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WRITE A FIRST CHAPTER THAT INSTANTLY HOOKS FANTASY READERS



Craft memorable character introductions, set up your worldbuilding, and make it
impossible for readers to put your book down. This course also has the option to
get Jed Herne's personal feedback on your writing.

 * Chevron Down (Light)Learn More




WANT READERS TO LOVE YOUR FANTASY NOVEL?

Then you must hook them in your first chapter.Because it doesn’t matter:

 * How interesting your characters are…

 * How mind-bending your worldbuilding is…

 * Or how entertaining your plot feels…

If your first chapter sucks, readers won’t get to experience any of that —
because they will put your book down and never read any further.You don’t want
that.Over the last few years, I’ve reviewed hundreds of opening chapters from
writers who have applied to work with me.


HERE'S THE UNFORTUNATE TRUTH:

Most first chapters are bad.And no wonder!Just think about everything you have
to do in chapter one…You’re trying to:

 * Establish your story’s tone

 * Promise that an interesting plot is about to unfold

 * Set up key details (without overwhelming us with information)

 * Pick the right entry point into your story (not too early, not too late)

 * Craft an interesting first sentence

 * Hook readers so that they want to keep reading

 * Balance character introductions, worldbuilding details, and plot information

 * Make readers feel emotionally connected to your characters

 * Find the perfect level of pacing (not too fast, not too slow)

 * Strike the right mix between ‘setting the scene’ and starting your conflict

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.Starting your novel is insanely
tricky.Especially for us fantasy writers. We usually have a LOT more complexity
to deal with compared to writers working in other genres.I even had one fantasy
writer tell me that they “usually rewrite the beginning 10-12 times before
settling on the right start.”


SO HOW CAN YOU OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES AND WRITE A GREAT FIRST CHAPTER?

My name is Jed Herne, and I’ve published four fantasy novels (and a video game).



I also run a fantasy writing advice YouTube channel with over 96,000
subscribers, and I have personally coached over 80 fantasy writers to help them
improve their stories.

 * For some of these writers, I edited their entire novels (and got on dozens of
   coaching calls).

 * For others, I helped them outline their stories through my intensive 7-week
   Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp.

 * And with the rest, I coached them inside a live First Chapter Critique
   Workshop.



I want to focus on that workshop for a second.46 fantasy writers attended this
live workshop, which ran for almost three hours.When I saw how much the workshop
helped these writers, it inspired me to build First Chapter Mastery (the course
you’re reading about right now), which includes a full recording of the workshop
inside.Here's a 60-second video review from one of my workshop students:



From all my experience, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to craft the best
opening chapters possible. Both in my books and other writers’ books.Because in
my 12+ years of writing, I’ve discovered this:Nailing your first chapter sets
you up to write the best story possible.And once you learn the principles behind
a great first chapter, you can apply these to every other chapter you ever
write.


INTRODUCING:


FIRST CHAPTER MASTERY

First Chapter Mastery is a self-paced course that will help you write incredible
first chapters that make readers beg for more.The course takes 4-5 hours to
complete.Here’s what you will learn:

Introducing your charactersCraft a perfect first impression for your characters
so that readers feel instant emotional connection.



Crafting effective hooksUse my ‘15 Hooks Framework’ to create instant curiosity
so that readers feel compelled to keep reading.



Explaining your magic systemLearn how to introduce any magical elements in a
seamless and intriguing way.



Setting up your plotLearn how much of your plot to ‘give away’ in the first
scene (and what to hold back).



Perfecting your proseTrim unwieldy sentences, improve your descriptions, and
immerse readers with powerful phrases.

Intriguing opening sentencesCraft the perfect combination of opening sentences
to take readers from ‘mildly curious’ to ‘I have to read this!’ (Includes 34
examples)



Conveying your worldbuildingLearn how to set up your fantasy world without
overwhelming readers with infodumps.



Finding the right entry pointDiscover the perfect place to start your story (and
whether or not to use a prologue).



Establishing your toneLearn how to set the right mood and expectations for
readers right from page one.



