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Summary: Why I wrote this book
Review: As a literary agent, after reading more than 15,000 manuscripts in the last few years alone, I couldn't help but notice that many writers--from Texas to Vermont to Japan--fall prey to the exact same mistakes. It is frustrating for those of us who work in the publishing industry, because we would often like to be able to respond to writers personally, but simply are pressed for time. In THE FIRST FIVE PAGES, covering topics such as Viewpoint, Narration, Characterization, Setting, Pacing, Dialogue (5 chapters), and Progression, I set down the most common mistakes writers make--and how they might avoid them. It is a highly practical book, filled with examples and exercises and laced with inspirational quotes. I wrote it with the purpose of giving back to writers, and I sincerely hope it will be of help.
Rating: 
Summary: practical advice
Review: Perhaps I'm not really ready for this book yet, as I am only around 10,000 words into my first serious novel, however I bought this book because I am very interested in ship shaping up my manuscript for when I am ready to try and get published. I have to say that I thought this book gave practical, if not obvious advice. Perhaps I say that because the final chapters are more fresh in my mind, and these were more about what you were writing about. The chapters I am talking about are like "viewpoint", "hooks", etc. Such things I think I am already good at, however I guess it is wise to check for these things in the editing stage! The more helpful chapters for me were in part one and two. Part one just simply stressed the importance of having a nice, fresh manuscript with correct font, line spacing etc. then it went on about the way you write, such things as "style", "sound" and "adverbs", things that I'm not sure if I am doing, so when I go back to edit I will be looking out for these things. The second part was about dialogue. I found this helpful because sometimes I am not sure if I am using too much dialogue or not. "common place" speach, "imformative" and "hard to follow" were some of the issues raised. I have not done any of the exercises that are present at the end of the chapters, but they are there for those who like to do these kinds of things. My only gripe was reading through the examples. Some of the examples were rather dull. Maybe that was the point, but it would have been nice to have good writing as an example with the "bad" writing in it. It was just not the most readable thing, and I found myself skipping though them.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books for getting published
Review: I highly recommend this book for any writer who aspires to be published. Mr. Lukeman offers practical advice that will make a manuscript more saleable, but more than that, readable. He provides inside information on what agents/publishers look for when they initially look at a manuscript, and whether it will be tossed/rejected after the first five pages or if it will survive the cut. Mr. Lukeman has solutions and examples as well as exercises for improving manuscripts. A writer can't go wrong with Mr. Lukeman's advice.
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Summary: Excellent Guide to Keep You On Track
Review: I was very pleased with this book. It takes a no-nonsense approach to the writing concepts and skills most likely to prevent an editor from reading a manuscript. Topics are presented in order of importance (as determined by the author) and I think he's pretty much on target. The only complaint I have is that his examples of bad writing are so obviously bad that they're really not realistic examples at all. But if a writer objectively reviews his/her manuscript after reading and absorbing this book, he/she should be able to find all the problems Mr. Lukeman covers. Fixing them, however, is another story.
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Summary: Loved this!
Review: I absolutely love this book! Okay, I'm gushing...but I think every wannabe published writer needs to read this book BEFORE they spend hours and hours in trying to birth their first novel. This book doesn't teach readers how to write, but it does help them to understand the basic ground rules -- including pacing, showing versus telling, the importance of good dialogue, and characterization. This book will always have a spot on my bookshelf.
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Summary: The key is context
Review: The concept behind Noah Lukeman's "The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile" is that editors can reject most manuscripts within minutes (or even seconds) based on a few simple criteria. He uses these criteria as a guide to show you how you can spot the flaws in your own work and then go on to solve them.
The great thing is that this isn't just a guide to fixing surface flaws and using gimmicks to try to "sneak" your work past editors, which is what it sort of sounded like when I first heard of the book. Instead it uses those simple criteria as a way of organizing major, real issues. It delves into the idea that there's a very good reason why editors can dismiss most manuscripts out of hand--these criteria are used to note real problems that plague manuscripts and make them not worth the editor's time. Because of this, by going through the criteria and showing you how to apply these criteria in judging and repairing your own work, Lukeman is telling you how to make your manuscript better.
Lukeman approaches things in the order that he, as an editor, tends to look at and dismiss them by, suggesting that you do the exercises from the end of each section and chapter on your manuscript before proceeding to the next part. This means that with each successive pass through your manuscript, it should (in theory) last just a little longer through an editor's evaluation.
In each part Lukeman goes into a typical problem that will cause a manuscript to get quickly rejected by editors. He explains why it's a problem and how to fix it, gives examples, and then provides exercises to use on your own manuscript.
I can't agree with all of his suggestions, and this book makes for somewhat dry reading, but it's a great checklist to apply to your manuscript.
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Summary: A Book Filled With Practical Information and Insight
Review: As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to write a novel, and for the past few years I have been at work at trying to complete a manuscript. I have taken workshops, joined writing groups, and have devoted a great deal of my free time to this pursuit. If I am being honest, I now make sure that part of each day is devoted to writing or revising and try not to schedule anything else in this block of time, so my free time is not devoted to writing, I reserve time to write that would otherwise be free time and spend my free time figuring out what I'll be doing when I write.
When I first started looking for books to read about the writing process, Amazon would always recommend THE FIRST FIVE PAGES as a title I may be interested in purchasing. To some extent I avoided it. The author is a literary agent and I wanted to finish what I was writing first before thinking seriously about publication. Yes, I do hope to be published and yes, if I am ever published I hope to make money though I have enough friends who have been published to know the realities of the world of writing. I decided I should avoid reading anything by anyone in the business, read only classics about writing by people such as John Gardner, Brenda Uleand, or Anne Lamott, and spend my time writing. Well, I changed my lofty plans and read THE FIRST FIVE PAGES and found it very helpful.
