- At our company, we have a company mantra,
no boring books.
See, we even put it on a mug.
So what makes a non-fiction book not boring
and how do you do it?
Stick around.
I've got five questions to help you out.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Julie the Book Broad with BookLaunchers.com.
We help you write, publish and sell
a fantastic non-fiction book,
and for that book to be fantastic,
it needs to have a big, juicy hook.
In film, the hook is the log line.
It's the single thread that ties your book together,
creates curiosity and sells the work.
In non-fiction, it needs to answer an essential question.
What's in it for me?
And by that, I mean, what's in it for me
from the readers perspective.
People are inherently selfish
and want a really good reason to part with their 20 bucks
and, more importantly, the five to 10 hours
it will take them to read your book.
- Well,
(light, bright music)
Hmmmm.
Ahhhh.
Hmmmm.
Okay.
- When you talk about your book,
the hook is what you're gonna say
to get them excited about reading it.
It's kind of like an elevator pitch for your book.
Let's look at some examples of great hooks for books.
Great hooks for books, it rhymes.
Hooks for books.
4-Hour Workweek.
The 4-Hour Workweek wasn't really
about working four hours a week.
It was a comprehensive game plan to ditch the nine to five
from a cubicle and create a business that supports
you living an exciting adventure filled life.
T. Harv Eker's, The Millionaire Mind.
Have you ever wondered why some people seem
to get rich easily while others are destinated,
destinated (laughing), I write books (laughing).
(loud beep)
T. Harv Eker's, The Millionaire Mind.
Have you every wondered why some people
seem to get rich easily, while others
are destined for life of financial struggle?
Is the difference found in their education, intelligence,
skills, timing, work habits, contacts, luck,
or their choice of jobs, investments, or businesses?
It's two questions, but it creates curiosity and suggests
that if you know the answer, you could be a millionaire,
that's a great hook, or it used to be,
when a millionaire actually mattered.
If you live in L.A., a millionaire
can't even buy you a house anyway (laughing).
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F, Star, CK.
In this generation-defining self-help guide,
a superstar bloggers cuts through the crap
to show us how to stop trying to be positive all the time,
so that we can truly become better, happier people.
That's straight from the Amazon description,
and it's pretty clear what the hook is
and why you might want to read the book.
Every one of those examples is very clear.
There's something good in it for you
that's gonna make you better looking, happier, richer,
healthier, more productive, all of those kinds of things.
So think about a sentence or two that people will use
to tell their friends about your book.
You can even test it out with your clients and colleagues.
If you have something that has your ideal reader going,
ooh, I have to read that book,
then you've probably found your hook.
If you're stuck trying to develop the hook of your book,
it helps to get a third-party perspective,
it's why our clients work with a writing coach to brainstorm
and create a great hook,
and then create a great table of contents
around that hook.
To create this great hook,
you're also gonna have to take a look at other books
in your industry so you know what makes you different.
Here are five questions to ask yourself
to figure out how you're different from the other books
on the market and what your hook is.
What is the common theme everyone else is talking about?
What do you believe that is different or missing
from that common theme?
What have you experience that goes
against some of that common advice?
Even better if you think it's wrong.
What problems will you be solving?
How are you going to solve them in a way
that nobody else has solved them to date?
Mix that in with some healthy introspection
on the lowest moments that caused you
to make big changes in your life,
and even some of the big highlights
that inspired you to do more of something.
Now we're getting close to that hook.
If you want help figuring it all out,
that's what we do at Book Launchers, and we love it.
A fantastic hook means hashtag, no boring books.
If you like this tip, hit that like button.
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because I appreciate you watching my videos
and sharing some of your day with me.
See you on the next video.
(upbeat music)
- Okay, so,
I'm recording.
Okay, so what I supposed, what do you want me to say?