valuable, it can mean that all books tend to look and feel the same. I think we need to refine it a little. The whole point of chapter one is (a) to get someone to buy the book, preferably lots of someones. And (b) to interest them enough to drag them through to chapter two.

That might be action and excitement. It might be a question. A mystery. A dead body in the drawing room. A steamy bedroom scene. An oil tanker swallowing a submarine. Whatever. Regardless of how we choose to do it, chapter one damn well ought to sparkle.

Agreed! And I don't doubt that there are as many ways for Chapter One to sparkle as there are writers writing their own Chapter Ones.

I attended a panel of best-selling authors and received the advice that the first chapter should include a conflict or challenge that you're promising to resolve. Following this advice eliminates the traditional boring first couple of chapters that tell the reader everything you want them to know about your characters. That information needs to be weaved into the story or many readers won't continue reading to the exciting stuff. As discussed above, the first chapter shouldn't be the apex, merely a hook to make the readers hungry for more. Done correctly, the first chapter would be the perfect sample to offer readers.

Sophia wrote: "I would also like to place the first chapter of my new book. How and where do I do it?"

Sophia, you can add an excerpt to your book page following these instructions:

1. Navigate to your author dashboard.
2. Click on "add preview" below the book you'd like to add the PDF to.
3. Choose the file to upload and select the appropriate permissions.
4. Click 'upload file'.

Let me know if you need any further help!

There is some good advice on this thread and some very bad advice.

It is true that most often it should be the first, but there is the possibility your story has a unique structure.

Look at your story and ask yourself what would be the best introduction to this story for a reader that knows nothing about it and knows nothing about me? Keep in mind a sample doesn't have to be continuous. Whatever showcases the story best and is clear to the reader, is the best choice. Note that I said showcases the story and not the writing.

That said, the writing must be good no matter what you choose.