First Pages of Best Sellers: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why

The First Page of Your Novel Must Be Perfect!

Most authors know that the first pages of a novel are the most crucial and carry the weightiest burden in their entire book. The opening scene must convey so many things that often the author will have to rewrite it numerous times to get it right.

But the first page is especially crucial to get right.

Why?

Because if readers don’t get engaged in the story right away, they’ll stop reading.

That puts a tremendous burden on writers to bring their best effort to the table.

And, truth be told, a novel’s first page is indicative of all the pages to follow. So it behooves writers to learn how to master the techniques needed to craft terrific first pages.

Using a first-page checklist, Lakin examines two dozen first pages of best-selling novels, detailing what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Here are some of the issues and topics explored in this deep dive:

  • Narrative that is excessive or “telling” instead of showing
  • Opening paragraphs that fail to grab readers due to lack of intriguing action or flat characters
  • Writing that grabs and writing that bores
  • How much detail is too much or too little
  • Finding the perfect balance when world building
  • Ways to evoke emotion quickly in readers to get them to care about your story
  • To prologue or not to prologue
  • Consideration of first pages of novels in a series and what that requires
  • Understanding how genre is the key to every great first page
  • The pitfalls of backstory

Yes, you can craft a perfect first page—one that immerses your readers into your story and characters without delay. The insights you gain from studying these first-page analyses will serve you well with every page you write.

Buy The eBook

$7.99

Buy The Book

Paperback Apple iBooks

Reviews

“If you are a writer who is looking to improve the opening page of your work (and if you aren’t, you should be) then this is an amazing book to buy, and I mean buy it ASAP! Lakin is excellent at explaining important concepts in easy-to-understand language. She breaks down the first pages of 24 published works and applies the same set of questions to each one, then goes into detail about why it works and what could have been done better. Don’t stay on the fence about buying this book. It’s worth every penny and if you study it, and I mean really study it, you will never write another boring first page ever again.”
— Arktiem
“This book immediately moved into concrete examples. No wandering around in irrelevant details that sometimes span chapters. Critiquing mostly high-quality writing was very effective, especially with the consistent format of the checklist. About halfway through I started picking up on some of what her analysis found. It’s caused me to see my own writing with fresh eyes. Highly recommend.”
— Mary Clemons
“When reading C.S. Lakin’s tips and examples on how to create the perfect first page to start a book, it gave me great insight and ideas for my own story. She includes advice and samples for different types of genres. I outlined and wrote a good chunk of my own book, but wasn’t happy with how it started, but thanks to her book, I completely rewrote the start of my novel and feel I have a great foundation to my story.”
— Paul F.

The Writer’s Toolbox Series

Get your Free Ebook!

Subscribe to my email blasts to level up your writing and be notified of upcoming events and offers!