Query, Hook, Line, and Sinker
A lot of pepople jump straight into writing their queries, but I suggest doing a little homework first. That way, you have material to plug into your query.
First: Find your HOOK
There can be multiple hooks, but let’s review some options.
My hook is…
My main character
Is your main character the thing that really stands out? Their profession? Their background? If it’s super unique and will pull in readers, then this is one of your hooks.
An example:
Your character is an assassin. There are about 12,398 billion assassin characters already in the industry. This doesn’t mean your character can’t be an assassin—there are that many characters with that profession for a reason, and when it fits in the story, it’s perfect. But that alone doesn’t make your character super unique. Now, if they’re an assassin who secretly smuggles all their targets out of the kingdom? Or they’re an assassin whose skin is covered in red ink with each kill, and once their entire body is covered, they die? etc, that’s taking the typical and making it new and interesting. Often, that’s exactly what having a hook means. It’s a familiar topic that’s been twisted in a new way. If your character, their history, their talent, job, magic, etc is what’s interesting, lead right out of the gates with that.
my world building
Having a very distinct world is a great hook! Especially in fantasy and dystopian, but also in every other genre. A fasinating setting really sets a book apart. With a hook like this, you need to be very careful. Your main job will be to condense your cool world building down as tightly as possible and weave it into the query. Practice writing a hook for your world in one sentence and lead the query with that.
My plot
Ah my sweet summer child. Your query is goign to pretty much write itself. Make sure here that you are SPECIFIC with details about yoru plot so it shines through. Many writers fall into the pitfall of having an amazing plot but only hinting at the danger and twists in the query. If your plot is what shines, you need to let it out in the open to shine. No “They’re pulled into a dangerous game, where every decision could lead to death”
My Twist
This is different from the plot, because the twist is a hook all on its own. The twist will most likely go at the very end of your query. It’s what you’ll finish the query with. You need to not only set up the twist, properly placing all the information in the start of the query so the agent will fully understand the circustances around your twist and why it works, but you need to nail the last line.