Galiot Press offered a free review of a novel or memoir’s first page, so I signed up and enjoyed the experience. Here are some tips gleaned from two of three Wednesday evening one-hour sessions with Henriette Lazaridis. Start your book with immediacy. The author should make readers want to know more right away. Remove the non-essential. Readers need to get a general sense of the setting and the time and a sense of the “trouble.” What is the protagonist about to face? The cadence of the sentences should vary. (Best fix is to read out loud.) Introduce questions without confusing the reader. Keep one that is not answered, that will intrigue the reader and make him/her want to read more. The narrator should signal, “Come with me for this read. You won’t regret it.”