Avoiding the worst first chapter mistakesLearn about the common mistakes that
will make your fantasy novel dead on arrival (and how to avoid them).


YOU WILL ALSO SEE ME APPLY THESE LESSONS TO EDIT REAL OPENING CHAPTERS.



These chapters come from writers just like you.They’re early in their writing
career, with plenty of great ideas and concepts — but they struggle to get their
ideas down on the page.As you watch me edit their work, you will gain deep,
practical insights to improve your own writing.In other words:This course isn’t
just ‘abstract theory.’It will show you how to put theory into practice with
hands-on examples.Many of these chapter critiques were done on live coaching
calls — so you can see me improve these chapters in real-time.


 * Chevron Down (Light)Enroll Now


(OPTIONAL) GET MY FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING

When you sign up to the course below, you’ll see an option to get my personal
feedback on your writing.If you pick this option, you can send me the start of
your fantasy novel, and I will give you an in-depth critique within 7 business
days.To give you an idea of what to expect, I once gave a student 3,199 words of
feedback on a 10,000-word piece of his writing.Of course, you might get more (or
less) feedback from me.My goal isn’t to overwhelm you with notes. My goal is to
help you level up as quickly as possible, and I will tailor my feedback to
achieve this.While the standard First Chapter Mastery course will teach you
everything you need to know about starting your fantasy novel, getting my
personal feedback is the quickest way to improve your writing.Note: I only have
a limited number of feedback slots per month.If all my slots are full, you can
join a waitlist to be notified when they re-open.Here’s what some past clients
have said about my editing:




BY THE END OF FIRST CHAPTER MASTERY:

You will know how to write first chapters that hook fantasy readers.And with
lifetime access to First Chapter Mastery, you can apply these principles to
every story you write in the future.When you sign up today, you’ll get the
following bonuses:


+ BONUS #1


FIRST CHAPTER FAQS


(VALUED AT $47)

Inside this bonus section, you’ll see me answer the most common questions I get
asked about writing first chapters.With dozens of common questions included,
you’re almost guaranteed to find the answer to that super specific challenge
you’ve been struggling with.


 * Chevron Down (Light)Enroll Now


+ BONUS #2


FIRST DRAFT TO FINAL DRAFT


(VALUED AT $37)

I’ll show you the difference between the first draft and the final draft of
chapter one from The Thunder Heist (my pirate fantasy novel).This includes
detailed annotations, so you can see my thought process as I edited the book.



.


WHAT DO MY STUDENTS SAY?

Here's honest reviews from my past students. I encourage you to have a look
through these. Then when you're ready, keep scrolling down to join the course.

.




MY 100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

I want to make sure that First Chapter Mastery is so good that it feels like a
no-brainer to make this investment in your writing.So here’s my guarantee:If you
go through the First Chapter Mastery course, and you don’t feel like it’s a
fantastic investment, just email me within 30 days of purchase (my email is jed
(at) jedherne.com) and I will give you a 100% refund.That is how confident I am
in the quality of this program.Note: as you will see below, there are three
packages you can choose for this course.Some of these include my personal
feedback.Giving you my personal feedback takes a lot of my time.So if you buy a
package that includes my feedback:The portion of your package that involves my
edit is non-refundable.However, my refund policy still applies to the course
itself.


HOW MUCH DOES FIRST CHAPTER MASTERY COST?

I’ve had writers pay me $1000s to improve their books in my coaching programs.
Some writers have paid up to $6000-$7000 for me to edit their entire fantasy
novel.Now, I love working directly with writers and giving them detailed
feedback.(Down below, I have even included the option to receive my personal
feedback on your writing.)However, I know that my editing services and coaching
programs are out of reach for most people.That’s why I’ve made First Chapter
Mastery as a self-paced course.This way, you can:Learn the lessons I’ve shared
with my clients (at a fraction of the price).AND do it on your own schedule, so
that you can start right now.The best part of this all?By learning how to write
a great first chapter, you can then apply all these same principles to every
chapter (and every book) that you ever write.That’s why you can join First
Chapter Mastery for only $97.


