One Writer's Dilemma: The dreaded first sentence

Does the first sentence of a 80,000+ word novel make or break a read?
Every single day, when I turn on my computer and read the latest updates from writers, agents, and publishers, there is always a story or a contest or a "lets hear" about the opening sentence.
According to our great leaders in the publishing world, the opening sentence is the sweet spot to get your readers hooked and  keep them reading.





 

So agents want your first 5 pages. 
They will judge your writing and your entire story based on those first 5 pages.
And for a long time, I've just followed along like a little puppy listening to all the jewels of knowledge that they've bestowed on me. I've worked and re-worked my opening sentences and my opening paragraphs.

So I wrote this novel in which I was very wary of the first 5 chapters. I wanted to take them out and start at a different point, but all my beta-readers said "no," they loved the first 5 chapters. And it seems like my readers like them also.

But you know what, never got an agent to look at my work, never got me a book deal.
I find it hard to trust in people who are determining what the reader wants, when the reader can tell us what they want.



 


So will the first sentence or few chapters make or break a read?
I don't think so.
I don't think that as writers we should be aiming to please the Big 6 (or is it 5 now?) and what they think readers want, because you know what, there's plenty of crap out there touted as great that I'm not very fond of. Heck, they even have some pretty shitty opening sentences.



Let's look at some examples of current Amazon Best-Sellers:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Claire
"I'm afraid," said the little girl on the bed. "Grandfather, can you stay with me?"

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head."

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."
(Dear Lord, I'm waiting to get legal papers on that one, that opening sentence is actually an opening paragraph...)

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
"I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes."


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Now, my fellow writers, or people who just visit for fun, do you consider these strong opening lines? Are these crappy books?  No.  And I didn't drop them upon reading the first sentence.  Would you toss out a book because you didn't like one of these lines?

I'm of the opinion that, no, you wouldn't.You spent your hard earned money on a book, and you invested your time in deciding if you would like it before you bought it.


Publishers and agents can tell us all they want about the opening line or opening paragraphs, they can throw our work back in our faces, they can request edits, they can tell us to work harder, or tell us to drop it because it's no good.
But I get the feeling that readers buy books based on what other readers have said. Not what the publishing companies think people want to read. I say this, because I read a lot, and that's exactly what I do.
I ask people what they're reading and I read book reviews from real-live humans. 

 

This is why I gave up on the publishing industry.I chose my books by word of mouth.

I chose books that have been suggested to me by people I trust.
I don't pick up the Bestseller, because it's easy for an author to buy their way to the Best Sellers list. 
It's easy for a product to be pushed in your face. 







Don't believe me? Turn on PBS, let your kids watch for a few hours and then see how many times they ask to go to Chuck-e-Cheese. 
Works the same for adults.
Works the same for most advertising, books included.




 
Is your first sentence going to make or break a story?
I don't think so.
Don't let others judge you based on a single sentence you've written. Don't judge a book by it's cover. You never know, what comes after that first sentence, or the first few chapters, could be the best book you've ever read.

What do you think?