Would-be authors must examine the book-buying process to find the key to getting published. It’s the publisher’s job to attract potential buyers to your novel: a great deal of thought and money goes into the cover, the title, the blurb and marketing to encourage the browser to pick up that book.
The Book Buying Process
Ah, here's a book browser now, staring at your book. She's picking it up! She turns it over to read the blurb on the back. It's looking good! Now she opens the book to see if it grabs her... and starts where? The usual book browser will start with the first page – the very first paragraph. A book may not be judged by its cover – but it is almost certainly judged by the quality of the writing on the first page!
How to Get Published
That fickle browser includes the most important reader of all – the publisher or literary agent who first receives your manuscript. He or she knows the book-browsing principle that the first page is what will sell the book; if your first page has no hook and no appeal, why would the publisher bother buying it? The humble novel is the best application of that old saying: You only get one opportunity to make a first impression.
This is the writer’s only chance, really, to turn that browser into a buyer. Why would anyone waste precious book-buying dollars on a book that has absolutely no appeal from Page 1? Many writers would wish they could look over the browser’s (or publisher’s) shoulder and say: "It gets better. You should see what happens on page 50... and ... and the ending is terrific."
Hooking the Reader
But the writer can say all on the first page. If Page 1 is intriguing, exciting, and engrossing, that reader will automatically presume that page 50 is going to be a knock-out, and the ending alone will be worth buying the book to read. You need to strut your stuff on Page 1 and especially in that all-important first paragraph.
If you're a regular million seller with a huge reputation and following, perhaps your faithful readers will hang about for a page or two while you describe the ants crawling up the wall and the moss on the headstones, because loyal fans do know from experience that it gets a whole lot better on page 50. You, as a first-time author, do not have that luxury. Don't take any chances. Don't waste your first paragraph 'setting the scene', or filling in back story about how the Lionarians first came to the planet Zeta 750,000 years ago.
The Writing Hook or Narrative Hook
You must use that first paragraph to hook your reader. And to hook your reader, you need ... a nice sharp shiny hook. To extend the fishing analogy, ganged hooks are best. Ganged hooks? In fishing, that term means several hooks in a row, each threaded through the eye of the one above.
It's quite possible to build your opening paragraph so deviously that it bristles with hooks. If one misses the mark, another is sure to make the catch.
Types of Writing Hooks
Many things qualify as a hook, sometimes even the quality of the prose. For kids, the very word 'wizard' or 'horse' might be sufficient. Adult readers are usually a little more demanding. They need to feel an instant interest in the main character, or be intrigued by a situation being played out in front of their eyes. They might also be drawn to read on, if there is an obvious promise of something looming.
Of the many types of hooks, there are just a few key ones. Avoid the outrageous, the shocking, the totally unexpected. These have their place, but need to be handled with care, preferably by an experienced writer.
These few hooks are the sharpest in your writing tackle box:
- Introduce a unique character or unique voice
- Start with a journey
- Use foreshadowing
- Use compelling dialogue
- Introduce danger
- Promise the reader a change from his/her ordinary everyday life
- Get inside the main character's head and show his/her feelings
By practising these writing hooks in the opening paragraph, the novice writer will meet one of the astute publisher's requirements and ensure that they are constructing a great novel that readers will enjoy.
