What Agents Look for in Your Opening Pages

Four things agents need you to communicate in your opening pages

In this blog post, I’d like to focus on some of the things I look for in the opening pages of a manuscript. Most agencies ask for five to twenty sample pages along with your query letter. That’s what I’m referencing here when I talk about your opening pages. 

As agents, we come across a lot of interesting and potentially great books out there, but without stellar opening pages, an agent might pass on your query letter. In my very first blog post, I wrote that a query’s job is to entice an agent to read your material further. Well, your opening pages share that job, too. They’re the reinforcements. They seal the deal. Assuming that your book is a good fit for the agent you’re submitting to, if your opening pages show promise, an agent will be compelled to request your full manuscript. 

I’m going to break down four things in a fiction manuscript that leave an impression on me and compel me to request your full manuscript. These are also the things that help me decide to pass on a project.

1: Voice

This one is self-explanatory. Agents, like readers, love a voice that is unique to the writer (or character, if you’re writing in first person). We need to see that voice in your writing. Ideally, the voice should stand out right from the start. Voice is what sucks us into the story and makes us take notice. It’s what makes your manuscript sparkle and your words dance off the page.    

I find that voice is one of those things that is either on the page or it’s not. I’ll be honest, I find it difficult to help a writer develop the voice of a manuscript. It’s something that comes from the writer and from years of working on their craft. I know that one of the biggest challenges of writing is finding your voice. It’s something you need to work on and hone on your own. 

It’s also important to know that you might have a great narrative voice, but not all agents or readers are going to love it. It likely will not resonate with everyone. That’s the beauty of literature. It’s very subjective— and that’s okay!  

2: Good Writing

“Good writing” sounds very general to say, I know. You’re probably rolling your eyes at me right now and thinking, of course, you want good writing in a manuscript?? Why does this even have to be mentioned? But bear with me, I promise it will make sense! 

I’m using “good writing” as a term to cover the bare bones of writing. Good writing means sentences that flow, similes and metaphors that make sense, and good dialogue. It also means characters that make sense in their world and feel real, characters who want things or don’t want things, and a plot that carries those characters forward. 

Good writing is what makes a manuscript polished. Does your writing have a rhythm? Do you use a mix of shorter and longer sentences? Is your plot plausible? Are your characters real or are they caricatures of certain archetypes? Does your dialogue sound natural to the reader and does it ring true to the personalities of your characters? If you’re relying too much on dialogue in your opening pages, for example, you’ve lost me. 

Good writing needs to be there in all your pages. In your opening pages, if one or all elements of good writing are flailing, you’ve already lost your audience. 

3: Groundedness

Readers need a sense of focus, especially in your opening pages. Your opening pages are where you ground us in your story. That is, in your characters and your plot. Who are the people we’re focusing on? What’s at stake for them? We need to get a sense of what the conflict is and what will be driving your characters forward. I’m not suggesting that you start with the conflict, by any means, but I am encouraging you to ask yourself if there are any stakes being communicated in your opening pages.  

It’s also worth mentioning that having a sense of focus, or groundedness in your opening pages means that you shouldn’t overwhelm your reader by throwing too much at them. Too much background, history, or world-building in your first few pages will mean that you lose your audience. Introducing too many characters that we don’t need to be introduced to right away can also have the same effect. 

Ask yourself what your reader needs to know, and how you can best start your story to deliver that information and pull your readers into the premise you promised us. When agents sometimes refer to a manuscript that “doesn’t start at the right place” they’re usually (though not always) referring to that sense of groundedness and focus. If you’ve been given that feedback, revisit your opening pages and consider whether the scene you’re opening with is the best one to start with to ground the reader in your characters, plot, and stakes.

4: An understanding of category

This point is focused on the market you’re writing into more than the earlier points. Your opening pages need to communicate an understanding of the category or genre that you’re writing into. Do you understand your audience and your genre? Are you writing a contemporary YA novel but all your references seem outdated and the slang you’re mentioning is not how actual teenagers speak nowadays? Are you writing a cozy mystery, but the mystery seems a little too dark for the genre? Are you writing a rom-com but there is absolutely no banter or giggle factor? If you’re “breaking the rules” of the genre, are doing it in a way that will still appeal to today’s market? 

Agents are thinking about the ways your book can be positioned and how your manuscript will translate as a product in a bookstore, so we need to be able to have a vision for your manuscript on shelves. At the end of the day, we’re also salespeople. If we’re struggling to see a market for your book in its category, we might not want to read further. 

I’ve approached this blog post as a brief look into what agents look for in your opening pages. But I also really want to emphasize that the four things I’ve listed here are the same things readers look for in opening pages. It’s what you likely look for when you pick up a book, too. Agents fall in love with manuscripts as readers first and as salespeople second. It’s why I continue to caution writers not to write for agents, editors, or a perceived market, but to write for the reader that matters most to you (hint: it’s you!) and the rest will fall into place… and hopefully will be edited several times.