Everything hinges on the first paragraph of your book or story. A well-crafted first paragraph can convince a reader to buy your book or a magazine subscriber to read your article.

To celebrate the art of the first paragraph and our new SoundCloud page, we will host an experimental First Graf Friday podcast. If you are proud of a particular first paragraph (or graf, as hardboiled reporters used to say), then you could get a chance to share it with our readers.

Just call our First Graf Hotline at 706-871-GRAF (or 706-871-4723) and record yourself reading the first paragraph of your story or book. We will edit together our favorite first paragraphs into an upcoming GalleyCat podcast.

When recording, be sure to include: your name, the title of your book, article or story, and the best link where people can find your work online. We will include these details in the First Graf Friday post.

If possible, record your first paragraph using a landline. This is not a requirement, but these calls sound the best on the podcast.

If you are unhappy with your first reading, feel free to call back and re-record. We will use the best recording, but no more than three recordings per writer please! Feel free to email GalleyCat with any questions.