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Your Strongest Start:
How to Hook an Agent—Or Any Reader—With Your Opening Pages

What does it take to capture readers’ attention when they pick up your book? What do agents look for as they wade through the slush pile?

Your opening pages are arguably the most important part of your novel. If they don’t shine, readers will never make it to the satisfying ending, or all the thrills in between. When you submit to agents, a strong start is what makes the difference between a “tell me more” and a “no thanks.” This class will teach you to recognize the strengths in your work and develop the areas that need attention.

Audience:

This class is for writers who have a completed manuscript and are preparing to submit it to agents, or for those who are in the early stages of their novel and want to start with a strong framework (note, however, that in all cases the opening pages need to be proofread and reasonably polished). It is also useful for authors who plan to self-publish and want to make sure their opening chapters have what it takes to grab and hold reader interest. Participants will have a chance to comment on their classmates’ work and ask the instructor questions throughout the course. The instructor will give feedback on each submission, based on the topics covered that week.

Using the site’s “forum” and “content” tabs, you will be able to respond to your classmates’ work and receive their feedback on yours. You’ll also be able to start discussions or pose questions to your classmates and the instructor.

In this class, you will learn how to:

•    Strengthen the characters, setting, voice, and tension in your opening pages
•    Avoid common mistakes that make agents stop reading your manuscript
•    Identify the inciting incident in your story and gauge whether it is compelling enough
•    Polish your writing on the paragraph and sentence levels to improve fluency

By the end of the class, you will have:

•    Insider knowledge of the publishing industry—what agents and publishers want
•    The tools to look at your own opening chapters with fresh eyes
•    Experience giving meaningful critiques of others’ work
•    A detailed critique of your first 25 pages by a professional editor

Class Structure:

Week One
Introduction: What agents want

This lesson will focus on some essential Dos and Don’ts for hooking an agent with your sample chapters. The instructor will cover the following topics, based on her experience of reading thousands of slush pile submissions at a top literary agency:

•    An overview of the key elements of writing craft that your opening pages MUST contain
•    Proven ways to grab an agent’s attention and get a full manuscript request
•    Red flags and faux pas that make an agent stop reading

Homework:

(1) This week’s assignment will help ensure that your 5-page writing sample is ready for the class to read. Go back to your pages and ask yourself: What are the strengths of my opening pages and how can I play them up? Are there any red flags? Revise as needed.

Week Two
The Basics: Characters, setting, and voice

* Students post a writing sample (first 5 pages of a novel).

This week’s lesson zooms in on three of the elements that must be present in your opening pages. First, the main character(s) have to immediately grab the reader’s interest, either because they are likable, or at the very least, engaging. Second, you must establish the setting so that the reader feels physically grounded and can then concentrate on the events of the story itself. Third, the writing must have that most elusive of qualities: a strong voice. The lesson will focus on how to clarify and strengthen each of these elements and how to avoid the generic or the cliché.

Homework:

(1) Comment on at least two or three classmates’ writing samples, focusing on the three elements discussed in this week’s lesson. Questions to consider: What is your first impression of the protagonist? Did the author give physical grounding cues (where and when) at the beginning of the very first scene? Did the writing style convey a unique, fluent voice?

Week Three
Establishing the inciting incident and tension

Within the first few chapters of every great novel is an inciting incident—the event that will set in motion all subsequent action (the story arc). In this lesson, we will look at examples from successful novels. Then we will work on identifying your inciting incident and gauging whether it is “big” enough to ignite reader interest and fuel an entire story.

Once you have hooked your readers, the trick is of course to maintain their interest. For this, the writer’s number one tool is tension, and it should be present from the very first page. We will look at examples of how to create tension, and also at common pitfalls that are sure to make tension levels plummet; for example: too much backstory or setup information, an imbalance of telling versus showing, or too much musing or psychoanalysis by the characters.

Homework:

(1) Identify the inciting incident in your story and post a brief description of it, including the following information: on which page does it occur? How does it spark the events of the rest of the novel?

