Christine Kelly Reads and Writes

I’ve heard it from editors themselves, and you’ve heard it from agents. Your book needs to have a high hook (typically), which is a way to tell others what your book is about in a few sentences. This helps agents pitch to editors, and especially helps editors pitch in their meetings to try and sell your book.

But I’m seeing a lot of people, even with high hooks, struggle to sell their stories because it’s just “too quiet”.

First, let’s not get discouraged. Perhaps that’s just there editors are, and who knows what type of meetings they’re having that is resulting in this being a trend. Also, with the demand for hook-y stories, editors (and agents) are seeing more and more with great hooks…but does the story deliver?

So first, let’s talk about creating a hook.

1. You should start by asking the question, what if…? For instance, the book I’m personally on sub with asks the question, “what if a girl went on dates based on each layer of hell?” Ya hooked?! Another example that touches on a published popular book, that I think can be summarized very susccinctly is, “what if a woman made a deal with the devil, and lived for hundreds of years only to meet another person who did the same?” Can you guess what book I’m talking about? (A: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue). Of course are VERY generalized, but these questions also help lure in the reader, the aquisitions teams, etc. So that leads me to my next point…
2. Make your hook impactful. When you as the “what if” question, could you drop the mic and walk away? Could you emphasize with a “boom!”? I know it’s silly, but in this day and age, when the responses from editors for stories with already strong hooks are saying it’s too quiet….well, you need to have something a bit louder that also…
3. Follow through with your hook. This should go without saying, but selling your book as (just spitballing here), HAPPY ENDINGS X HAPPY PLACE ( ok so I’m not entirely spit balling and may have something similar but anyways…), you need to follow through. You need to be sure that your story lives up to the hyped hook.
4. You also need to be sure your hook doesn’t tell the entire story. When I gave you the examples, they didn’t tell every beat and sub plot. Leave it open ended. It’s like the ultimate curiosity seed!
5. Lastly, be sure that it’s something people are excited about. There are a ton of different things out there that can be used to hype up readers, but I wouldn’t go so far to write a dystopian novel that is based on our times in COVID. Sure, we know about it. But it’s all too recent in our minds. Give it some thought and maybe think back to a different time in our history to motivate a dystopian story.

What helps me come up with hooks is reading. Truly…the more you read, the more you know what type of hook is out there and you’ll see what’s missing. Many times it’s me craving a certain type of story but unable to satisfy my need for it, thus I write it. So read a lot. Look at the back cover story of some books with strong hooks and see how it’s pitched, maybe that will tickle your brain into forming a new idea.

Wanting to learn more? Be sure to check out TNOTYAW’s podcast backlog, along with Carly Watters, CeCe Lyra’s classes they may offer. I know they have done a hook class in the past. Additionally, Jane Friedman and/or Tiffany Yates will have many classes through Jane’s website. Courtney Maum has a few classes this year that may be beneficial as well. While most are paid, if you stay on top of the content through these amazing resources, there are also many free opportunities to learn more. And of course, one of the best ways is to read!