Laura gives you tons of resources that help not only your first five, but can be applied to your whole novel. Through this class, I have gotten not only a strong first line but I've started in the right place and trimmed all the fat to have an opening that is compelling and zips by, drawing the reader in. Would definitely take this class again and again to perfect my first five of all my novels.

I came into the course looking to improve the beginning of a work in progress. It did that and more. The course made dramatic improvements to my first five pages and gave me the tools to improve the following pages. Laura finds issues and points you towards solutions that I wouldn't have seen without her guidance. I highly recommend the course.

I find myself measuring course success in a worldly fashion, and I can say that in Laura’s class I received value for my time and money. Laura helped me see my writing from a different perspective through her editing suggestions and general feedback. I recommend you invest in this class to learn to make your manuscript shine.

I'm so glad my writing friends recommended Laura's class to me. It's never easy to throw your work out to "the world," but when you get the feeling that "the world" wants you to succeed, you listen. That's the feeling I got from Laura's attention to detail and insightful observations of each students' work. I'm amazed at her "catches," whether in relation to a concept like "floodgates going up to release tears" or the use of double quotes when there should be single quotes. Amazing! (I'd need a month's vacation if I ever gave that much dedication to something!)

I regret that I didn't have time to comment on the other students' work because of another project, but I felt no pressure to do so, and I appreciate that.

This is a serious class and as intense as you want it to be. I have gone over Laura's comments line by line to fix what I felt was necessary for my five pages. It's not because she's the instructor and I'm the student. It's because her suggestions are logical and astute. With gratitude, Billie

What I learned in The First Five Pages class has been and will be invaluable to me. I'm entering writing contests that focus on beginnings, and mine shine thanks to Laura Drake. Taking Laura's Submissions That Sell class and the First Five Pages class has set me on a confident path to start querying agents and editors with my paranormal romance. I highly recommend Laura's classes and The Margie Lawson Academy.