The First 50 Pages: Engage Agents, Editors and Readers, and Set Your Novel Up For Success

by Jeff Gerke

Seeking writing success? Start at the beginning...

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.

As a writer, what you do in your opening pages, and how you do it, is a matter that cannot be left to chance. The First 50 Pages is here to help you craft a strong beginning right from the start. You’ll learn how

   • introduce your main character
   • establish your story world
   • set up the plot’s conflict
   • begin your hero’s inner journey
   • write an amazing opening line and terrific first page
   • and more
This helpful guide walks you through the tasks your first 50 pages must accomplish in order to avoid leaving readers disoriented, frustrated, or bored. Don’t let your reader put your book down before ever seeing its beauty. Let The First 50 Pages show you how to begin your novel with the skill and intentionality that will land you a book deal, and keep readers’ eyes glued to the page.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Literature, Reference, Crafts, How To

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Jayna Baas]

This book was really helpful in some ways, and really not in others. As an independent author, I approached it more in terms of reader expectations than in terms of publishing agent requirements. I would have liked a little more explanation of various points instead of so much reliance on examples from the film world, but the book did help me think through a lot of story elements, and it gives an excellent overview of three-act plot structure. I read it as I was developing new story arcs for a new protagonist, and this book was extremely helpful as I sorted through all of that.

However. There are a few serious caveats I’d like to make. So here we go.

One, Gerke says omniscient POV and head-hopping are the same thing. I’m sorry, but they’re not. I could go into detail, but editor Ellen Brock says it much better in this article. I stress this because misunderstanding omniscient POV lets writers claim they’re using it when really they’re just head-hopping.

Two, Gerke says starting your book in medias res means starting with the main action and then backing up, as in movies that start with a bang and then switch to “Three Months Earlier” and lead back up to the climactic moment. Again, I’m sorry, but that is not in medias res. This Latin phrase simply means opening your book in the middle of action—a technique Gerke instead refers to as hero action. Essentially, in medias res can be any action. Not the climactic action followed by a jump back in time. I stress this because a lot of writing advice tells writers to start in medias res, and trouble will ensue if writers think that means what Gerke says it means.

Three, Gerke tends to get pretty dogmatic about some of his own opinions (his third edition of The Art and Craft Of Writing Christian Fiction openly admits this), and some of those opinions appear to be built on extreme cases (e.g., straw man arguments). He cites writers who switch POV characters and locations seventeen times in the opening chapters, then emphatically states that writers should not switch POV characters for at least the first forty pages, give or take a few. I understand his point; I really do. Readers need time to lock in with the hero and understand why they should care what happens to this person. But there’s a big difference between seventeen POV changes and, for instance, two. Gerke’s “fix” for a dual-protagonist novel involved sticking with one protagonist for the first forty pages, then jumping back in time to see the same events with the second protagonist. That would drive me crazy as a reader. I agree, rapid and injudicious switching is jarring. But I could cite so many good books that don’t follow Gerke’s “rule”—and would be jarring if they did. Similarly, I agree that “colorful” speaker tags can be distracting and far overused (especially when they’re essentially a repetition of the dialogue itself) but I don’t agree that anything other than said and asked is lazy writing. If it is, someone ought to notify The Chicago Manual of Style and countless bestselling authors. I find it mildly ironic that Gerke pokes fun at other editors and agents who are dogmatic about, say, prologues. I also find it mildly ironic that I sound rather dogmatic about Gerke being dogmatic.

So who am I to tell Jeff Gerke he’s wrong? Well, nobody, really. Except that I’ve seen a lot of good books, a lot of lousy books, and a lot of advice from a lot of people, and there’s disagreement here with what I’ve come to accept as standard. Take it for what you will.

Whew! It now sounds as if I don’t like this book at all. Actually, I recommend it. It has some great advice and warnings on what to do and what not to do. Just take it with a grain of salt and compare it with other advice. Gerke really covers a lot of in-depth material at a very fast clip, and I love how he uses questions to make you think about your characters and plotlines. That, to me, is the strength of this book: it makes you think. His advice may work better for some genres than others, but I think all writers can benefit in some way. So, with the above caveats, I recommend checking it out for yourself.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good guide for those setting out to tell "cinematic" 3-act stories that are commercially viable. It's more concerned with storytelling than actual writing--the author uses examples of film more than novels--and could be just as useful to an aspiring screenwriter. While I don't agree that books should be utterly filmic--the medium of the novel allows the writer to plumb the internal lives of characters in ways a screen can never capture--visualizing scenes to avoid too much telling can be a helpful exercise. I liked the way character motivation was broken down and learned a few new techniques, but on the whole I'd seen most of this before (to be fair, I've read a lot of these guides). I'd recommend this to writers of commercial fiction who are starting to think about agents/publishers, but for more advanced techniques and tips for bridging literary and commercial fiction, I'd recommend The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd writing book I’ve read by Jeff Gerke, and if he has more, I’m sure I will read them. I enjoy Gerke’s ability to deliver his information in a casual, easy manner that feels as though I am reading a letter from an old friend and not an instruction manual.

