You’ve poured your heart into a novel, typed “The End,” and now you’re ready to share your work with the world. But before you hit “send” on that query to your dream agent, there’s a critical step you must not skip: polishing the first five pages until they shine like a diamond.
Why? Because in a sea of submissions, agents don’t have the time—or need—to wait for your story to “get good.” The first five pages are your one shot to hook them. Nail those, and you’ve earned their attention (and maybe even a request). Flub them, and your manuscript likely gets a pass.
As a developmental editor, I am hell on the first few pages of any client work I edit. I strive to help every author create an attention catching opening, that answers the who, what, when, where's, and why's. But still make the opening interesting enough to hook readers.
Here’s how to make sure those first five pages are strong enough to open doors.
1. Open with Purpose
Many writers think they need to start with a bang—explosions, murders, or dramatic dialogue. But what agents really want is clarity. They want to know:
Who is the protagonist?
What’s at stake?
Why should I care?
That doesn’t mean giving everything away up front, but it does mean grounding the reader in your story. Don’t confuse mystery with vagueness. If your first page has no clear setting, no named characters, and a disembodied voice in a storm—agents may stop reading.
Tip: Choose a scene that introduces the protagonist in motion, facing a small conflict that hints at the larger one to come. Avoid starting with backstory or worldbuilding
2. Voice is Everything
Agents aren’t just reading to assess plot—they’re listening for voice. Your narrative tone, word choice, rhythm, and attitude all contribute to a unique voice that makes your story stand out.
Is your narrator sharp and witty? Stoic and poetic? Sassy and irreverent? Whatever it is, make it consistent and confident.
Tip: Read your first five pages aloud. Do they sound like you (or your character)? If it feels flat or generic, revise to inject more personality.
3. Trim the Fat
You’ve heard it before: cut the fluff. But when we’re close to our writing, it’s hard to see which parts are unnecessary. Here’s a quick list of what agents often flag in opening pages:
Overuse of adverbs and adjectives
Descriptions that go on too long
Dialogue that doesn’t move the plot or reveal character
Unnecessary internal monologue
Flashbacks before we’re invested
Every word on those pages should earn its place.
Tip: Highlight every sentence that doesn’t either reveal character, move the plot, or create tension. Then cut or revise them. (This is also a great tip for self editing your whole book. If the words on the page don't move the plot forward, take your editing knife and cut, cut, cut baby.)
4. Tension is Your Best Friend
No tension? No interest. This doesn’t mean someone has to die or scream or run from a monster in the first paragraph. Tension can be quiet—unspoken fears, secrets, awkward silences, or a character on the verge of a decision.
Ask yourself: what question am I planting in the reader’s mind? The best first pages make the reader desperate to know what happens next.
Tip: End the fifth page on a mini cliffhanger—a decision, a discovery, a twist, or even a strong emotional beat that hints at deeper conflict.
5. Professional Polish
Before you send anything out, make sure your pages are clean. Typos, grammar errors, inconsistent formatting—these are distractions that can make an agent move on, even if your story is strong.
Tip: Run it through grammar software (like ProWritingAid or Grammarly), but don’t rely solely on AI. Print it out, read it backward, read it aloud, and—if possible—get a critique partner’s eyes on it.
6. The “Agent Test” Read
Finally, pretend you’re an agent. You have 200 queries in your inbox. You’re looking for a reason to say no—because you only have time to request a few fulls. Read your first five pages with that ruthless mindset.
Does the opening make you want to turn the page?
Do you clearly understand the protagonist and their world?
Is something exciting is about to unfold?
If not, keep revising. Your story deserves the best chance.
Final Thoughts
Writing a novel is a huge accomplishment, but submitting it takes courage and strategy. Agents aren’t your enemies—they’re readers looking for something great. By focusing on the first five pages, you’re giving them a compelling reason to say, “Yes, send me more.”
Polish with intention, lead with clarity, and let your voice shine.
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to perfecting your opening pages? Have you ever rewritten your beginning after finishing your manuscript? Share your experiences in the comments below!
About Jenn Windrow
Jenn Windrow once attempted to write a “normal” book—and promptly bored herself into a coma. So now she sticks to what she does best: writing snarky, kickass heroines, broody supernatural men, and more sexual tension than a vampire in a blood bank.
