Nobody reads a book to get to the middle.

Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle; they read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy any more. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.

If you're a singer you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge, and if he's good, the older he gets, the better he writes.

The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book.