
Happy October, people! The leaves may be changing where you are, or, if you’re me, it’s still hotter than Hades. Regardless, the writing and critiquing must go on, so let’s get to our monthly first-page contest, shall we?
CONTEST IS CLOSED. SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!
If you’re working on a first page (in any genre except erotica) and would like some objective feedback, please leave a comment. Any comment :). As long as the email address associated with your WordPress account/comment profile is up-to-date, I’ll be able to contact you if your first page is chosen. Just please know that if I’m unable to get in touch with you through that address, you’ll have to forfeit your win.
Two caveats:
▪ Please be sure your first page is ready to go so I can critique it before next month’s contest rolls around. If it needs some work and you won’t be able to get it to me right away, let me ask that you plan on entering the next contest, once any necessary tweaking has been taken care of.
▪ I’d like to be able to use portions of winning submissions as illustrations in an upcoming presentation on first pages. By entering the Critiques 4 U contest, you’ll be granting permission for me to use small writing samples only (no author names or book titles).
Three commenters’ names will be randomly drawn and posted tomorrow morning. If you win, you can email me your first page and I’ll offer my feedback.
We run this contest on a monthly basis, so if you’d like to be notified when the next opportunity comes around, consider subscribing to our blog (see the left-hand sidebar). Best of luck!
One More Thing!

Did you know there’s a new book in town? Angela and I have released a boxed set that contains our bestselling Positive Trait Thesaurus and Negative Trait Thesaurus volumes.
What makes the Character Trait Thesaurus boxed set so special is that it has been hyperlinked across the volumes, so you can get to the table of contents for both volumes from each entry AND any traits mentioned within that entry have been hyperlinked so you can move straight to the attribute or flaw being referenced. This should make character building even easier!
For more information (and a 25% off code!), go here.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Am writing a book on crime and its a fictional book can anyone here give me a unique concept of fictional crime
Ok! The winners for this month are Lisa Carlisle, Katelyn, and Amanda H. I’ll be in touch shortly with you three.
Thanks for entering, everyone! Enjoy the fall weather (if you get it where you live), and I’ll see you next month :).
Yes, please!
Super awesome thanks for offering these every month. Very fun. Also I love fall soo much. It’s been unusually warm here, but I can see all the leaves changing, and I Love it. I can’t wait to take photos
S.O.S.!!! Desperately seeking feedback!
This would be fantastic!
I’d love to have my work critiqued. I can’t improve if I don’t know what is wrong. Thanks!
Thanks for the generous chance.
Cool opportunity!
You have written much informative blog on “critiques” my professor suggests me to visit here and read it. I will share this on my platform the readers get knowledge about this, Thanks.
Thanks so much–we appreciate it! 🙂
Thanks for offering this great opportunity.
Sharing everywhere!
Here we go again! Fingers crossed
Oh, pick me.
My pumpkin patch is the most sincere.
Please pick me!
Here I am trying my luck again.
Thank you so much for this opportunity
Thanks for offering this chance for winning a first page critique. That would be really useful to me as I’m struggling with revising my story’s opening.
Would love a look at the first page of my Post-apocalyptic story. Thxs for the opportunity.
Legend has it (although probably a rather recent legend), that if you look into the mirror and say “Pumpkin Spice Latte” three times a suburban white girl in yoga pants will appear and tell you everything she loves about fall.
(You said “any comment.”) :>)
Hello. Are you guys the only ones who read the first page or do you post it on this blog as well to share the feedback?
Kind regards.
Need help on my finished fiction book! Lost my critique group here which helped so much. It is about a woman who owns an Italian restaurant and she is related to a mobster and I hope lots of action plus a little romance.
This would be amazing! Thank you guys for doing this for us. 😊
What a great opportunity. Fingers crossed. Thank you!
Me please. The feedback would be grealy appreciated
Thanks for the possible opportunity!
I’d love to have the first page of my supernatural thriller critiqued!
What a great opportunity! 🙂
Thank you for this shot. I’m working on final edits of a historical fiction novel ans I’d love your feedback, please.
I look forward to having my first page of women’s fiction critiqued by you.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Beverly
please share instructions on how to submit to Critiques 4 U
It’s in the post?
“If you’re working on a first page (in any genre except erotica) and would like some objective feedback, please leave a comment. Any comment :). As long as the email address associated with your WordPress account/comment profile is up-to-date, I’ll be able to contact you if your first page is chosen.”
Thanks for the chance!!
Would love to have my first page critiqued by you. Thanks for this opportunity to enter.
I would appreciate a critique of the first page of my new WIP. In hopes that I’m picked for this…
Happy Halloween!
Once more into the breach…
Ooh, I’d love feedback on the opening of my MG fantasy!
😀
Ellen
*hoping*
Would love for you to see the first page of the sci fi romance story I want to send to Champagne Book Group after they reopen to submissions on January first.
I have just finished extensively re-writing the first chapter of my romantic novel, and would value your comment on the first page. May I send you the first page for consideration for this contest? Sorry, I was unsure whether I could just go ahead and send you my script, so thought I’d better ask first.
Many thanks.
Just by leaving a comment you are entered in the draw. Watch the comment box tomorrow to see if you’ve won! 🙂
I would love a first page critique of my novel. It’s a supernatural mystery.
Paula Cappa
I’ve been living with/working on my WIP for literally years. My first page would love to have a critique.
Just got the box set. Great job. Now I would love a critique of my first page!
I’d be delighted if you picked me! Thanks for the opportunity.
Judith