Foreplay for Writers -or- Are Prologues Disasters in Disguise?

Everybody has read prologues. Tom Clancy loves them. Stephen King seems to run hot and cold on them. Experienced authors use them, but what about you? Aspiring authors cannot play by the same rules that apply to the big names. Are prologues, in the hands of neophyte writers, viewed fairly or as much-abused writer crutches that can destroy your publishing hopes?

The answer might surprise you, because it has little to do with the impact of the prologue on the story.

Hundreds of query letters arrive every week for literary agents. Imagine getting 40 query letters a day--over 10,000 requests per year. Thousands of quick decisions must be made every day by agents, or more likely, their subordinates. How do they narrow down this daunting influx of requests to a handful of new authors to represent?

Think about the demand on their time. Out of those 10,000 queries, less than 500 manuscripts get requested. Then, after scrutiny of those manuscripts, a lucky few (maybe 50) first-time authors receive contracts for representation. Agents already have a collection of established authors to represent, so there’s little room for newbies. If those aren’t slim enough odds, agents do not place 100% of the manuscripts they try to sell. Agents are probably doing great if they place 50% of the neophyte author’s stories. That means 25 first-time authors actually see their work survive the full cycle and make it to bookstore shelves. From query letter to publication, success is one-quarter of one-percent probability.

The note says, "Rejected:  back story in prologue."

I know what you’re thinking, “What does this have to do with prologues?”

Key players in publishing--acquisition editors and literary agents—mention submission generalities as guides for newbie-authors. Here are some common bits of advice I have read for first-time authors:

• Full-length, commercial fiction should be between 80,000 and 120,000 words.
• Follow manuscript formatting guidelines, exactly.
• Avoid mixing genres.
• Make sure your query only goes to agents representing your genre.
• Writers need a platform when starting the query process.
• Prologues often reflect weak writing. Avoid them.

Agents have a daunting task in cutting down a blizzard of queries to a coveted few representation contracts. Thousands of submissions get the ax using basic measures; weak query letter, poorly written synopsis, improper genre, failure to include all submission requirements, etc. The next step is where that prologue could kill your hopes. After easy cuts, staff readers still need a lot more rejections, so they begin looking for ANY reason to reject a manuscript; SPAG problems, weak hook, confusing character development, poor plot introduction, general tone and voice of the author. These can often be determined in less than ten pages and result in quick rejections.

What happens if your story starts with a prologue? Ooops . . . you touched one of the “third rails” of many editors and agents. Will they reject your golden words just because the story begins with a prologue? Some might. More likely, they will read on with more skepticism expecting the prologue to be a crutch for weak story telling. If your first ten pages (including that prologue) read great, then they must face the reality that a lot of acquisition editors will also be wary of a beginning writer who needs a prologue to get the story off the ground. It’s a harder sell.

Let’s say your magnificent manuscript survives to the final cut. The senior literary agent must choose between your story and an equally well-written tale that will be easier to sell because it does not include a prologue. Who gets the nod? More importantly, if you knew your brilliance survived to this point, and the difference was the prologue, would you like a chance to remove the introductory words and find a way to incorporate them into the actual story?

I’ve read dozens of prologues, many by big name, big dollar authors, but I’ve only read half a dozen enjoyable prologues. In most cases, they bore me or annoy me. Who knows? Maybe the acquisition editors are onto something. The purpose of this blog is to give you that second chance now--before you need it!