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It is astonishing how indifferent the amateur author can be toward the most elementary rules of submission. The first page of a manuscript creates an immediate impression. If the novel, article or short story has been bicycled for months in search of a buyer, at least the first page should be made pristine. Every line must be correctly punctuated, every word correctly spelled.
I mention these kindergarten reminders because a manuscript came over my transom in August that broke all the rules. The author misspelled two words on the first page. He had left out a comma where he needed one, and he had inserted a comma where it did not belong. Moreover, the thing was single-spaced and the pages weren't even numbered. Aaargh! Appearances count.
The first paragraph can make or break. In a busy editorial office, dealing with a dozen transoms a day, the first few sentences are vital. All of us can remember great leads: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So Dickens began "A Tale of Two Cities." Melville hooked us with, "Call me Ishmael.”
Sinclair Lewis was equally laconic: "Elmer Gantry was drunk." In "Another Country," James Baldwin began slowly: "He was facing Seventh Avenue at Times Square." In "Butterfield 8" John O'Hara lured his readers: "On this Sunday morning in May, the girl who later was to be the cause of a sensation in New York awoke much too early for the night before." In "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Harriet Beecher Stowe led us softly into the story: "Late in the afternoon of a chilly day in February, two gentlemen were sitting alone over their wine."
In "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe took his time: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge." In "The Ransom of Red Chief," O. Henry piqued our interest: "It looked like a good thing, but wait till I tell you.”
These were good leads. What were the best and worst of times ? Who was" Ishmael? What had the girl done to make her a sensation? Who were the two gentlemen drinking wine? Good writers set their hooks with the first bite.
I digress long .enough to recall the
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