Written by Martin Wiles

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Not all hooks hook, but my grandmother’s did—and she wasn’t a writer or an editor.

My maternal grandmother loved to fish. Yes, she did all the typical things most women of her generation did—cooked, cleaned, had and cared for children, washed clothes—but she fished in her spare time and sold those fish to neighbors.

She was not a fancy fisher. Her boat was wooden, the motor was small, and her poles were cane: a large one for catfish and a small one for bream.

But one thing she was particular about was her hook—and what was on it. She grew bait worms in an abandoned freezer in the yard and also under a piece of tin where sink water accumulated. Occasionally, she bought crickets, which she placed in a basket hanging from her front porch. Never, however, did she cast a bare hook into the water. She knew better. That would be a sure-fire recipe for disappointment and no fish to sell.

I suppose decorating her hook worked. My grandmother always had plenty of fish to sell, and when my mom was a young girl, my grandmother used her “fish money” to pay for Mom’s piano lessons.

Just as my grandmother needed the right hook to catch fish, writers must hook readers to attract an audience, an agent, or a publisher. And one thing, among the many things, an editor can do is help the writer handcraft a hooking hook.

Budd Schulberg’s book, What Makes Sammy Run?—a best seller in 1941—provides a good example: “The first time I saw him he couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old, a little ferret of a kid, sharp and quick. Sammy Glick. Used to run copy for me. Always ran. Always looked thirsty.”

Or a shorter example from another best seller, The Road Less Traveled: “Life is difficult.”

Hooks Entice

Hooks tease, as my grandmother’s bait teased the fish. They make us want to know more. They make us want to taste, bite, and swallow.

Hooks Make Readers Ask Adverb Questions

In grammar, we learn that the adverb questions are when, where, how, how often, to what extent, why, and under what circumstances. A hooking hook will lead a potential reader, agent, or publisher to ask some of those questions.

Hooks Sell Stories

Editors should ensure that their clients place the hook either as the first sentence or in the first paragraph. Some form of it should also be included on the back blurb if the writing is destined for a book.

Hooks Lead to Return Customers

When a good hook leads to a good story or article—hooking hooks also can and should be used, when possible, in non-fiction writing—sales of stories and books result.

Handcrafting a hooking hook often takes time and thought, but in the end, it’s worth the effort.

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