- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Prentice Hall & IBD (25 Jan 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 068485743X
- ISBN-13: 978-0684857435
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.9 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
83,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #40 in Books > Reference > Writing > Editing
- #56 in Books > Reference > Publishing & Books > Authorship
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The difference between The First Five Pages and most books on writing is that the others are written by teachers and writers. This one comes from a literary agent--one whose clients include Pulitzer Prize nominees, New York Times best-selling authors, Pushcart Prize recipients and American Book Award winners. Noah Lukeman is not trying to impart the finer points of writing well. He wants to teach you "how to identify and avoid bad writing" so that your manuscript doesn't come boomeranging back to you in that self-addressed and stamped envelope. Surprise: agents and editors don't read manuscripts for fun; they are looking for reasons to reject them. Lukeman has arranged his book "in the order of what I look for when trying to dismiss a manuscript", starting with presentation and concluding with pacing and progression. Each chapter addresses a pitfall of poor writing--overabundance of adjectives and adverbs, tedious or unrealistic dialogue, lack of subtlety--by identifying the problem, presenting solutions, giving examples (one wishes these weren't quite so obvious) and offering writing exercises. It's a little bizarre to think about approaching your work as would an agent, but if you are serious about getting published, you might as well get used to it. Plus, Lukeman has plenty of solid advice worth listening to. Particularly fine are his exercises for removing and spicing up modifiers and his remedies for all kinds of faulty dialogue. --Jane Steinberg
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First Sentence
Don't try to contact an editor or agent between 12:30 and 3. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Don't try to contact an editor or agent between 12:30 and 3. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Readers and editors are over burdened with books, book deals, writers, publicity, and other aspects of their daily routine. They are expected to read manuscripts at home, so it is no wonder that to get through a large slush pile editors use the precedent: find reasons to reject manuscripts in order to go on to the next one.
This book does not teach 'how to write,' but how to avoid the mistakes that send your manuscript to the recycle bin. That is the craft of writing.
To be successful, you have to capture your audience in the first five pages. Noah Lukeman, a prestigious editor turned agent knows the secrets of successful writing. In reality, you must capture your reader in the first five words, sentences, or paragraphs with a strong hook and the good writing.
Lukeman arranged the chapters in The First Five Pages to show each process in rejecting manuscripts. Follow the steps, and if you are lucky, you might get a contract. Do not follow the steps, and the only reason your manuscript will reach the one person who can make a difference is through a fluke.
Each chapter concludes with write and rewrite examples and practices. The Lukeman way is included at the back of the book. The only way to become a better writer is to write. The following is only a brief synopsis of a few chapters.
Presentation: The number one reason aspiring writers get rejections is that the work is inappropriate for the market. Simply put: do not send a bodice-ripper, swashbuckling tale to someone representing coffee table books. Other problems are spelling errors, sloppiness, faded text, and dirty paper; they all indicate carelessness that is generally reflected throughout the book. Research your market, and prepare your manuscript according to the instructions given by the agent, editor, or publisher. If they want Ariel font, give it to them.
Adjectives and Adverbs: The next step to rejection is the overuse or misuse of modifiers. These words tell rather than show your noun. "If a day is described as 'hot, dry, bright and dusty,'" these words are tedious and the image becomes significantly unimportant. Overuse is very easy to spot by a cursory glance.
Sound: If your manuscript has reached this level, it is being read. Pacing, rhythm, meter, or beat is about the way your prose reveals the story. "Prose can be technically correct, but rhythmically unpleasant." Read your work aloud; if it does not sound right to you, pay attention.
Comparison: Analogy, simile, and metaphor can be overdone. I read about 1/3 of a book recommended to me as an excellent thriller. The plot, characters, dialogue, details, and descriptions were good. I could not read the book because everything is not like something else, every paragraph or three included a simile.
Style: If the writing feels forced or exaggerated, or the writer began to showcase his words rather than the story, the probability of rejection is high. Another nit for me is redundancy; this is a matter of using the same or similar word in close proximity. It is also a reason for rejection.
I recommend two books to my clients or fledgling writers. This is one of them.
Victoria Tarrani
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've read a few books on the craft of writing; most recently "Crafting Scenes" by Raymond Someone or another, Nancy Kress's "Beginnings Middles & Ends", of course, and the excellent Stephen King's "On Writing", .. but this is the most useful (sorry Mr King).
The premise is that Agents and Publishers have so many manuscripts sent to them, the only way to get through them is to sift through the first five pages looking for reasons to reject. This book tells you what those reasons are, and how to avoid them. Follow the advice given, and theoretically at least, your manuscript should stand a much better chance at publication.
The book is carefully laid out. It deals with the most heinous of crimes first and covers more subtle problems in later chapters. Most chapters are fairly short, and each has a handful of examples to illustrate the point being made followed by a few short exercises.
I buy a lot of books from Amazon - always second hand - and then I sell them again once read. To me Amazon is the world's largest lending library. But "the first five pages" is a one to keep hold of. I can see myself coming back to it again and again.
The premise is that Agents and Publishers have so many manuscripts sent to them, the only way to get through them is to sift through the first five pages looking for reasons to reject. This book tells you what those reasons are, and how to avoid them. Follow the advice given, and theoretically at least, your manuscript should stand a much better chance at publication.
The book is carefully laid out. It deals with the most heinous of crimes first and covers more subtle problems in later chapters. Most chapters are fairly short, and each has a handful of examples to illustrate the point being made followed by a few short exercises.
I buy a lot of books from Amazon - always second hand - and then I sell them again once read. To me Amazon is the world's largest lending library. But "the first five pages" is a one to keep hold of. I can see myself coming back to it again and again.
36 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book about how not to write. It shows you how to avoid bad dialogue, weak characterisation, poor pacing, and various other forms of amateurishness. As such it will help awful writers become slightly less awful. But if you can write and want to find out how to get published, there are more appropriate books out there.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The first five pages
This book is okay but it is far too expensive. I find that the cheaper books have exactly the same content.
Published on 20 Dec 2009 by Mrs. J. Bailey
Valuable Advice
The premise of this book is that any agent can tell whether a manuscript is worth reading on the basis of what they see in the first five pages, although in a less generous moment... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2009 by spikethecat limited
Writing in layers
I am a writer and I've read this book twice. I found it extremely useful for editing and re-writing as it looks at writing in layers. Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by Mrs. R. Styles
A Frequently Recommended Book
I have never written a book for publication. Well - that is not quite true. I wrote one once long ago that was immature and frankly boring, and was rightly rejected once and I... Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2009 by Sir Furboy
The First Five Pages
If you want to get your novel published you need to read this book. Written by literary agent, Noah Lukeman, it explains why so many manuscripts fail to make it past the slush... Read more
Published on 11 July 2009 by Mandy James
A mistake to read this if you want to write.
This book is enough to put any budding writer off and knock out their confidence. It's a book you must be careful with because it is about how writing goes wrong, not how it goes... Read more
Published on 28 April 2009 by Mr. J. Carr
A huge help
I just finished reading this book and i can safely say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this will help any writer improve his or her writing with time and patience. Read more
Published on 15 April 2005 by "fablethorn"
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