The Selling Point

     I've always known that a book needs a selling point, something about it that grabs a reader's attention, an editor's attention. It's the hook, the infamous hook. Sometimes the idea can be difficult to grasp and hold onto. I get it...write a sentence, a paragraph, a page, that snares the imagination. Sometimes it takes something else to put things in perspective for me. I've been house hunting, which I've come to hate. The market is changing and my price range is highly competitive. A house I like usually already has an accepted offer, but as I trudge through real estate, new homes filter into the market. I've looked at some that were awful, some with potential, one I fell in love with (but someone else made his offer just a hair before I did!). I learned that homes need a selling point. The bedrooms might be a little on the small side, the kitchen might need to be updated, but the neighborhood and the fenced in backyard grabs my attention and I make an offer. What sells me on a home got me thinking about what sells a book. A book might not have the greatest prose, but the story rocks. Or a story is a little slow, but the characters make up for it. Nothing can be perfect to everyone. But there has to be something about the book that sells it. Know your selling point, your strength, and use it.