The book is well written and practical. Its greatest strength is helping the writer know mistakes to avoid. It also tells what will help a reader and ultimately convince a publisher believe a work should be published. Lukeman presents actual problems and ways these problems can be avoided. Much of what he has to say is common sense, yet I found that many of the things he tells a writer to avoid were on the pages of my writing, and judging from the workshops I have participated in, the pages of other writers as well. Much of what Lukeman states in his book can be found elsewhere, but he states things in such a way that the reader will take notice and apply his suggestions to writing.
In the course of the past few years I have taking writing classes and seminars, all offered by published authors, and much of what they have said as far as advice is concerned can be found in this book which has given it a credibility in my eyes. I have also found the book helpful when I have a specific question. Lukeman's writes in a way that is both informative and easy to read. I found myself reading the entire work in a few sittings, but since that time have returned to the book to reread various portions. The chapters are concise and organized so it not only inspired me to write, but has become a reference tool as well. Now this is not to say that after reading this book I became a perfect writer, and since I have not sent a manuscript to be published, I cannot vouch that his suggestions will keep a work from being placed in the infamous rejection pile. Yet the book has helped me decide what I will include in my work and what will go in my own rejection pile.
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Summary: A Celebration and "How-to-Do" the Business of Editing -
Review: I have read lots of books about writing, the creative process, getting your thoughts on paper, etc. etc. etc. Editing is what this book addresses which will help countless writers whose work would otherwise face sure rejection.
The key question is this: Are you willing to read and apply Lukeman's suggestions?
We learn how to stay OFF the rejection pile even before you start to get into your story.
The focus is on the reader - the person who will engage with your words - rather than on the writer.
This book is to be read and used, and finally revisited as a beloved reference. New nuggets of gold will be discovered each time.
Each chapter gives solutions to the common problems outlined within. There are also examples to clarify exactly what Lukeman means, in case you didn't "get it" the first time through. The end of chapter exercises merge the creative process with the editorial process. It reinforces the idea that practicing well nets perfection.
It is clear that Lukeman respects and reveres good writing and good writers. He especially admires Dostoyevsky, Conrad and Melville. We learn in the Epilogue that these writers (and others) wrote in spite of extreme hardship and treacherous obstacles.
Lukeman is an excellent guide for all writers. Pick this one up and apply what you read. And write, write, write.
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Summary: A Great Book From An Important Perspective
Review: Noah Lukeman's book provides a look at writing from a very important perspective, and a number of important reminders for writers at any level. While most of us are fond of sayings like "when you start worrying about getting published, you might as well stop writing", the truth is there's no point in creating a story if it's not going to be shared. And who better to help show the most important things to watch out for than someone who spends his days rejecting manuscripts?
Perhaps the thing I like most about this book is that there are constant reminders that writing is an art form. Sometimes we forget that, sometimes we say what we've created is "good enough" when we've only half-revised it. Mr. Lukeman gives numerous little reminders that "good enough" is never, really good enough.
The greatest flaw in the story are the examples he gives for each of the flaws you need to watch for. The problem is that he makes the issue far too obvious. If he had spent the time to make a subtler example, it would have served much better in showing how to weed these items out of your own work.
Overall, The First Five Pages is an excellent work, and belongs on every writer's bookshelf.
Rating: 
Summary: If you write and have common sense, this book won't add much
Review: Noah Lukeman is a literary agent, and even MORE impressive is that he has been an agent for Pulitzer Prize winners. Well, no offense to those pulitzer prize winners out there, but I was an assistant literary agent and we have pulitzer prize winners submit work. This little mention in the writer's or agent's cover letter didn't send them to the top of our pile. Maybe 50 years ago, when prizes were harder to come by, we would be impressed, but some of the worst submissions were from such prize winners. That being said, the breadth, authority, scope, style and "quality" of publishable books is so vast that the pedestrian rules laid out by the author could all be xeroxed by any literate writing teacher or publishing professional or an avid reader for that matter on one page--but that unfortunately WOULD keep your one-page "cheat sheet" IN the rejection pile. Additionally, there's a big difference between staying out of the rejection pile and being published. Maybe on a first read, your book (particulary fiction) will generate enough interest to move your MS from the reject side of the desk to the "have a further look" part, but that's a long way from being published. However, the author does, in truth, albeit in a bit of a sneaky way, suggest he has some important tips, and was smart enough NOT to entitle his book "How to stay out of the rejection pile, have an agent/publisher fall in love with your book, and publish it." If you go for these rule-generated styled books, I suppose you can learn something--if you currently know pretty much nothing. But it's all mostly common sense that most anyone who flips through a popular fiction at the bookstore disinterestedly looking for a new "read" already knows. To whit, if a book opens with dinner and you get through to dessert and the family talks about Johnny's grades for 5 pages, odds are that you won't buy the book. If a meteor crashes through the ceiling and onto the dining table during the appetizer, well, that's a hook. This, like many books on writing that are basically reassemblages of previous books on writing are of the ilk which Vanya states about his intellectual professorial stepfather's writings in the great Checkov play:
UNCLE VANYA: "He writes about that which the educated already know and the ignorant have no use for." By the way, a great site to look at (and free) is "Opening Hooks," about 300 "rank-ordered" openings of books ranging from The Bible to Lolita. It's a whole lot of fun and FREE too.
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