She’s the award-winning author of the Alexis Black novels and the Redeeming Cupid series, where the undead never sparkle and the drama is always delicious. Jenn moonlights as a developmental editor, helping other writers wrangle their wild plots and tangle-free prose.
When not arguing with her characters or muttering about Oxford commas, she can be found binge-watching trash TV, wrangling the slew of animals that live in her house (husband and teenagers included), or telling herself she’ll only have one more cookie.
You can find her at jennwindrow.com or lurking on social media where she pretends to be an extrovert.
This has been a year of big overhaul for my author website, how I sell my books, and how I interact with my audience. In this post, I will explain the email service I decided to use to interact with my readers. Sendfox is a part of the AppSumo group of website software that manages large email lists, sending and analytics. It was not one that I had heard of in my previous work with author websites, but I am thrilled to share my success with it so far.
In the past, I’ve used many of the popular services commonly used by authors: Mailchimp, Mailerlite, and Newsletter. When Newsletter was no longer an option for me, because it works with WordPress websites, I looked around for new options.
The Search for a New Email Service
One obvious choice was Mailerlite because it was the service I had used for several years. It did a great job of reliably sending email and tracking how my audience interacted with my emails. It also offered automations which is key to running an author online business smoothly.
Mailerlite
Mailerlite has a good pricing option for author beginning their email lists. On their main website page, they have a nice sliding tool to show what their monthly costs would be for each tier of subscribers. When I started out with under 500 subscribers, it made sense as a low-cost service, which at that time was free. But happily, my email list had grown over the years. Unfortunately, that means my costs have also grown.
Today, according to the Mailerlite pricing plans, the cost for up to 1000 subscribers ranges from free to $18. When I slide to 3000 (my current email list) the options get complicated. The cost for maintaining a list under 2500 ranges between $22.50 and $36.00 per month. But I have more people on my list that I want to interact with, and I want to grow that list to a bigger audience.
I would now have to pay between $35 and $45 per month. If I continue to grow to 8000 subscribers on an email list, it would cost me $53 to $72 dollars a month. The growth could arguable off set that monthly cost, but it is risky. Although there are certain costs you just can’t escape if you want a working, thriving author business, this level of cost is one I wanted to keep low. So, I looked around.
Convert Kit
Other email service companies are priced in similar ranges for monthly costs, which is usually billed at a yearly rate. I checked out Convert Kit, and a version of Mailerlite that would incorporate my website and book sales, but both were more complex (and more expensive) than I needed as a solo proprietor. The value of their hearty systems of tools would be lost on me, as I didn’t need any team options and the features I found in cheaper companies closer fit my needs.
I asked my author friends what they suggested and I didn’t find any good solutions for my email list size. One suggested that I check out email services in AppSumo, and I compared a few listed there. AppSumo has many solutions for websites, and I do recommend looking around on their site if you are rebuilding your store. There may be less expensive options than the known standards. This is where I found Sendfox.
Taking a Leap with Sendfox
I’m a little leery of the unknown and did a deep dive on this service. They were offering a lifetime subscription for all of their tiers. They had all of the options I was used to with Mailerlite and Newsletter, but I wanted to know how long they have been in service, how reliable they were, and whether their features, and interface would be adequate for my needs.
Ultimately, after my review I decided, despite the risks of going with a lesser-known brand of email service, to buy the life license for up to 25000 subscribers. At worst, even if I happened to hate it, the cost for me to figure that out was around 5 months of the other services. I took a leap and uploaded my subscribers.
Adding my Subscriber List
Common Labels for Subscriber emails
This was a great time to cull my list of some of the dead weight all email lists get. Here are the lists most services track:
Engaged subscribers (typically broken into lists that track who opens your email and who clicks on your CTAs)
Confirmed subscribers (They opted in – or double opted in as
Bounced emails (the email isn’t right for some reason and not deliverable)
Unsubscribed (no longer want to receive emails for various reasons)
Complaints (avoid these at all costs, but they happen)
Keeping these emails is helpful and most services have some export function. I will regularly download my latest list to keep this data safe. It is a lifeline in this type of business. Direct sales and interaction with a growing audience is key to running a author business over time. Email interaction will work even when the other big platforms fail. This is something to consider with somber realization.
Adding my Subscribers to Sendfox
So, I organized my spreadsheet into the categories above and separated the complaints and unsubscribes to a new list. This is to ensure I don’t email them.
The bounced emails also went to a new list.
The remaining list of engaged and confirmed subscribers is what I started with when I uploaded my crew to Sendfox.
