Writing the first 50 pages of your novel

• Ever wondered how to get started on a book?
• Ever wondered if there was some secret to writing success that you had somehow never learned?
• Ever felt directionless? Frustrated? Unsure of your main character?
• This book, by Jeff Gerke will help - "The First Fifty Pages" (How to engage agents, editors and readers, and set up your novel for success).

Gerke discusses practical topics such as how to write a proposal for your story, introducing the main character, the inner journey, establishing your story's world, how to conclude the story satisfactorily in this easily digestible book. You can dip in and out of it anywhere and find something helpful. It certainly helped me write my last YA novel, which got the contract. 
And it's not just about novels. Gerke's advice can be applied to any writing project. The basic structural questions are essentially the same.
Here's a snippet from page 103:

"Into the lives of all these characters - including you hero's - some rain must fall. Indeed, your story is going to royally wreck those expectations. It's almost a sadistic sort of fun to fill you main characters' head with these assumptions, knowing fell well you're going to throw her a curve ball. Ah, the joy of being a novelist."

Gerke refers to  many  popular stories and films to illustrate his points making it easy to identify and relate to the information and apply it to your own work. Make that first page sparkle!

With the market swamped by how-to books on writing it's sometimes hard to know which ones are worth investing in. Gerke's book is simple and easy to use, with sound advice that works.