Happy Hooker

Well, last night was the time to submit for Miss Snark's semi-annual Crapometer contest (this time is aka The Happy Hooker). And after working hard on a hook for my first novel, I completely forgot about submitting it.

I'm not totally bummed though. At least the idea of it helped me write a hook I can proudly send out to potential agents and publishers. Plus, I now have a better idea of what a hook looks like so I can produce hooks for my other books as well.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the buzz-phrases of writing, a hook is like a blurb paragraph used to attract readers. Think of it like the paragraph on the back cover of a novel you would be interested in buying. You pick the book up, read the back cover and based on that one little paragraph, you either buy it or you put it back on the shelf and look for another likely candidate for your purchase. Agents and publishers are no different. You only have about a paragraph to convince them to read more of your work.

To use an analogy, finding an agent/publisher like speed dating. You only have one shot to attract the opposite sex, or they move on to the next candidate. You can either put the best possible you out there, or you can throw on a housecoat and hope they'll see you for the wonder you are (despite the ratty hair and bunny-slippers). If you can get them interested up front, you have a better chance they'll get to know you better.

So anyway... Since I screwed up and forgot, here's the hook I worked so hard on:

"After news breaks of a comet’s collision course with Earth, Dr. Michael Montgomery has proof the comet is harmless, but when his data threatens to interfere with Dr. Kingsley Hall’s plans to manipulate a nation drowning in fear, Michael’s attempts to divulge the truth are blocked. Discredited by his peers and disgraced by the media, his last chance is Alexandra McKenzie, a reporter with the integrity to risk her job and the courage to risk her life. In a fight for the truth, Michael and Alex find themselves battling men who would rather see civilization destroyed than lose their control over it. In a Spectacle of this magnitude, the real danger lies not in a comet’s path but in mankind’s ignorance of the facts."

I've got this out to one agent right now. Let's hope she likes it as much as I do.