The process was easy. A few clicks and my CVS file was inserted into Sendfox. Since I had cleaned up my list it should be effective. The importance of having fewer spam and bounce candidates helps you when you send email campaigns. Email services will flag your account if you get too many spam complaints, for example, so it is important to email your audience responsibly.
Segmenting my List
My email list had been segmented into many different overlapping groups when I was using Newsletter. This left me with a small dilemma: go back and repopulate the lists by hand, or organically let the readers on my current list opt in to the genres I write in. I choose to email my whole list the first few times to get them oriented to the new store.
Over time, as I release new titles, the people interested in those titles will end up on lists curated to those topics/genres, because in Payhip, a person can be automatically included on that email list when they buy the book.
My first Email with Sendfox
To test my newly revised list and my new store front on Payhip, I created a short set of emails. I hadn’t emailed my list in a few months, with the metaphoric equivalent of a “under construction” sign on my author work in the last email I had sent.
This email would be packed full of new announcements, and CTAs to browse my new store, comment on my new contact page, and an invitation for potential beta readers. I built the email, and two subsequent ones to follow up on Beta Reader Expectations and another email for people interested in my horror fiction to opt in.
Creating the Email
The process of creating the email was a breeze. I mean it. The text is something I always create in a word document first, and then cut and paste the whole thing into the email box. This interface uses a rich text editor, common in almost every technology one would use. Inserting photos, links and other media, was simple. Just like you would do in any word processing software.
Testing the Email
The testing feature was also very simple and intuitive. There is a arrow button at the bottom to click, it fills in your email you created the account with, and voila! You get the email as your readers would see it, first, before you send it. With other email services, it was always a bit buried and confusing as to when you would get your own test email. In Sendfox, the emails came immediately, I iterated the emails and resent them several times until the final email was exactly how I wanted it.
Scheduling the Email
Then I scheduled the thing. It was as easy as clicking a date on a pop-up calendar and coordinating a time to send the batch of emails. The secondary emails were also finished, so I wanted to send those automatically a few days later, and I tried to schedule them. This was my first hiccup in the whole process so far: I got a message denying me to send any more emails because my account was “warming up”. It was frustrating to get this message and I contacted their customer service to see if there was some kind of work around for this.
How I Tricked the System to Let Me Schedule My First Series of Emails
I was pleasantly surprised at getting an email from Sendfox (via AppSumo) within 12 hours. They explained that the first email was a testing email, and that they needed to send it out in small batches. I understand that this will enable all emails to flow better over time. But I needed to schedule these emails and forget about them!
The service person suggested that I send a different email and cancel my scheduled one, in order to work through the first email hoopla and to verify the quality of my list (I assume). It made sense, and I crafted a short (under 200 words) email to ask my readers to look for my new, fancy email on the first of the month.
Cloning an Email
In Sendfox there is an option to clone an email. This was useful in that, I had to reset my first email, and that could potentially make me lose the work in crafting that first, longer, welcome-back post. I clicked on “duplicate”, saw the new version of the email, crafted on the date I created it, and would be able to schedule that exact replica once my test email was finished.
“Warming up” Email for Sendfox
I sent my mini email “Pssst! Kris Maze has big news coming!” and it went well. I found that my emails were getting opened, and that Sendfox has a good interface to track the data in real time. I could see a few unsubscribes, and how many opens and clicks as people were checking their email. It was uncluttered and intuitive. Less stress and more information to make decisions.
Note that I was also very happy that I had cleaned up my list before this “warm up” first send. It made my list more reliable for emails, hence helped me pass the Sendfox test.
Once my first email was sent, I was able to schedule all three of my first emails right away.
Building Forms
Creating forms to have people sign up for things (like in my case, beta readers or opting in for a certain genre they may like) happens in your email service. Sendfox did this well. It was quick and simple. The form collects the information as I would hope, and offers an export option if I wanted to use the data outside of their site.
Pros
Easy to build.
Fast to create a form. (Under 10 minutes for sure)
Preview option lets you see what it would look like.
Can build customized fields.
Collects data and creates a segmented list in Sendfox with a new sign up
Cons
There are limited options for what the form looks like.
The form looks clunky in my Payhip website, but that may be something I can clean up in my Payhip store builder.
Automations
Like building the emails, this process is uncluttered and intuitive. The automations tab is at the top of the main dashboard. When you click on it, you see a list of any automation series you have previously built. Click on the main email to open up the automation series.
