In this talk with literary agent and award-winning author Eric Smith, we’ll discuss what agents, editors, and readers all tend to look for in “perfect” opening pages. Using examples from his own projects and books that he loves, we’ll spend some time unpacking just what makes an opening sing, and whether or not your book has to open with action out of the gate (spoiler: it does not), if prologues are bad (they actually aren’t!), and what the deal is with agents not being fans of “books that start with a dream.”
Eric Smith is a literary agent and Young Adult author from Elizabeth, New Jersey. As an agent with P.S. Literary, he’s worked on New York Times bestselling and award-winning books. His recent novels include the YALSA Best Books for Young Readers selection Don’t Read the Comments (Inkyard Press, 2020), You Can Go Your Own Way (Inkyard Press, 2021), and the anthologies Battle of the Bands (Candlewick, 2021) and First-Year Orientation (Candlewick, 2023), both co-edited with award-winning author Lauren Gibaldi. In 2022 Abrams published Jagged Little Pill: The Novel, which was written in collaboration with Alanis Morissette, Academy award-winner Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard, and is an adaptation of the Grammy and Tony award winning musical. His latest novel , With or Without You, a rom-com about two teens working in rival cheesesteak trucks, published in 2023, and was a Junior Library Guild selection. His other books include the IndieBound bestseller The Geek’s Guide to Dating (Quirk), the Inked duology (Bloomsbury), and The Girl and the Grove (Flux). His writing has sold into nine languages. A lifelong lover of writing and books, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from Kean University in English, and a Master’s in English from Arcadia University, where he currently mentors MFA students. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son, and enjoys video games, pop punk, and crying over every movie. You can find him at ericsmithrocks.com
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