Iāve been thinking (again) about all the different kinds of picture book humor there are, and how some books have many, many layers, and how some haveā¦fewer. And yet, itās not like thereās a perfect formula! Some multi-layered can read as ātrying very hard/eye-rollyāāand some of the fewer-layered can clock a zero on the re-readability scale. (Of course, re-readability from a kidās, or adultās, perspective can sometimes vary. š)
Anyhow, with so many valid ways to execute oneās story vision, pinpointing what can make one well-written book sellable and another well-written book not as much can seem impossibly complicated! (Hats off to editors and agents for all the sifting, shaping, pairing, polishing, and "placingā they do to get these gems out in the world!)
And yet, take heart, writers! Hooks arenāt just something that either happens or doesnāt happen to our stories; we can (and should!) purposefully and organically wield them.
But firstā¦
what even IS a hook?
Executive Editor Melissa Manlove of Chronicle Books once brilliantly summarized what a hook is as, "What does this have to do with MY kid?"
I love this explanation because, after all, there might be one compelling reason: āItās about a dinosaur, and she is obsessed with dinosaurs right now!āāor there might be a whole catalog of reasonsāemotional, topical, or more! But the hook(s) is/are why a book is bought.
From what I can tell, some hooks are pretty universal; others will vary on āperceived hookinessā depending on the editor/imprint (each has slightly different customers, so that makes sense). Letās consider hooks like what you find on a dating profile. Funny? Thatās pretty much a universal hook (even if no one agrees what funny really āis.ā) Funny in a āmostly fart jokesā way? Well, that can indeed be a hookāfor some! Good-looking is a universal hook (in this case, that could mean a talented author-illustrator); rhyme is a hook for some! Full of heart is a universal hook; full of snark may be a hook for some! A great title (maybe equivalent to having a good job) is a universal hook; religious content can be a hook for some! And on and on and on (and now, letās cue the music).
Of course, all the lyrics to this song are terribly funny to a dark humor and wordplay fan like me, but one of my favorite lines is: If I'm doing my job, it's your resolve that breaks. I mean, thatās sort of what it takes to get a picture book published, isnāt it? Itās not enough to be great: it needs to be so good it canāt NOT be bought.
Whatever they may be, hooks are a handy way of viewing a particular project and judging, āWould someone awesome (i.e., an already-overextended editor or agent) commit to this? And if notāwhat self-work might be in order to help this become more irresistibleānot just to them, but to readers??ā
Some of my go-toās (and obviously, I am still evolving as a writer) are thoughtful humor (esp. wordplay, including a great title), awkward and/or precocious characters, and voicy narration or first-person POV. These are my sharpest, most pointed hooks at present, and even though some are not universally adored, they are what I try to focus on during revision (along with any project-specific potential hooks like, for example, rhyme in some cases).
Of course, as creators, we want to be supported by hooks, not hamstrung by hooks!
The annoying (but correct!) way to manage this is what it always is: writing what you knowāand knowing what you write.
Excellent writing expresses something genuine and deeply-held about the person behind the words. Not necessarily even through what they writeābut how they choose to write itāthe voice, the point of view of the writing.
I would love for each of my projects to have organic hooks that are an interesting mix of the universal and the āfor fans ofā type. With that understanding in mind, I now see hooks as useful materials to wieldāakin to choosing paintbrushes or your primary colorsāvs. a field of random targets to āhit.ā I donāt know if I always manage it, but I know what Iām going forāincorporating the most Elayne-ish ones in the most Elayne-ish way, working hard, and hoping my offering breaks someoneās resolve not to buy any more books right now. š
What about you? How do you view hooks (or do you only accidentally see them through your fingers š«£)?
Your āon the hookā friend,
Elayne
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oof! Trying to figure some of these out RIGHT NOW!