Apparently, as I’m sure you’ve all heard, the first five pages are the most important of any in our books or stories. To tell the truth, the first five sentences are even more important, or so says Noah Lukeman, in his book The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile.
It’s a given that an established, known author will get read no matter what. The agent, editor—whoever—will be looking for only good things, even overlooking faults.
We unpublished authors, on the other hand, aren’t so lucky. Most likely, our work will be read by an intern who has read so much s/he wants to scream, or by an assistant editor who feels about the same—and both of these types usually only have one thing on their minds. Get through the slush. Just get it done. They are looking for anything and everything that is wrong with a manuscript so they can toss it aside and move on to the next, therefore slowly shortening their pile.
It’s been said before by many different people, and it’s absolutely, positively, categorically true—there are no great writers; there are only great re-writers. And that is what will help get your manuscript read and passed on. Not shredded, nor recycled.
Re-writing, of course, comes down to editing. Line by line edits. Focus on your first five lines and go from there. If you hook your reader (i.e. agent/editor/publisher), s/he will continue. Until there’s a problem. So, make sure there are no problems. Easier said than done, I know….
In order to do this type of editing to your own work, tell yourself that you are, in fact, a writer. An author. Make sure you have confidence. Don’t doubt for a second that your work is worthy of being on the shelves next to the greats. Once you have that, the rest is simple busy work. Truly. It’s just inspecting your work to make sure it’s up to par. Even if you think it‘s perfect, keep checking it.
Reading Mr. Lukeman’s book taught me why the first five pages are so ridiculously important.
First of all, whoever is reading your work doesn’t have time to dissect any more than that if it’s not what s/he is looking for.
Secondly, and most importantly, if said reader finds anything wrong on one page, s/he can pretty much assume that the same problem will show up on the next page, and the next, and the next.
So, curb your superfluous adjectives and adverbs. Don’t explain more than necessary. In fact, don’t explain at all. Show through action, whether it be physical action, or dialogue, or a character’s realization of something. But don’t overuse dialogue to convey your point or feeling. Don’t mess up your grammar. Get a good sense of semi-colons, colons, dashes, and most definitely hyphens. Don’t bore with a lack of rhythm. Make sure your sentence length varies. Don’t use more words than necessary. Break all sentences into the smallest version possible so they convey the best way possible. Make your words work to your benefit. Even the most seasoned writers must do this. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. Depressing, huh? Well, unfortunately, it’s what we have to deal with.
Once you get sick of all the don’t’s, and your words start running together into an unreadable soup, find beta readers. Use them to your full advantage. Even if only one reader suggests one word that should be changed, it’s worth it. Every word counts. It can be difficult and disheartening, but we unpublished authors are swimming against the current, as it goes. We have to prove ourselves. We have to be that one gem that stands out and is beyond fabulous.
If you can get those first five pages—the first five sentences—exactly as they should be, and then work from there, you’re doing great! If you can make those first pages just right, it’s much easier to find the faults in the rest of your work. Once you know what wrong, it’s simple to tighten up the rest. To make your work perfectly presentable.
So, get to work on that. Don’t get disheartened. Remember, you are working on something great and worthwhile. Give your writing massive amounts attention and love because it deserves it. And so do you. You deserve to be published if you’ve put that much heart and soul into your work. Then, query away. And get that phenomenal work published. But please don’t forget us little people if you make it before we do!
Just promise to come back and give us your tips and tricks….
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Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.
6 Comments so far
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I want to be the first to comment just to say that this is strictly advice from someone who is trying to help authors get published.
If you write just to write, don’t worry about these things.
And, most importantly, don’t even think about worrying about such things until your work is completed and you are seriously, truly ready to query.
This blog was written solely for the purpose of helping writers be as professional as possible and to not let their work slip through the cracks.
Keep the passion while you’re writing. Love what you’re doing! This in itself will give you the confidence to get through the difficult end part before publication.
Good luck, and I hope even one tip helps an author who is already at this stage!! =)
-e*
[Reply]
By Eden on 06.19.09 3:30 pm | Permalink
I think that if the writer is going self-publishing route, then that author absolutely has to be able to be professional. If the author is giving a pitch to an agent or editor, then that person needs to be able to package his or her work and put a pretty ribbon on it. Don’t worry about labeling while writing. Focus on is as a product after.
Ceylan
[Reply]
By Ceylan on 06.19.09 4:11 pm | Permalink
Excellent advice!
[Reply]
By Steena on 06.19.09 5:18 pm | Permalink
Great advice! As you say, grammar is important–and too often overlooked. It’s so annoying to read writing that has bad grammar. Find a grammar geek to tell you what errors you are making, and work on fixing those errors.
[Reply]
By Bonnie on 06.23.09 10:42 pm | Permalink
[...] great advice about going beyond that first paragraph and keeping the reader’s attention in Your First Five Pages. There are tips and strategies here you may not have considered. It’s important to treat the [...]
By Friday Forum: Grab Their Attention « Girl Meets Word on 12.18.09 4:55 am | Permalink
Thanks for this excellent post and as I have just rewritten and edited the first chapter of my novel again and probably will again and again and again before I even think about querying, I couldn’t agree more. Even though all the things and tiny details you have to keep in mind when writing your first chapter may seem overwhelming and you find yourself stuck rewriting them, they are your initial hook and once you have a great foundation for your novel the rest will usually flow easier too.
[Reply]
By dystophil on 12.18.09 5:58 am | Permalink
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