My Life As A Writer: Nailing That Hook

For my writers, today's #20Books video. This is all about the first chapter and getting a reader hooked.

The reason for why there is so much focus put upon that first chapter, that first page, that first paragraph--that hook--is because there is so much competition for audience now that you can't slack on that anymore. You slip, and they're out; the data out of Kindle Unlimited makes this crystal clear. That data put the lie to what you're told in MFA programs around the world as to what is good writing; you need to get the hook into the reader immediately or they're out and your book fails.

The psychology here is about attention, and attention is held when the author correctly identifies what matters to the audience and focuses upon that while pushing away the rest. This can be taught. There are metric fuckloads of videos and podcasts about doing this in various niches (screenwriting has a lot on YouTube), in addition to the forest of wood pulp that are books and articles about it. Avail yourself of them.