Hooking the Reader (and the Editor or Agent)

What is a hook?

A hook is a plot scenario, line of dialogue, or intriguing description that makes the reader (be it an agent, editor, or someone who buys your published novel) want to continue reading. It’s something in your story that’s so compelling that the reader CAN’T put the book down. It’s the sort of thing that makes them miss their train stop or stay up late into the night cursing you when the morning alarm goes off.

It’s the words that make an agent or editor request your full manuscript, because they just HAVE to find out what happens next in your novel.

Where to place a hook

Although things have changed a bit in the query process, there are still some places in a manuscript where having a hook is almost an essential. When I say things have changed, I’m talking about the fact that unlike in times past, when an agent requests to see pages of your writing, they do so by email rather than asking you to print and mail chapters to them. This means that in some cases they will automatically ask you to send the entire manuscript if the concept of the book sounds appealing. This is because it costs you, the author, nothing more to do so. Attaching the whole book to an email is less complicated than creating a new file with a few chapters. And the agent can simply stop reading whenever they lose interest.

Some agents, however, still go by the “stages of request” pattern. They ask for one to three chapters, and if they like those they ask for the entire manuscript. So, you can guess that having a solid hook is especially important at the end of chapter three and indispensable at the end of chapter one. Why? Because if you haven’t hooked the agent or the editor or the potential reader by the end of chapter one, they are not likely to want to continue reading your book.

However, I’m going to take this a step further and say, really you want a hook of some kind at the end of EVERY chapter, because you never want your reader to decide to put the book down, especially if your reader is an agent or acquisitions editor. People tend to read by chapter. How often do we tell ourselves, “Oh, just one more chapter and then I’ll go to bed”? We almost never stop in the middle of a chapter.

Now, you may be thinking, “I can’t make every single chapter a cliffhanger. I don’t even write action stories!” No worries. I’m not saying you have to have your hero dangling off the edge of a cliff at the end of every chapter. It doesn’t have to be something action-oriented. It just has to pull the reader onward.

Examples of hooks

So, here are some examples of final lines from some chapters in my novels. There are many ways to hook a reader. These are just a few types.

The Situational Hook: Yes, tense situation cliffhangers are a great way to hook a reader into continuing onward. Here’s the final sentence in chapter one of my novel Threadbare.

At the end of the hall, the floor to ceiling windows offer a view of sheeting rain and
flashing lightning, and I shudder as the metal doors close behind her.

You’ve got a scary storm and the protagonist’s obvious fear, but the closing of the doors clearly indicates the ending of this scene. So, nothing exploding, no jumping off buildings, but still, it’s both emotionally and situationally tense and a teaser for action to come.

The Emotional Hook: Grab the reader by the heartstrings. Make them feel something and they will want to know how the circumstances play out. Here are the final sentences from Threadbare, chapter two.

She was the best damn soldier we’d ever trained, and the organization’s spent a lot of money to test this experimental equipment to repair the damage, but it’s not enough. We need her. We need the technology to work. And she needs you.

Injured soldier who needs help = very emotional moment. The reader is invested in the character’s journey toward recovery.

The Question-Raising Hook: Introduce a “maybe” at the end of the chapter. The reader will want to know which way that plays out. Here’s one from the end of Threadbare, chapter three.

A grin curls my lips. Looks like I might get my wish.

Will she or won’t she? You’ll have to keep reading to find out. But of course, all of these hooks raise some kind of question for the reader. It’s a matter of being compelling enough for the reader to care about the answers and turn the page.

One more—The Pure Action Hook: This IS your cliffhanger chapter ending. Here’s one from the end of chapter two of my upcoming novel, Dead Woman’s Pond.

One of the fog-ghosts drifts closer, the edge of the mist brushing across my cheek, sending chills like icy fingers skittering down my spine. I take another step back. My boot heel catches on a protruding root, and I stumble, then yelp as iron fists grab my upper arms and haul me upright.

Wanna know more? You’ll have to begin the next chapter to find out. And we all know you aren’t likely to stop in the middle of a chapter which brings you to the next hook and so on and so on.

Final Thoughts

So, end-of-chapter hooks — include them whenever possible. Leave your reader with a question unanswered. Make them keep turning those pages. Before they know it, they’ll be reading “The End.”