4. Hook: When a girl looks into a boy's eyes, she hopes to see his soul, but when sixteen year old Emerson Taylor kisses a boy's lips, she also sees his past.
Setup: Emerson Taylor is sixteen and a kissing virgin, much to her complete and utter horror - until one day when she and some friends play an innocent game of Spin the Bottle. While her first kiss is brief and nothing special, what she discovers shortly afterward is definitely special.
When Emerson kisses a boy, she can see his past. And it doesn't take her long to figure out how to kiss and steal test answers, gossip and secrets... But the kiss that will rock her world is the kiss she carefully plans after her BFF disappears without a trace.
Conflict: For this kiss, she will have to seduce her beffie's creepy boyfriend, (good conflict) make him fall for her (even better) and then make-out with him, (oh gross!) all while evading her own boyfriend (wow, lots and lots of conflict).
--courtesy of Katie Anderson, author of Kiss & Make-Up
There is conflict here—spades of it—all in 28 words. You’ll notice that this example has a much longer setup section than conflict. That’s okay. Every query is different. Remember to be succinct and specific and you’ll be fine.
YOU ARE READING
From the Query to The Call
Non-FictionFROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL outlines what a query letter -- or cover copy -- is, why every author needs to master the art of describing their book in just a few words, and how to successfully navigate the querying process. Authors looking to query pu...