(2) Next, comment on several of your classmates’ posts. Does his or her inciting incident sound compelling and believable? Would it make you want to read the novel (assuming you were a reader of that genre)?

(3) Now take a second look at your classmates’ sample pages. What have they done to create tension and hold the reader’s interest? Were there areas of lengthy backstory or description that might slow the story down? Were there spots where you noticed your attention wandering or thought, “Why is the narrator/character telling me this?” Post a comment on several classmates’ work.

Week Four
The Nitty Gritty: Polishing your writing on the paragraph and sentence level

One of the top reasons an agent or general reader puts down a manuscript is that “the writing just doesn’t flow.” But what does that mean? This week’s lesson will look at the mechanics of good prose, focusing on the most common errors the instructor has encountered during her work in the publishing industry (wordiness, redundancy, incorrect register, and more), with tips on identifying and fixing them.

The lesson will close with some advice for your next steps:

•    How to apply the principles you’ve learned to the rest of your manuscript
•    Resources to help you continue to improve your craft

Homework:

(1) Go back to the sample pages you posted. Do you see any problems covered in this week’s lesson? Choose an example or two and show how you would improve the sentence or paragraph.

(2) Students will have the opportunity to submit their first 25 pages to the instructor (via email) within one week of the end date of the class. The instructor will respond within two weeks of receiving the materials with a 2-3 page critique letter focusing on the main strengths, areas for improvement, and readiness for submission to agents.

We're pleased to announce our first writing class, which will be launching on January 19, 2015. The class, taught by editor and former agent Anita Mumm will focus on helping writers hone their opening chapters so that they appeal to agents, publishers, and readers. A full syllabus of the class is below.

The cost of the class is $250 with a 10% discount for TheNextBigWriter Premium Members. This is well below the costs of most writing classes of this calibre.

To register, Apply to Join the Strongest Start Writing Class Group. We will then send information to complete payment and class enrollment.

You can view Anita's profile here and ask her questions about the class.

http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/users/Anita+Mumm-11297

The Class page can be found here:

http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/group-s … e-class-43

Anita has capped the class size at 10, so if you are interested, don't miss out. Space is limited.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Your Strongest Start:
How to Hook an Agent—Or Any Reader—With Your Opening Pages

What does it take to capture readers’ attention when they pick up your book? What do agents look for as they wade through the slush pile?

Your opening pages are arguably the most important part of your novel. If they don’t shine, readers will never make it to the satisfying ending, or all the thrills in between. When you submit to agents, a strong start is what makes the difference between a “tell me more” and a “no thanks.” This class will teach you to recognize the strengths in your work and develop the areas that need attention.

Audience:

This class is for writers who have a completed manuscript and are preparing to submit it to agents, or for those who are in the early stages of their novel and want to start with a strong framework (note, however, that in all cases the opening pages need to be proofread and reasonably polished). It is also useful for authors who plan to self-publish and want to make sure their opening chapters have what it takes to grab and hold reader interest. Participants will have a chance to comment on their classmates’ work and ask the instructor questions throughout the course. The instructor will give feedback on each submission, based on the topics covered that week.

Using the site’s “forum” and “content” tabs, you will be able to respond to your classmates’ work and receive their feedback on yours. You’ll also be able to start discussions or pose questions to your classmates and the instructor.

In this class, you will learn how to:

•    Strengthen the characters, setting, voice, and tension in your opening pages
•    Avoid common mistakes that make agents stop reading your manuscript
•    Identify the inciting incident in your story and gauge whether it is compelling enough
•    Polish your writing on the paragraph and sentence levels to improve fluency

By the end of the class, you will have:

•    Insider knowledge of the publishing industry—what agents and publishers want
•    The tools to look at your own opening chapters with fresh eyes
•    Experience giving meaningful critiques of others’ work
•    A detailed critique of your first 25 pages by a professional editor

Class Structure:

Week One
Introduction: What agents want

This lesson will focus on some essential Dos and Don’ts for hooking an agent with your sample chapters. The instructor will cover the following topics, based on her experience of reading thousands of slush pile submissions at a top literary agency:

•    An overview of the key elements of writing craft that your opening pages MUST contain
•    Proven ways to grab an agent’s attention and get a full manuscript request
•    Red flags and faux pas that make an agent stop reading

Homework:

(1) This week’s assignment will help ensure that your 5-page writing sample is ready for the class to read. Go back to your pages and ask yourself: What are the strengths of my opening pages and how can I play them up? Are there any red flags? Revise as needed.

