The First Five Pages

I have to admit that the first chapter of The First Five Pages impressed me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was a pleasant read containing “insider” information. Every author wants to know how their work will be received by an agent or editor. The advice on what not to do from the viewpoint of an editor is a genius approach to a writer’s guide. Early on, Noah Lukeman stated that the purpose of the book was not to teach someone how to write (thereby encroaching on creativity), but to teach them how not to write. I admit I felt somewhat relieved.

The first chapter was a pleasure to read. The divisions of the chapter were perfect. Each point was delineated, making it a simple task to extract and follow the purpose of each paragraph. The subtle humor and easy manner kept me interested in what could otherwise be a very dry subject. The beginning quote (if that’s what it was, I’m not sure) stood out to me. Honestly, I was a bit outraged at the reasoning behind why an editor or agent should only be called at 4:30 PM, if at all. I hope it was a joke used to point out how difficult it is to get through to an editor/agent. Regardless, it stood out and made me think.

I suppose it was not the subject of the first chapter itself which initially grabbed my attention, but Lukeman’s introduction of the topic in the first paragraph. There was a sort of comedy in the fact that he was originally going to omit the subject of presentation from the book altogether, but then ended with putting it as the first chapter. He began by stating that the topic of his first chapter was “nearly offensive”. This strong, somewhat ironic statement made me regard Lukeman as what Stephen King would refer to as an honest writer. And I completely agree with Lukeman. In a book about what not to do as an author, it makes sense to begin with the first reasons an editor or agent would discard a manuscript. It would be the first errors to fix in order to get to the next round, or pile.

I breezed through Lukeman’s first five pages, which in his book would mean success; and I look forward to gleaning the instruction following the first chapter.