Hook Me In One Sentence
If you are going to sell your book--or anything else for tht matter--you've got to create a compelling, one-sentence hook. Here are some ways to do it.
Paula Rizzo started as a television producer trained to write the ideal sound bite. Now the bestselling author of Listful Living trains other authors to talk about their books on television and in the media.
But when pressed to describe her own work-in-progress?
“I have a hard time talking about my own book,” Rizzo says, laughing. “I practice.”
Tell Me About Your Work in One Sentence
It’s not easy for anyone, but in a world of #BookTok and Instagram stories, it’s an essential skill for authors.
To sell a book we’ve got to be able to explain it—in a single sentence.
This might be called a summary sentence. Or a hook. In other professions, you’ll hear people talk about their elevator pitch—the one sentence they use to describe their product or company.
Magazine editors want to see it in the queries.
Agents want to read it in the pitch.
Readers want to scan it on the back of a book.
Tips for Creating the Hook
There are many ways to write a sentence like this of course, but there are a few things to consider when crafting your hook.
Keep it short. Twenty-five words to explain your book or story. That means staying away from complex plotlines or every detail of the problem your nonfiction book will solve. Make every word count. Strong verbs, apparent problem, or conflict.
This is not simple, of course, because the sentence must convey the book's essence in a compelling way.
In nonfiction, you want a sentence that will say what the book or the problem it’s going to solve in a way that captures interest or sets it apart.
The hook I used in my nonfiction book How to Live an Awesome Life actually became part of the book’s subtitle in the end: How to live well, do good, be happy.
I’m pitching an essay right now to editors and I’m working on the hook. Here’s one idea: A major surgery gave me my life back but threatened my marriage.
For fiction include a couple of characters and the conflict they face and what they’ll do to prevail. In my book, the setting is essential to the conflict and the stakes so I’ll drop that in too.
Agent Rachel Gardner has a great post about writing your hook.
Revise and Practice
There are lots of ways to write a one-sentence hook. Some will be better than others of course, but it’s worth jotting a few and revising them. Then pick the one that feels most clear, compelling, and authentic to you and the story. After all, you are going to be asked to repeat this. A lot.
Before coming up with your final pitch, Rizzo says, practice saying it aloud. Authors often think this will come easily, she says. When asked during a television or podcast interview they expect to be able to clearly explain what their book is about. After all, they’ve lived with it for months, sometimes years.
But, this isn’t how it works. We know so much about the project, we have a hard time building it down to its captivating essentials, Rizzo says.
But, practice can help that sentence flow out of us in a clear and compelling way.
Rizzo talks more about this in the Simply Write w/Polly Podcast and offers a great tip that will help you start thinking and conceptualizing your hook until it sounds clear and compelling enough to sell your book.
You can do it.
Simply, Write.
-p
