“First line, p99, or last line? The truth is that every line of a good book should ring with clarity and authenticity, and have (this is the crucial part) a distinctive voice you want to go on listening to. It’s called storytelling.”
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What’s the best way to test a novel before you read it? | Books | guardian.co.uk (via iainbroome)
Back in my days of slushpile surfing (I miss it so), one of the worst, but also most common, errors that people submitting their work made was writing in the cover letter something to the effect of, ‘I’ve enclosed the first three chapters of my book, per your submissions guidelines, but actually really it is not as good as the middle section, which is like WHOA, amazing!’
(via iainbroome)
