YNB Ten Page Manuscript & Prologue Discussion
Asked by Hadassah Waugh on January 24, 2021
Hi, Mr. Jenkins!
I’m about to submit my manuscript for the ten page thing. Is it all right if I submit it as the nine and a half pages of my prologue, which is basically a mini-chapter seventeen years in the past, plus half a page of my first chapter?
Is that okay?
Or should I submit the first ten pages of my first chapter, ignoring the prologue?
I love my prologue, but I love my first chapter, too. Also, is nine pages too long for a prologue? As I said, it’s basically a chapter set in the past, which introduces the bad guy when he took over, a captain who sacrifices is life and is constantly referenced throughout the story, and the baby prince who is one of my main characters.
It’s almost the inciting incident of the whole plot, because the conflict the bad guy creates by trying to kill the prince is one of the key things that drives the story. What happened then in the past, is what fuels everything in the future.
I know you often say to skip prologues if possible.
Thoughts?😊
Jerry's Answer
Yes, Hadassah, if it's that long and is chapter-like, make it chapter one and submit it.
Then you can begin chapter two with a time tag, flush left and italicized:
17 years later