Win Editorial Feedback on Your Chapter 1 Hook

Want to win editorial feedback and take your opening hook scene from good to great?

Well, my writerly friend, you’re in luck! It’s time for our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest. In this draw, you can win…

Editorial feedback on the scene with your Chapter 1 hook.

This contest is closed. Please try again next month. If you’d like to be notified when the next one goes live, consider subscribing to the blog (in the sidebar).

Entering is easy. Leave your contact information on this entry form. If you win the draw, we’ll let you know how to send us your pages.

Contest Details

• This is a 24-hour contest, so enter ASAP.
• Make sure your contact information on the entry form is correct.
• FIVE winners will be drawn. If you win, we’ll email instructions for submitting the scene with your Chapter 1 hook (up to 750 words)
• Please have the scene with your opening hook ready in case your name is selected. Format with 1-inch margins, double-spaced, and 12pt Times New Roman font. 

As you prepare your scene for Julie’s review, be sure it contains your opening hook. Ideally that opening hook is the first scene of Chapter One (or your prologue if you have one). If you don’t grab readers from the very first scene, they might not read on far enough to read a second. 

A Good Opening Hook Should:

• Introduce the main character’s world in a tension-filled scene that demonstrates at least one of the challenges facing the character.
• Foreshadow the main antagonistic force and main plot that is coming.
• Establish the voice of the main character.
• Create sympathy for the main character.

In short, the hook establishes the character’s ordinary world in an extraordinary way so that the reader takes the bait…hook, line, and sinker.

The editor you’ll be working with: Julie Artz

Julie Artz has spent the past decade helping writers like you slay their doubt demons and get their novels and memoirs reader-ready. She’s worked with both award-winning and newer authors across the publishing spectrum from Big Five to small and university presses to indie and hybrid. She is an Author Accelerator-certified Founding Book Coach, a sought-after speaker and writing instructor, and a regular contributor to Jane Friedman and Writers Helping Writers, and a regular instructor for AuthorsPublish, IWWG, and more. Her work as a Pitch Wars and Teen Pit mentor, a former SCBWI Regional Advisor (WWA), and her memberships in The EFA, the WFWA, AWP, and the Authors Guild keep her industry knowledge sharp. A consummate social and environmental justice minded story geek, Julie lives in by an enchanted stream in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband, two strong-willed teenagers (when they’re not off at university!), and two naughty furry familiars. She’s built a thriving book coaching business based on her values, her editing chops, and her knowledge of story. 

Julie’s stories have been published in Crow Toes Weekly, the Sirens Benefit Anthology Villains & Vengeance, and the speculative anthology Beyond the Latch and Lever. Subscribe to Julie’s weekly newsletter, Wyrd Words Weekly, or connect with her below:

Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Substack 

GREAT NEWS! Everyone wins this time, because Julie is offering you a FREE virtual retreat on January 23-25: Draft half-finished? Deep in revision? Not sure what to do next? Afraid to even open the document? We welcome you exactly where you are. Join authors and book coaches Julie Artz & Emily Colin for a warm virtual retreat with writing sprints, bite-sized lessons, and a sustainable 2026 plan to finish your book. This event is free, but registration is required.

Did you know…

Some winners find their dream editor through this contest, and a few have shared with us that their polished pages have helped them secure representation. Talk about phenomenal reasons to enter!

Sign Up for Notifications:

Every month is a new chance to win feedback. Subscribe to our blog in the sidebar, and notifications about this contest and other helpful writing articles will come right to your inbox. 

Good luck, everyone. We can’t wait to see who wins!

PS: Check out Julie’s post with tips for writing a great opening hook.