I wanted a short welcome email series to give my readers a short story for signing up. This automation is able to send the reader an email immediately. Scheduling the next emails in the series made sense as it gives you the option to delay by a certain amount of time that you decide. The automation kicks off whenever the trigger event occurs, which for me was when someone signs up to my subscibers list.
This was the easiest version of automations I have used. It was streamlined, and easy to use. Some authors may need or want slightly more sophisticated details that this program may not offer, but it was sufficient for my needs. And I appreciated the clarity and simplicity. It kept me from getting caught in the technology trap that can derail my work. This feature works and works well for a simple interaction with my mailing list.
Prefilled Automations
This feature is pretty cool and helped me to form my first automation. When you click on automations, it asks whether you want a prefilled series (that you can customize) or to start from scratch. I have now done both.
The prefilled automation starts by asking a few basic questions about what you are creating. It has templates for a welcome email series, for example, which is what I used. There were many other options, like for sales, or specific goals for growing an audience and following. They ask about what website and the name of the automation and basically gives you a series to finish up.
Welcome emails
My welcome series ended up with four emails that I built out for my needs. The first one was a quick greeting with a button to download their free story. It gets delivered immediately. The next day, a reminder email is sent and includes an inviation to look around my Payhip store. It focuses on features I want them to see, like how to navigate my store by genre (science fiction or light horror).
The third email is to invite them to follow me on social media. It arrives on the next day. This one includes the types of things they would expect to see there. It includes certain perks I have for my readers that they may not get if they are only looking at my website or newsletters.
The last email tells them about the newsletter and what to expect. I like to send readers a shared list of books that indie authors swap, so my readers like the free books they get each newsletter, and I wanted to point out that common feature. This email comes three days after the previous one and I let them know that after this initial series I will only email monthly.
Email Etiquette Tip
Being careful to not over email, keeps an audience engaged, but not overwhelmed. I let my readers know how often I intend to email them and that this first series is just to show them around. I respect their inboxes, and they seem to stick around, as my lower unsubscribe numbers indicate.
Final Thoughts
After testing the email service for a few months, I am happy to share that it has worked better than I would have expected. There have been no complaints on my part.
My favorite parts are the clean interface and easy set up to build emails quickly. One cute little aspect to look for is the score card at the bottom of the page after you send an email. An animated fox keeps track of spam and such, and it changes with your email list as you keep your list optimized.
Scheduling and automating emails is a breeze and remove a lot of the technology stress associated with being an author entrepreneur. Now I can focus more on writing and interacting with my readers!
What email services do you recommend to our indie authors? What experiences have you had? Tell us in the comments below.
About Kris
Kris Maze is a speculative fiction author who crafts suspenseful, heartfelt stories with twisty plots and a touch of the uncanny. Her work blends science fiction, mystery, and emotional depth, often exploring the big “what-if” questions of life and the universe. She also writes darker fiction under the pen name Krissy Knoxx. When she isn’t writing, she’s likely teaching, traveling, or wandering trails pondering the wisdom of Bob Ross.
Follow her author events and join her newsletter found at KrisMaze.com.
New Release coming this fall! (sign up for an ARC at KrisMaze.com)
Parallel Lives - The Paths Not Taken
What if you could see every path you didn’t take?
A speculative novel about second chances, alternate lives, and the paths not taken.
When Harriet Last, a disillusioned insurance adjuster, steps into The Experience, she is skeptical of its promise to show her a better life. The prototype simulation feels out-of-place at the convention, but it’s also an opportunity to hide from her boss. Burnt out from the corporate grind, Harriet hastily signs the terms and conditions and enters a raffle for an all-expenses-paid vacation.
Inside, she relives her nostalgic memories with invasive, hyper-realistic accuracy. The unnerving emotional depth of her future lives raises suspicions about this machine’s true purpose. When the machine malfunctions, Harriet’s Experiences become anything but the vacation-like trial she expected.
She notices a man, a fleeting figure from her past, intertwined in each scene and she wonders: is she caught in someone else’s memories? When the man shares an ominous warning, Harriet must make a choice… or become trapped in this nightmarish glitch.
A common question asked during a publishers’ panel at a writer’s conference will be something like, "What do you think the next trend in publishing will be?"
