The First Twenty-Five: Getting the Start of Your Novel Ready

This seminar will meet via Zoom on Saturday, June 20 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Pages are due to instructor by June 6. 

Description:

For the purposes of landing agents, enticing publishers, and hooking readers, the first twenty-five pages of your novel are the most vital. They are the first impression a reader will have of what story they are in for and whether or not they are in good hands with the storyteller. In this workshop, authors will submit roughly the first twenty-five pages of their manuscript (up to 7000 words) to be read by the class and workshopped two weeks later. Each class will be limited to five students and the instructor, and each piece will get workshopped during the class, discussing the positives of each piece (what makes the class want to keep reading) and the places where the pieces still need work. Authors will ideally gain new perspectives on the many different ways one can start a novel, how to create a compelling perspective, start building a world, and draw in readers. 

About the Instructor:

Randall Klein worked in publishing for a decade, starting at the literary agency Trident Media Group, then as an editor, first within the Random House Publishing Group, then for Diversion Books, where he acquired and edited over one hundred books across all genres. He is also the author of the novel Little Disasters, published in May of 2018 by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. He has been teaching at Writer House for over six years.