• Written by a successful literary agent with an insider's knowledge of what agents are looking for
• Provides practical and methodical advice for developing the elements of good writing
• Clearly identifies symptoms of bad writing and common pitfalls to avoid
• Includes exercises at the end of every chapter to improve one's technique
• Covers fiction, non-fiction, and poetry

New to this Edition:

• More international audience

   
Whether you are a novice writer or a veteran who has already had your work published, rejection is often a frustrating reality. Literary agents and editors receive and reject hundreds of manuscripts each month. While it's the job of these publishing professionals to be discriminating, it's the job of the writer to produce a manuscript that immediately stands out among the vast competition. And those outstanding qualities, says New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, have to be apparent from the first five pages.
   
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out errors to be avoided, such as:
  
- A weak opening hook
- Overuse of adjectives and adverbs
- Flat or forced metaphors or similes
- Undeveloped characterizations and lifeless settings
- Uneven pacing and lack of progression
  
With exercises at the end of each chapter, this invaluable reference will allow novelists, journalists, poets, and screenwriters alike to improve their technique as they learn to eliminate even the most subtle mistakes that are cause for rejection. The First Five Pageswill help writers at every stage take their art to a higher - and more successful - level.