Starting the fire in a cold climate

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this isn't the right place for this question, but I've been struggling to find an answer. I'm having trouble with smoke coming into my home when starting the fire and the chimney is full of cold air. I've tried holding lit newspapers close to the exhaust, and keeping the door open ~30 min before starting the fire, but neither works very well. Any tips and tricks from the fine folks in this community?

Much appreciated!