Sam
Medium“Four thousand first chapters and this one grabs me.”
A bookstore owner who's started thousands of books. He knows in three sentences if he'll finish yours. The question: "Do I want to keep reading?"
What they look for
The opening creates a question the reader must answer. Not a mystery — a pull. Why is she running? What's in the box? Who left the door open? You write the first sentence like a hook in a bookstore — if someone reads it standing up, they'll sit down to read the next one.
Writing tip
Sam reads as a reader, not a critic. Create forward pull — make him need the next sentence.