The essentials of the first 50 pages of your book, what’s needed and not needed, are outlined here and backed up with literary and film examples. Sprinkled with a little humor, Gerke categorizes, details and explains the writing devices that will not only capture and hold a reader’s attention, but also what publishing agents and editors are looking for when they read your submission.

The book has given me much food for thought. In fact, each time I sat down to read, it incited so many ideas about my current work-in-progress, I couldn’t read more than a chapter or two at a time because I was inspired to take the information Gerke imparted and get writing.

The First 50 Pages is one of those books that as I continue to write through the years, I’m sure I will return to for inspiration and guidance, over and over again.

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginnings are arguably the most difficult part of any story. We have to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. No wonder some of us are driven to drink! Fortunately, Gerke has done us all a good turn by applying his many years of editorial experience to boiling down the demands of the first fifty pages into a straightforward and manageable checklist. Although I disagree with some of his conclusions, all in all, this book couldn't be more spot-on. It offers help for everything from the opening line to the opening chapter to the introduction of important characters to the foundation of the protagonist's arc. If you're starting a book, read this one first.

[Spook · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book didn’t focus so much on the first 50 pages, as on the steps to take before you start writing them. For me at least, not much was new, and what was I didn’t agree with—on POV and dual timelines, for instance.

[Cassie 'The Thinker Go Go Go Go' Mis. Roben Goodfellow'\Isabelle Lightwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will do review later.

[Bria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does a great job listing the main things that annoy any reader, like show don’t tell, but doesn’t really offer anything new

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5♥s Jeff Gerke begins the first 50 pages of The First 50 Pages with a review of the submissions process. Then he moves on to the meat of the book, which is "What Your First Fifty Pages Must Accomplish." I found this section engaging, easy to read, and inspiring. My highlighter flashed across the pages. My pencil filled notebook sheet after sheet with ideas sparked by Gerke's lessons. Do I agree with every tiny point in The First 50 Pages? No. Did I make a tremendous amount of progress on my WIP because of this book? Yes!

I've read Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go and The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, and this book tops them both by a long shot.

I highly recommend I also highly recommend Gerke's .

Happy reading and writing!

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardest part of reading this book was reading that I can't start a book with a dream sequence or with someone getting out of a car or with a long winded introduction in which I explain everything the reader could possibly need to know in order to understand my story. In short every Idea I had for the opening of my novel is now off the table.

Don't misunderstand me this not a book of do not's it has plenty of do's. In fact Jeff Gerke is very encouraging. He never actually says that the world will end if a novel opens in one of those ways, it just won't get read. He provides many alternate ways to begin a novel and he suggests trying several. But still, I suddenly like the idea of having my main character dream about getting out of a car while he monologues about his life up to this point. It could work. . . right?

Don't get this book if you were looking for an easy fix for the beginning of your new novel. He will make you think. In fact it might be better to read this before you finish your manuscript because after all of that thinking you will realize that you have go back rewrite the entire thing so that it will be nearly as good as the first fifty pages that you've just created after thinking so hard about them.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely helpful. I read this at a point in my revision process when I knew my manuscript needed a new beginning and I didn't want to waste any time doing it wrong. Again. Even though it focuses on the first 50 pages, the advice given is certainly not so limited in its scope. Now, however, I feel like I'm ruined when it comes to reading sub par openings. I will never look at first sentences the same way again.

[Jes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seem to consume these books faster than any others. This book has given me a lot to think about in terms of my WIP, and I can't wait to get another one of Jeff's books, Plot Versus Character, to see what insights it has for the development of my protagonist. Now, I think I might just go back and read this again, a little more slowly!

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been the best 'how-to' on writing book I've read so far--very comprehensible. I think (and hope) this one will help me a lot. Definitely a practical book that delivers its suggestions with clarity.

[Zora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good advice in the six things not to do, great for the beginning writer. Then it falls apart... like a novel with a good first 50 pages that collapses after a strong opening.

[Patricia Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book on writing by far. Many books on writing are excellent, but a little boring and hard to get through. Not this one. It's excellent in content and fun to read.

[Snaps · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're trying to traditionally publish, then I completely recommend this book.

