Cutting your ‘warmup sentences’

Chad S. White on October 3, 2025

When I was a journalist, one of the tricks I was taught was to delete the first sentence of the article I was writing. That’s because that first sentence is often a “warmup sentence.” It’s a sentence you write just to get into your story and into the flow. It’s that second sentence that’s usually much stronger and the true start of the story.

I was reminded of this while reading a post from Roselyn Teukolsky, the author of A Reluctant Spy. While attending Mystery Writers of America University, novelist Hallie Ephron advised her to “cut out the first two paragraphs of every scene” in her novel.

From Perseverance by Roselyn Teukolsky

Since novels are so much longer than articles, it makes sense that it might take extra time to get into the flow of a chapter or scene. I definitely experienced that in spades when writing chapter 1 of the first book of my dystopian sci-fi trilogy.

During the fourth revision, I cut about 1,500 words from the opening chapter, with most of that coming right off the top. That’s right, the true beginning of my novel was buried under 1,500 words of unnecessary exposition that included two characters that are never seen again.

There’s nothing wrong with writing warmup sentences—or warmup paragraphs or pages. They’re often a necessary part of the writing process. The trick is to identify them during revisions and cut them.

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Why I self-published my nonfiction books

Chad S. White on July 20, 2025

Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to trying to get my nonfiction books traditionally published. Here’s why I self-published:

  • I’d worked at two book publishers, Texas A&M University Press and Marlowe & Co., so I was familiar with the publishing process.
  • I knew platform size is the primary determinant of nonfiction book success and that I already had a solid platform.
  • As a former managing editor at a magazine, I was confident in my page layout skills.
  • I knew Amazon had 70% of the book market, so being present in that one store would give me exposure to the majority of book buyers. (That made publishing through KDP a no-brainer.)
  • I knew self-publishing would be much faster.
  • I also knew I’d have much more control and already had a clear vision for the book.

Thankfully, all of those things turned out to be true. In less than a year, I was able to write the 214-page first edition of Email Marketing Rules, have it edited by some of my trusted industry friends, get it professionally copyedited, and publish it.

But there were additional benefits of self-publishing I didn’t realize until later. For example, a traditional publisher would have never allowed me to publish a 322-page second edition 18 months after the first edition. And they definitely wouldn’t have allowed me to publish a 677-page two-volume fourth edition.

Did all of those decisions maximize profitability? I’m sure they didn’t. But I don’t regret any of them, because those decisions capitalized on my excitement and allowed me to create books I’ve always been proud to put my name on.  

Self-publishing gives you lots of control. Make sure you’re using it to maximize your vision.

All four editions of 'Email Marketing Rules' by Chad S. White
All four editions of Email Marketing Rules

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Join me on my writer’s journey from nonfiction to fiction

Chad S. White on July 13, 2025

Hello, everyone! I’m an aspiring novelist looking to connect with avid readers and other writers, especially in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. On this blog, I’ll discuss writing and publishing, and share the ups and downs of my writer’s journey to get my first novel published.

A little about my debut in-progress novel: I’ve made things extra hard on myself by making my first effort a 3-book dystopian sci-fi series set in a war-torn near future. My two heroes are new adults (18 and 19 years old) and the story revolves around them finding their places in a world where the two global superpowers are in an uneasy peace. The story also revolves around our two heroes finding each other and coming to terms with their broken families.

A little about me: I’m a tech industry veteran and former journalist who’s written five non-fiction books about digital marketing. As part of my day job, I’ve also written nearly 4,000 blog posts and articles about marketing, AI, and other topics. I’ll occasionally talk about my non-fiction book writing experiences, as those have given me the confidence to take on novel writing.

To receive future posts or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication, subscribe on Substack →