There is an obvious question one might ask: Is there a problem with prologues to begin with? And while I personally don’t think there should be, there apparently is, especially for the writer who is trying to find an agent or publisher for the first time.

Prologues Conjure Up All Sorts of Imaginary Demons

The unpublished writer has a lot of hoops to jump through that an author with a readership doesn’t have to be concerned with, and this is why we see prologues preceding the work of some of our best known scribes, and proudly so. Then what’s the big deal about a manuscript from a new writer in which a prologue is part of the narrative?

As best I can figure out the thinking of certain agents, submission editors, and publishers, it’s that the prologue may give away too much of the story. It is therefore deemed better to place the information within the narrative as backstory, rather than
to present it as stand-alone material that adumbrates in any way what is to come.

But there may be a Real Demon to Contend with

Whatever anyone might feel about prologues, a legitimate argument can be made that they generally support Showing rather than Telling the action. And that it would be better
to place the thrust behind the prologue material at a later point in the narrative, since in its new location it could very well beget a Showing sequence.

I only offer this last sentence because as an editor I do see more Telling instead of Showing within prologues. But this isn’t always true, and certainly not an issue if an event–long past–needs to be provided so a reader can retain something in the back of
his or her mind to help solidify or flesh out a plot line.

However, it Seems as though there is Little Choice but to Eschew Prologues – for Now at Least

If many of the people who determine if manuscripts become placed have developed
a negative attitude toward prologues, budding novelists perhaps should decide if this bias
is worth fighting. I can’t tell anyone what to do, but I am looking doubly hard at anything
I receive from a client in which a prologue is included, while gritting my teeth because of this seemingly burgeoning industry intolerance for this long-established set-up medium.

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