I finished off two sticky tab catridges with this book, finding something I needed to remember on each page.

Written by someone who was once in the publishing business himself, Jeff Gerke's 'The First 50 Pages' offers writers everything we need to know. Whether that's what gets people rejected, or even accepted, this book is full of tips on every page.

What's more, it's written from a Christian perspective, so the examples are clean.

Recommend to anyone who writes // wants to publish traditionally // wants to publish in general // all the writers.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice on the first fifty pages of a novel! Sometimes Jeff Gerke seemed a little too amused by his own shticks, and it definitely could have been trimmed down, but it was solid overall.

[Erin Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is titled "The First 50 Pages," it really is about perfecting the entirety of your book, using the tools to get you noticed by an agent in the first 50 pages. What I admired most about the book were the straightforward examples. Many 'how-to-writing' books have too much fluff in them, and the examples, if any, are not clearly stated, weighted down with off-tangent personal experiences, or say what we already know.

Jeff Gerke uses techniques, such as "Can the camera see it?" in his explanation of telling vs. showing. He also provides practical comparisons with passages that clearly point out weaknesses in the writing, and then presents a better way of writing that same passage. When choosing movies or books as examples, again, he finds modern stories that most of us have seen, not some obscure author, though talented they might have been, in the 1970’s that writers today would be unfamiliar with, and therefore not able to make the point.

I also found the headings, content, and flow per chapter relevant and valuable to the subject. Many writers might know the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of backstory, character development, etc., but Gerke takes it a step further and does a good job of presenting material in a new light, offering a fresh perspective that explains how to unfold the story, work the character, and piece the plot.

Whether you are on your fist book or seventh, I would still recommend this book to every writer.

[Michelle Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed my life.

Gerke spends the first section of the book discussing how difficult it is to publish fiction. Honest to Pete, by page 13 I was ready to give up the dream. However, in true military fashion, he tears you down only to turn around and build you back up again. With explicit directions and multiple, clear examples, he shows you how to build a foundation on which your story can stand. At the same time, he discusses how to keep your novel from being too formulaic, if you're concerned about following a prescribed pattern (as I was).

He discusses so many "rules" (he calls them "tools") that in the past I have had a difficult time understanding: for example, why current publishing shies away from omniscient 3rd person point of view, or why my critique partners caution me to avoid flashbacks, when to start a book "en medias res" and when not to, and what to do when your story doesn't have a "villain" or when your main character doesn't have a "character arc."

There is a lot to do in the first fifty pages. They are the hardest pages for most writers. This book is going to make those first 50 pages a whole lot easier. (Though not completely easy, because writing is hard, yo!)

[Gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book did include a lot of helpful information, it could have been much more concise.

If you have trouble writing beginnings like me, this is definitely a good book to pick up. Seems like it was all information I already knew, but having it there in front of me, all in one place, where I could take notes and begin to fit my own story in there, that was great.

I wasn't too fond of how the book was written. It seemed to repeat itself and use example after example where one would have done. And there were bits of advice I didn't agree with, but there always is, isn't there?

Overall, the book gave me a lot of tools I needed to get to work on figuring out how the hell to get my damn book's beginning right.

[A.M. Bochnak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn with this book. It does offer some great advice, but I struggle with how "right" is this author. As I think about the type of books and stories I want to tell, they are not cookie cutter, formulaic stories. As I consider my favorite books, hugely successful books, they do not follow most of the rules outlined in this book. So I ask myself, do I want to be cookie cutter, or do I want my work to stand out and grab my reader? Do I want to be remembered or easily forgotten. Now some of that will definitely happen by doing some of what this author has suggested. But I don't think we all have be this limiting on ourselves and our art form.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between the dorky jokes, Gerke, successfully sells his thesis of how important set-up is in a novel.

Gerke covers: character, setting, first lines and initial suspense building - something that stood out from other 'writers on writing' is that Gerke goes to the effort of explaining how to follow the advise he espouses. For example rather than just saying "your character needs to be sympathetic" we are provided with methods of achieving this.

In short, a must read for those struggling through the writing process.

[Arlene Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth every penny I paid for this book. I learned so many helpful tips, tricks, and tactics. Recommended for writers, novices or professionals.

