by Blythe Daniel @ByltheDaniel

I was in journalism class in college and remember my professor saying in red ink, “What’s the hook to draw in your reader”? Headlines were the prize I was aiming for. Sadly it felt like that was harder to nail down than the story. Today, I think of book titles in much the same way.

Have you had an editor or agent tell you that you need a more creative hook to your work? The words you have spent endless hours crafting for your critique group, your friends, or your circle of family members who have said, “You should write exactly that!”

We’ve all had the thought, “That would make a great story.” Only to have an editor or agent say, “I’m not sensing it.” And you may wonder why a “publishing professional” (it’s a quasi job title that’s supposed to make us sound like we’re a part of a collective group of superlative writing know-hows) tells you that you need to take a “unique” angle or need a more creative flair or hook to your work.

But all you see when you look at what others are writing is blah and bland. Not the creative spark they tell you that you need.

First, we can’t sell ourselves short and not put the time and thought into a creative hook. The storytelling. The theme. The line-up of your words. Your writing deserves more – and you need to bring it!

Second, why are we comparing ourselves to others? Yes, I know you read others’ work because you’ve been told you need to read in your genre. But just because you see someone write a book that doesn’t seem all that creative, do you think you should be on the same non-creative level? I didn’t think so. 😉

Writers need to stretch for the hook. The publishing professionals can’t do much without it. As a first-time writer, it’s a must. For a second or third time writer, you know that if you don’t deliver something creative, it’s hard for the publishing professional to see your follow-up book ideas as deserving as the first and with (another word that starts with “p”): potential.

Some of the most creative hooks I see come from the title, the theme, or the approach that give it great potential to land on curious eyes. I’ve had writers send me their idea and immediately I can tell that they get it. They know how to differentiate their words from other books. They have taken the time to craft the angle that will sell their work rather than hoping their work (and thoughtful intentions) will sell their angle.

Let’s set things straight. You have many ideas and you want to include them all, which just sort of lets the water run out with your thoughts and we’re left with an empty bucket of the compelling idea that holds. Or maybe you’ve been working on the same idea for years and you’ve been told it’s not quite there yet.

If you could say “this is what sets my writing apart” and spend as much time researching and writing the premise, how well would your book stand out?

Would you feel you’ve given your book the best chance it has as to catch on? Simply writing a story, a study, a devotional or an inspirational book won’t take your reader far if it’s purely for the sake of your writing a book. But if you create an angle and hook that’s so compelling before you even sit down at the keyboard, you have won your reader over already.

Three things to keep in mind as you create:

1. Know exactly who your reader is and be able to write to him or her (or both).
2. What truth or life-giving message do you want your reader to know?
3. Is it clear to the reader that the book is for him or her not just for you to write in a line of many books?

Let’s remember that our readers expect more from us. We are called to do the best work we can as followers of Christ. Dive deep into your ideas and create writing that comes from really pressing in and getting creative rather than settling for what’s on top. Writing headlines wasn’t glamorous but it did help me to learn to get to the main idea and hook the reader.

What’ll your headline be?

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer and has been in publishing for over 20 years. She has written for Proverbs 31 Ministries, Focus on the Family, Ann Voskamp, and Christian Retailing. She and her mother Dr. Helen McIntosh are the authors of Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters (Harvest House Publishers).

www.theblythedanielagency.com; www.ourmendedhearts.com