Creating Your Marketing Hook
Finding Powerful Words to Get Your Novel Noticed
If you're ready to pitch your novel to an agent or editor at a conference or want to write an attention-grabbing query letter, a gripping, tight "hook" is a must.
What is a hook? It’s usually a short sentence of thirty words or less that summarizes your novel.
But how can you condense a 100,000 word novel into one measly little sentence? It’s not easy, but short of hiring a professional copywriter to write your blurb, it’s a skill you need to develop if you plan on being in the publishing business for long.
While there are no hard and certain rules for writing a hook, there are a few ways to get the job done. By focusing on two main parts of your novel—character and plot—you can create a compelling sentence to entice your audience
Take a look at your novel and pretend that you’re describing it to an interested reader. Can you sum it up in one sentence? Dissect your plot. Get out a sheet of paper and write down key words using strong action verbs and concrete nouns.
Let’s look at a few examples of descriptive language.
A lawyer fighting an organized crime syndicate
A veterinarian exposed to a deadly virus
A psychologist kidnapped by terrorists
Look at the action verbs: fighting, exposed, kidnapped. Now look at the concrete nouns: lawyer, organized crime syndicate; veterinarian; virus; psychologist; terrorist. All of them evoke vivid images. And they’ll do the same for anyone reading your hook.
But notice there is no detailed description of the lawyer or veterinarian. We don’t need to know the color of their eyes or hair, if they’re short or bald, or homely or beautiful. That’s not important to your story (unless your character being homely or bald or short figures heavily into your plot). Instead, you want to focus on specific, central details. Is your character’s occupation integral to your plot? Is there a character trait that is integral to the story? Then use it. For example:
A shy young woman meets a charming gambler.
An ostracized teenager experiments with a psychedelic drug.
Now that you have your concrete nouns, action verbs, and important character details, let’s look at the next part of the equation—the inciting incident that starts the plot into motion. What starts the story? A fatal train wreck? A bank robbery? To write a great hook, rely on a simple equation of character + action = reaction. Confused? Let’s look at the sentences below.
An ostracized teenager experiments with a psychedelic drug, propelling him into a dark world of sex, addiction, and self-destruction.
When a lawyer fighting an organized crime syndicate receives a death threat, he must choose between his own safety or the pursuit of justice.
The teenager (character) experiments with drugs (action) and as a result, becomes involved in a world of sex, addiction, and self-destruction (reaction).
The lawyer (character) receives a death threat (action), and now has to make a choice (reaction).
Writing a great hook isn’t as intimidating as it might look. By using concrete nouns, action verbs, essential details, and a formula of character, action, and reaction, you’ll create a gripping hook that will have your audience asking for more!
