Diana Holquist on Getting Published
August 14, 2008
I always knew there was a secret key as to who got published and who didn’t. It obviously wasn’t about good writing or perseverance or who had the best web site. Finally, I learned the answer and decided to live by it. What is the key?
The hook.
A beginning writer needs a great hook to sell. Sorry, but it’s true. Here’s how it happened for me:
When my family moved from Manhattan to a tiny town in upstate New York for my husband’s work, there were no jobs for me. I wept for about a week. (Really. Okay, maybe two weeks.) Then I realized that this was the perfect time to start something new. Because I was incredibly naive, I opened a file on my computer and typed, “Chapter One,” sure I was going to write the Great American Novel. One year and two horrid manuscripts later, I began to educate myself on the business of fiction writing. Going to local Romance Writer of America meetings was crucial. Forming a critique group. And reading, reading, reading. I was always looking for material.
I started following the story of a woman looking for a husband through her website. She wanted him to be a certain height and make a specified income and on and on. I knew it was a good story, so I started writing it. But there was no spark, nothing distinctive—no hook. Then, I read a short story about a man who curses a town by telling every citizen the exact day they’ll die. I loved the idea of knowledge as a curse. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It occurred to me that this web-searching woman’s greatest curse would be to learn that there actually
is a man destined to be her One True Love on this earth—but he’s her worst nightmare. Thus, Amy, the psychic gypsy who can tell you the name of your One True Love was born. It was a fun, magic hook that let me explore a theme that had been done to death in a way that had never been done before. Once I had the hook, I made the sale.
After that, of course, there was still a lot to learn. Heck, I’m still learning today. But now I know how to write the hook. It’s what makes publishers bite and what makes readers pick up the book and say, “Wow, that’s new! I’ll try that one.”
At least, that’s how it happened for me.
About Diana Holquist
Diana Holquist lives in Pennsylvania with her family. SEXIEST MAN ALIVE is her second novel.
Diana Holquist Profile at OnceWritten.com
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