Does your book have enough hooks?
by Rochelle Melander
I’m not talking about fish hooks, command hooks, or even bell hooks.
“Hooks” are what makes your book topic resonate with readers. Your book topic needs to have multiple hooks so that it will attract readers.
For example, you might have a nonfiction book about creativity. Great. What are other hooks? Are you a neurodiverse writer who has tips for neurodiverse readers? Does your book connect to popular topics, like makerspaces or climate action? When it comes to marketing, hooks provide you with concrete places and angles to sell your book. If you can create multiple hooks for your book that connect to clear, definable audiences, you have a better chance of selling your work.
To determine your book’s hooks, it is important to discover the layers of hooks: the key hook and the minor hooks. We’ll start by looking at your key book hook.
The key hook: what does your book do for readers?
No doubt you wrote this book to help readers find a more joyful path forward or solve a problem they’re experiencing. Knowing the big benefit of your book is the key hook.
How does your book help readers discover a positive path forward? Do you have a clear objective for your readers? When I wrote, Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (And Live to Tell About It), I wanted to provide readers with a clear and easy path for writing a book. The benefit would be a concrete plan that writers who might feel overwhelmed and confused could follow.
Your turn: What is the key benefit your book offers reader?
How does your book help readers overcome a pain point? Marketers talk about customer pain points—the specific problems your readers experience. There are four categories of pain points:
+Financial. How are your readers wasting money? How can your book help them save money?
+Productivity. How are your readers wasting time? How does your product help them be more efficient?
+Process. How are your readers frustrated by their current process? How can your book help them find an easier process?
+Support. How do your readers feel alone? How does your book help them find the support that they need?
In the book How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by k.c. davis, several pain points emerge.
+Financial. Are you eating out because your kitchen is a mess?
+Process. Are you trying to “Marie Kondo” your house and failing?
+Support. Are you trying to do this alone?
Your turn: What pain points does your book solve?
More hooks: What additional ways will your book appeal to readers?
Just having a key hook is not enough. You need to have additional layers or aspects that will appeal to readers. This helps you to create a book that readers will snatch up. Layers of hooks will also be helpful when it comes to marketing your book.
When I read, How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing, I was impressed by the sheer number of hooks the author had for her book.
+The book’s designed for readers who have anxiety, chronic illness, ADHD, fatigue, or depression. Every one of those categories is a hook.
+The book has special feature for overwhelmed and neurodiverse readers: you can just read the bolded parts.
+Her work appeals to readers who are interested in psychology issues like trauma, shame, and self-compassion.
Your turn: When it comes to identifying the layers of hooks in your book, it can help to think in categories.
+What types of readers does your book appeal to? These categories can be additional hooks.
+What subjects do you cover? Are these aspects that will excite readers?
+Are there side topics that make your book enticing to readers? Maybe you take a “gameful” approach that will appeal to gamers. Or you have a layer of scientific information that will appeal to science geeks.
+What emotions does your book generate or soothe?
No hooks: what if you’ve got nothing?
What if you’ve read through this whole post and think: I’m writing a story. There are no hooks! Or, my book is about something really unique, and I love it, but what if others don’t? Or even, I write poetry. There are no hooks.
Take a deep breath! You have hooks. But you may have difficulty seeing them. Sometimes it helps to have a conversation with someone who understands the market. I’ve worked in publishing for more than 20 years, and I understand how to (and how not to) pitch a book. And here’s the thing: if your book doesn’t have enough hooks, you can develop them. Work with an editor or a consultant to help you layer in more hooks so that your book will appeal to your readers. Set up a complimentary consultation with me or book a session: https://writenowcoach.com/consultation/. If I’m not in your budget, talk to a friend who reads.
Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is an ADHD-trained professional certified coach who has helped hundreds of people write and publish books. She’s available to help you create a plan for your writing project, overcome distraction and procrastination to start and finish your writing, and navigate publishing and marketing your book. Book a private consultation: https://writenowcoach.com/consultation/