A QUICK DISCLAIMER:

This is the lowest price the program will ever be.As I continue to add new
resources to the program, the price will likely increase in the future.When you
sign up today, you’ll get free access to all future updates (even when the price
goes up).So if you want this, there will never be a better time to join than
right now.Select your package below to get instant access to First Chapter
Mastery.I’ll see you inside!

.


CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE:


1
FULL COURSE:

 * Instant course access

 * First Chapter FAQs ($47 value)

 * First Draft to Final Draft Comparison ($37 value)

 * Lifetime access & free future updates

 * Chevron Right (Light)Get Now - $97


2
COURSE + FEEDBACK:

 * Everything from the ‘full course’ option

 * Send the first 6,000 words of your novel and get Jed's in-depth critique

 * Get my critique in 7 business days

Disclaimer: if your chapter is not suitable for my critique, I will refund you.

 * Chevron Right (Light)Get Now - $497

2 spots remaining


3
COURSE + FEEDBACK + COACHING:

 * Everything from the ‘full course’ option

 * Send the first 15,000 words of your novel and get Jed's in-depth critique

 * Get my critique in 7 business days

 * 2 story coaching calls (60 mins each) with Jed

Disclaimer: if your chapter is not suitable for my critique, I will refund you.

 * Chevron Right (Light)Get Now - $1,497

1 spot remaining

.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can I buy just the course now, then upgrade to get your feedback later?Yes.If
you buy the ‘full course’ option, you will have the ability to upgrade later,
and roll over your investment to get the feedback packages. There is a link to
do this in the course.For example, if you buy the full course option for $97,
and later decide to get the ‘course + Jed’s feedback’ package, you would pay
$497 – $97 = $407.However, the price for my feedback packages is likely to
increase in the future, and I may eventually remove them. So if you really want
my feedback, I suggest locking that in now.Is this a self-paced course?Yes. This
means you can get started right away, and you can easily rewind, pause, and
replay the lessons as many times as you want.I would suggest going through the
course multiple times to ensure you deeply understand all the teachings I
share.Does this course include videos?This course includes a combination of
video lessons, text-based lessons, and downloadable resources.I want to get a
package with your feedback. How does this work?After joining the course, you
will see a link to send me your writing.This will take you to a form where you
can submit your story.This form will ask you to provide some basic details about
your story and what you’re struggling with (so that I can be as helpful as
possible).Once I receive your writing, I will go through and perform an in-depth
critique.To give you an idea of what to expect, I once gave a student 3,199
words of feedback on a 10,000-word piece of his writing.Of course, you might get
more (or less) feedback from me.My goal isn’t to overwhelm you with notes. My
goal is to help you level up as quickly as possible, and I will tailor my
feedback to achieve this.At this point, I’ve edited a lot of fantasy novels, and
I can quickly identify common mistakes (and provide solid solutions).My notes
won’t just apply to your opening chapter, but they will also help you with the
rest of your novel.I want to get the package with the video calls. How does that
work?For this package, I will begin by first completing my critique on your
writing.Once you have received my notes, I’ll send through a link to schedule
our call.Your calls will go for 60 minutes, and I run them on Zoom. You will
have lifetime access to the recording.What’s the benefit of getting on a live
1-on-1 call with Jed?At this point, I’ve done hundreds of coaching calls with
writers.Many writers have come into these calls with problems that they’ve been
struggling with for months (or years). Because I’ve run so many calls, I’m often
able to solve these problems with just a few minutes of talking, which is why I
enjoy them so much!How long does it take to go through the First Chapter Mastery
course?My goal is to help you write better first chapters as quickly as
possible.To do this, I’ve intentionally kept the course streamlined and
concise.You will be able to complete the course (and walk away with many
improvements to your writing) in just 4-5 hours.Can you guarantee that this will
make me a published author?Unfortunately, no. Writing is a tough game, and I
can’t guarantee success.However, through this course I will do everything I can
to help you write the perfect opening to your fantasy novel, which will set you
on the path to building a successful author career.And like I mention above – if
you go through the program and don’t feel like it provided enough value, you can
always request a 100% refund.I have another question.No worries - you can
contact me by emailing jed (at) jedherne.com

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