Write a GREAT Book! 59 ter. Why? Because I have gotten warmed up, hot in tune and tone, and energized, and I can do an in昀椀nitely better job. It is the nature of writing and talking that makes it so. 吀栀e playwright David Mamet makes this point in his book on the 昀椀lm industry, amusingly titled Bambi ver- sus Godzilla. Mamet mentions how we can come into a movie or TV show ten or 昀椀fteen minutes after the start and still easily pick up the plot. In fact, it’s kind of fun to do. 吀栀e same principle works in other kinds of writing. 吀栀e o昀케cial introduction is almost disposable. When I read manuscripts by new writers, getting rid of the over- ture is always good advice. If you’ve truly fallen in love with your opening, there’s an alternative to getting rid of it completely. Try moving the opening a few paragraphs into the page, so that the second or third paragraph becomes the 昀椀rst. At the very least, this can be a good experiment. Let a few friends whose judgment you trust read both versions. You may be surprised by the result. True, it can be hard to cut a paragraph you’ve worked hard on. But sometimes sacri昀椀ces have to be made for the greater good! Nail the Table of Contents When people talk about getting lost in a book, that’s usually a good thing. 吀栀ey become so absorbed in what