Week Two
The Basics: Characters, setting, and voice

* Students post a writing sample (first 5 pages of a novel).

This week’s lesson zooms in on three of the elements that must be present in your opening pages. First, the main character(s) have to immediately grab the reader’s interest, either because they are likable, or at the very least, engaging. Second, you must establish the setting so that the reader feels physically grounded and can then concentrate on the events of the story itself. Third, the writing must have that most elusive of qualities: a strong voice. The lesson will focus on how to clarify and strengthen each of these elements and how to avoid the generic or the cliché.

Homework:

(1) Comment on at least two or three classmates’ writing samples, focusing on the three elements discussed in this week’s lesson. Questions to consider: What is your first impression of the protagonist? Did the author give physical grounding cues (where and when) at the beginning of the very first scene? Did the writing style convey a unique, fluent voice?

Week Three
Establishing the inciting incident and tension

Within the first few chapters of every great novel is an inciting incident—the event that will set in motion all subsequent action (the story arc). In this lesson, we will look at examples from successful novels. Then we will work on identifying your inciting incident and gauging whether it is “big” enough to ignite reader interest and fuel an entire story.

Once you have hooked your readers, the trick is of course to maintain their interest. For this, the writer’s number one tool is tension, and it should be present from the very first page. We will look at examples of how to create tension, and also at common pitfalls that are sure to make tension levels plummet; for example: too much backstory or setup information, an imbalance of telling versus showing, or too much musing or psychoanalysis by the characters.

Homework:

(1) Identify the inciting incident in your story and post a brief description of it, including the following information: on which page does it occur? How does it spark the events of the rest of the novel?

(2) Next, comment on several of your classmates’ posts. Does his or her inciting incident sound compelling and believable? Would it make you want to read the novel (assuming you were a reader of that genre)?

(3) Now take a second look at your classmates’ sample pages. What have they done to create tension and hold the reader’s interest? Were there areas of lengthy backstory or description that might slow the story down? Were there spots where you noticed your attention wandering or thought, “Why is the narrator/character telling me this?” Post a comment on several classmates’ work.

Week Four
The Nitty Gritty: Polishing your writing on the paragraph and sentence level

One of the top reasons an agent or general reader puts down a manuscript is that “the writing just doesn’t flow.” But what does that mean? This week’s lesson will look at the mechanics of good prose, focusing on the most common errors the instructor has encountered during her work in the publishing industry (wordiness, redundancy, incorrect register, and more), with tips on identifying and fixing them.

The lesson will close with some advice for your next steps:

•    How to apply the principles you’ve learned to the rest of your manuscript
•    Resources to help you continue to improve your craft

Homework:

(1) Go back to the sample pages you posted. Do you see any problems covered in this week’s lesson? Choose an example or two and show how you would improve the sentence or paragraph.

(2) Students will have the opportunity to submit their first 25 pages to the instructor (via email) within one week of the end date of the class. The instructor will respond within two weeks of receiving the materials with a 2-3 page critique letter focusing on the main strengths, areas for improvement, and readiness for submission to agents.

I've published over ten books via the WorldMaker Media brand and have never chosen to go the KDP Select route, mainly because I have not wanted to eliminate iBooks, Nook, etc and go exclusive with Amazon. In fact, we do quite a few sales through those channels, sometimes even rivaling sales through Amazon.

I'm wondering about the experiences of others. Do you use KDP Select? I've read a few articles recently which indicate that Select is cutting the royalties earned via Amazon. Here's an interesting NY Times article about KDP Select.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/techn … .html?_r=0

Sol