What makes a good book hook?

My nephew is almost 12. Recently, over lunch whilst we were in France, we were chatting about books.

At the time, I was judging the entries for the Page Turner Awards. And he asked me how I was getting on.

Our discussion led to me asking him what he thinks makes a good book.

Currently reading the Hunger Games series, he told me that a book needs to get his attention at the start. But it also needs to keep his attention as he reads it. It has to have a good story, interesting characters, and capture his attention with the sounds, the smells and the description of what’s going on.

And I agree with his assessment.

When someone recommends a book to me – whether it’s fiction or non-fiction – the first thing I tend to do is download it to my Kindle app. If it doesn’t engage me from the start, then I’m unlikely to buy it. If I buy it, and it doesn’t keep my attention, it goes back on my bookshelf unread.

This may sound a bit harsh. But in reality, you’ve only got a few seconds to make a good first impression in many situations, including with a book.

Let’s take the Page Turner awards as an example. Judging was made on the first 10 pages.

If you start your book by waffling and not getting to the point, or you have an acknowledgements section that feels like an oscar speech, then it’s unlikely that anyone will get past page one.

When millions of books are published annually, you are competing for space in the marketplace. And, not only do you want people to buy your book, you also want them to read it to the end, and then take action….

So, what makes a good book hook?

I can give you numerous examples of how you can hook people in from the start.

If the reason for writing your book stems from a moment in time where everything changed in your life, then you may start with a prologue. Even if you’re writing an information style book or self-help guide, rather than a memoir.

Clients like Claire Brumby, Sarah Ilaria Northe and Karen Mason have taken this approach.

They’ve started in the heart of the action. The moment where everything fell apart. Exposing their why for writing their book, the reason why they support their clients, tapping into the emotion and the experience to take their readers on a journey.

Before then moving into their system, information or process that was created as a result of going through that situation.

Another approach is sharing a gratifying moment like Sarah Harvey and Steve Judge, who gave an insight into their biggest achievements before moving into the content.

People want to get to know you and often your experiences are the thing that makes you different.

But if you don’t have a story like this, you could start with a hard-hitting piece of advice or statistic.

Or perhaps something disruptive that will get people to think and compel them to move on. Hooked, which I read whilst I was away, is a good example of this.

The introductory piece

When I’m working with my one-to-one clients, we’ll always spend time on this introductory piece.

Because what happens for many is that when they get into flow with their writing, the diamonds start to shine.

Maybe this doesn’t happen until paragraphs two or three, or perhaps the second or third page.

Words may need to be moved around to make a suitable impact. To shine from the very start.

And as the author of the book, by this stage you might find it hard to see the wood for the trees…

What is your book hook?

How are you going to make an impact with the first few lines, as well as the title, the subtitle and the cover?

I talk about finding your secret sauce in week three of the Smart Author System.

If you’re ready to join a growing group of authors who are making an impact with their book and their writing, then click here to find out more…