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Don't authors already put a lot of effort into the first line/paragraph/page?

The smart ones do. The same goes for emails, advertising copy, blogs, abstracts, elevator pitches, etc. Movies do it, too.

Why though? Is there something relating overall quality to first line engagement?

"The primroses were over" does nothing for me, but Watership Down is great!

Because people are deluged with information and need a good reason to invest the time looking past the beginning.