Does 'first three chapters' include the prologue?

[Ian Whates]

This same question was raised in the 'Personal Questions to John Jarrold' thread a little while ago.

If I remember correctly, John's answer was that you give the agent what he asks for. If it says first three chapters, then you send the first three chapters. If you want to include a prologue as well, that's up to you, but you should always send the agent what's asked for.

Belador, be wary about relabelling that prologue. Presumably there's a reason you called it 'prologue' to start with rather than Chapter One. Most likely because it contains a lot of 'past events' that are highly relevant to your story, but not necessarily to the immediate action.

Don't confuse the agent with an ordinary reader, especially not on initial submission. An agent is merely assessing the quality and commercial potential of you and your work. Chances are, the prologue won't be the best guide to that, which is why some might skip it. At this stage, it's probably not necessary that they grasp the intricacies of the underlying plot, which the prologue may well explain wonderfully.

My advice would be to send the prologue and the three chapters, then let the agent decide what they wish to read.

 

[Belador]

Thanks Ian. It's a tricky one - the prologue is only set a couple of days before chapter one, and is the main introduction to one of the main characters. I felt like it was definitely a prologue when I wrote it, but now I'm not so sure. Hmm.

I definitely take your point about the agent not being an ordinary reader. I'm just a bit worried that if they ignore the prologue, they'll think I haven't introduced this character properly when they first come into the story. I will have to go through it all again and take another look. If I keep it as a prologue I think I will do as you suggest and send it plus the first three chapters so there's definitely enough to go on if they skip the prologue - that's assuming they get to the end of chapter two...!

Cheers,
B

 

[JagLover]

I think with fantasy you often expect a good prologue, which cannot really be a Chapter one, because it sets the scene for the story and may be far removed in time.

Look at Robert Jordan's WOT series, a prologue about 2,000 years before the main story!

A don't think a prologue has to be particularly long however and if it is short and then you include it as one of your three chapters you may be selling yourself short.

 

[Assassininc]

What is a "Prologue", what is its function?