Hook me, baby

Hooks, like query letters*, are an art form of their own. A hook is essentially a one or two sentence description of the main conflict in your story, told in a way that creates intrigue. It's a way to pique the interest of your potential agent/editor/reader, to let them know what's new and different and exciting about your idea.

Hooks can be a critical tool in marketing your book--particularly, in my opinion, if you write genre fiction where the basic elements of your story may, at a high level, appear to be similar to many other books already available.

For example, imagine if Jeaniene Frost had pitched Halfway to the Grave by describing it as a story about a badass chick who fights vampires for a living. You'd be rolling your eyes, thinking, "Greaaaaaat. I've never read that before."

Now, imagine she told you it was about a badass half-vampire chick who hunts vampires for a living with the help of her sexy vampire lover. Muuuuch more interesting. Why does someone who hunts vampires for a living have a vampire lover? Why is a half-vampire hunting vampires for a living? I still haven't done a great job of writing the hook here (and it's not entirely accurate to Halfway to the Grave's storyline) but hopefully you get the point.

To better illustrate what I'm talking about, let me show you a couple of examples of really spectacular hooks (in my opinion, at least). The first is for a book called DREAMING IN HINDI by Katherine Russell Rich :

In a lionhearted attempt to shed her past—years of numbing jobs at glossy magazines and two life-threatening bouts with cancer—Katherine Russell Rich voyaged to India to learn Hindi, a language with one word, kal, for "yesterday" and "tomorrow."

This hook gives a robust sense of the story and character in just one sentence. (And I love that Hindi only has one word for yesterday and tomorrow!)

Here's another one, this time for Allen Zadoff's forthcoming FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN'T HAVE:

A boy finds it hard to fit in - in his pants, in his family, in his school and in his life; although he is big (size 48 and 306 pounds), he still feels like nobody can see who he really is.

I love the clever play on words here and the way it's contrasted with the heartache contained in the last line. Again, we get a full sense of the story and character in just one sentence.

For more information on hooks, check out agent Nathan Bransford's post on hooks.

How about you? Do you know of a good hook writing resource or do you have a great hook? Please share in the comments.



*She says with a grimace.