Setting a hook

My husband is great at setting hooks - in trout. I've always preferred reading to fishing, but I've realized that landing an agent is just like fishing. Bait the hook, cast, set the hook, reel them in. So now I'm learn to fish for literary agents. Like most beginners, my first attempts have been clumsy, but I'm getting better.

I read a great post on Joelle Anthony's blog last week. She wrote about how long it took her to perfect the art of writing a hook and emphasized how important the hook really is. I knew this already, but am still transitioning from theory to practice. It was really nice to read that I'm not the only one who stumbles through this process. I thought my query letters were just fine. Brief and cleanly wordsmithed, I thought they would get at least one or two partial requests. Nope. Obviously, I need better hooks. So, I'm taking notes. What I've noticed so far is that successful letters aren't formal, they're quirky and often fun. They're also a lot longer than I was told query letters should be. So maybe I'll beef mine up for the next round. The hardest thing is not to just write, READ MY STORY, YOU'LL LOVE IT. But deep down, I think that's what every writer wants to say so they can just skip the courting and rejection phase of endless querying. But just because I love my stories, doesn't mean anyone else will. I have to convince them. So query letters are really just persuasive essays with a tightly focused objective. So how well do I fish? Hmmm...don't know yet. I guess I'll find out.