[Grae · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man, this... Look, it's not a bad book, okay? It's fine. But it's also just like, a bunch of information you can get from spending an hour watching youtube videos. The guy spends a LOT of time giving you a LOT of examples and nearly all of them are movies or books that have been adapted into movies. Just about the only time this author isn't telling you about whatever movies he's applying his *novel writing* advice to and talking about actual novels to prove he reads, he's talking about, wait for it, his own books. And the thing is, I'm not... writing... screenplays. I'm not reading this to learn about movies. I want to learn about novel writing, and a million references to movies I've never seen and will probably get shit for never having seen because I HAVE heard of them and they're certainly popular doesn't really feel like an appropriate range of examples for a book about writing books. I'd hoped to learn something new from this, but the only new information I got was a whole lot of information about movies I don't care about. The few times it isn't movies or his own novels, it's TV shows. I got excited when he started talking about a book character and DIDN'T immediately list who played the character on the screen, but it was yet another book that had been adapted into a movie. I genuinely have no indication that this author has read any books except for his own, and it became difficult to push through this book as a result.

[Marian Rakestraw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's something funny - it took me about 50 pages to settle in to this book.
Jeff Gerke does a nice job covering a variety of subjects that authors should think about when building the beginning of a novel: mistakes to avoid, how to engage readers, how to establish normalcy and start the journey, the importance of establishing the stakes, and how to write a good first page. Because these topics are intertwined and often occur simultaneously in a novel, he spends a great deal of time re-covering the same ground, or pausing to tell the reader that whatever he is talking about is actually covered elsewhere in the book.
Gerke gives lots of examples to illustrate his advice, and something that I found odd is that he most often uses movies. In a book on writing, I would have thought examples from actual books would be better. Furthermore, the movies he chooses are sometimes obscure, or at least not terribly successful. Examples include Sneakers, Megamind, and Enemy at the Gates, and Sky High. I happen to like Sneakers, but it isn't exactly in heavy rerun rotation.
Overall, this book has some good advice to give. Most of it, I already knew. I can see the advantage of having it all in one place, and might go back and refer to this text when editing the first 50 pages of a novel.

[Ronel Janse van Vuuren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers everything you need to do – and everything you should avoid – in the first fifty pages of your novel. From point of view to theme to world building, this book talks about it all.

Honestly, the first half of the book is everything you should already know if you’ve been writing for a while, but it is absolutely necessary for new novelists to read it, study it and apply it.

The second half of the book is a reminder of everything you already know, but sometimes forget to apply. It covers how to do multiple POV correctly, how to write an opening page that captures the reader’s imagination and how to introduce your antagonist in just the right way.

The movie references – especially the ones I have no intention of watching – did confuse me at times, but I got the gist. The references to movies that I’ve watched (like Titanic and Mulan) were illuminating to plot, character and what great openings to stories can accomplish.

A must-have if you want to nail your novel’s opening.

[Bryn Grover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this. I felt like there was good information. But a lot of it was repetitive and nothing you can't read about a lot faster in online forums, listening to a couple writing podcasts, or viewing youtube videos on the subject.

The focus (based on title) is the first 50 pages/ Frankly, I wasn't hooked to the book in 50 pages. It took me a long time to read, Granted I am a slow reader anyway and tend to have so many books going at once, the less captivating ones take longer to pick back up and push through.

The author spends most of his time giving you examples from movies. So it feels like he's basing his novel writing advice on the his experiences in theaters or watching or television shows he liked. This feels like it is geared more towards a script writer for Hollywood or New York, movies or television, than it is for a nascent novel writer.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a lot of what Gerke explains in this book will seem like a no-brainer for many, he has to do it, because these things are not no-brainers to everyone. And even some of the things he mentions (that I already knew) caused me to think about those aspects of writing a novel in a more pointed and focused manner. Gerke engages the reader from page one, and he manages to keep our attention because his writing style is not dry, even in a book like this. So, I would recommend it to anyone who is not already published and happily on his or her way to a writer's life of bliss and income.

[J.H. Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great book. It can be a little discouraging in the beginning, reading about all the stuff that can get your book auto-rejected, but it quickly becomes motivating and inspiring once the author gets to part 2. I pulled out a notebook and began jotting down ideas for my own books, and will probably keep it on my writing desk as a permanent reference book. Highly recommended for writers.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really makes you think. Some of it was (and should be) repetitive if you've taken any kind of writing class, but I liked going over it in the context of my current novel. While I didn't agree with everything, it made me think about why/how I didn't agree with it so that I could really strengthen the element. This book made me realize my novel edit needed to be a full rewrite, and I'm very excited to get started!

[Mercy-Hephzibah Ndifon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like I just went through a creative writing masterclass. Jeff delivered on every major question I had when I read the title of this book.

I love his writing style. This craft book was so engaging I finished it in two days because when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking of going back to it.

I took so many notes. I like the flexibility he provides and the suggestions to ditch his advice but carefully consider them first. It was worth my time. And my attention.