Maybe the answer is plumber suspense novels, then the writers could feverishly work on plumber suspense novels and watch the money fly into their bank accounts. But is the answer truly helpful?
Knowing what sells isn’t the same thing as knowing the next big trend.
Traditional publishing moves at a slow pace. By the time the book is launched, up to two years after acceptance, the trend may be over.
Self-publishing is a faster process, but trends change swiftly and can still beat an Indie author to the punch.
Keep in mind that publishing is a long-distance run, not a sprint. Success in publishing takes years of consistent work.
Pursue Your Interests
If you love writing mysteries, but killer robot thrillers are flying off the shelves, write your mysteries. Eventually the killer robot thrillers will no longer be in vogue, and your mysteries may the next big thing.
It’s hard to go wrong with writing what you love even if it isn’t the next big thing. Readers are savvy, will see your authenticity, and know that you care about your work.
Genres Often Run in Cycles and Trends
What’s popular this week may not be a few months from now. Is it worthwhile chasing trends?
Social media often affects the larger conversation. If your book is ready for the market when the topic of your book is in the news, you may have an easier time finding an interested editor or agent.
If the timing for your topic is not right, the topic is overdone, or on a downward trend then you may need to wait, set the manuscript aside, and work on another project for a while. Never trash your work. You can always wait for the trend to change.
Keep in mind that while your manuscript awaits a time when the trend cycles back, your writing will have changed. You won’t be the same writer as your skills will have changed. So, consider revising your manuscript, or ponder a new project.
Rushing Your Work
Should you write as fast as you can to get in on the next big thing? Probably not, unless you can write like the wind or tweak what you’ve already written to fit the newly trending.
It can’t hurt to try the trend, especially if you are passionate about that topic. If you miss the wave, hold on to the manuscript for a time when the topic comes up in the cycle. But if you are trying to catch the trend just for the big bucks, chances are the work will be without depth or emotion. Readers will feel cheated if they don’t feel the emotion in your work.
Experimenting With Trends
If you feel like trying a trend, consider brief forms in that topic:
An essay
Poem
Short story
Beginning with a short form allows you to see how that topic will work for you without a huge investment in time.
Problems With Chasing Trends
Trends are fleeting.
They may last for a few months or several years. Genre matters though, as some endure for many years.
Long trending:
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Romance
Mystery
Literary Fiction
Declining trends:
Foreign Invasion Fiction
War Stories
Chivalry Novels
Traditional Westerns
Chasing trends can stifle creativity.
There’s always the risk that one’s ideas may be influenced by what appears to be popular. Whereas in creative writing we are free to make any world, rules, and society we want.
Write what you love or what the muse sends you instead of writing just for the sake of being published. Write the story you’re passionate about, not the tale that might give you the best shot with publishers. The best story to write is the one you feel compelled to write.
Markets become saturated.
Certain genres experience surges in popularity now and then—consider dystopian fiction post-Hunger Games.
Those spikes can bring mainstream success, but often lead to saturated markets. For example, romance and erotica are billion-dollar industries but are increasingly packed with formulaic books.
Chasing trends can lead to stories that don’t resonate with the readers who want authentic voices that they can relate to on an emotional level.
Trends may appear to be shortcuts to marketability. But by the time a trend hits the mainstream the market has likely begun to move on to the next big thing.
When to Ignore Trends
Sometimes it’s better to ignore trends completely. If you feel in your gut that your story demands that it must be told, trust yourself.
Groundbreaking books can defy market expectations. Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire created a trend. She made vampires complicated, tortured beings instead of merely monsters.
Positioning Your Manuscript
Study the basic trend.
Instead of trying to replicate a trend, do a deep dive. What need is the trend fulfilling? How can your story approach that need in a fresh and personal way?
Use your intuition.
Write the story you feel compelled to tell using a trend as inspiration, not a master plan. Decide how it harmonizes with the trend after it’s written. Don’t force your story into a mold.
Think long-term.
Cultivating a connection with readers will help you regardless of changes in trends or market shifts.
Final Thoughts
There will always be trends. Know that they come and go, and don’t lose sight of your creativity.
Do you want to be a trend-chaser? A trend-setter? Consider this course of action:
Create the story that insists upon being written.
Use your distinctive voice.
Be true to yourself, because the most authentic stories have staying power.
Do what feels right. Your gut will never steer you wrong. Who knows? Your story might be the next big thing.
Have you written to a trend? What was your experience?
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About Ellen
Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.
