Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches us on page one. His bait? Oprah Winfrey.
A fisherman will spend hours throwing out into the lake one of the many trinkets he holds in his trusty tackle box "baiting" his catch-to-be. By trial and error, practice and perfection, the avid, alert fisherman builds strategy as to where his fish are hiding, when they eat, and what bait will draw his catch. Strategy produces success.
Dr. Phil? No different. A strategist. A master strategist from which we expect no less than expert strategy. And in his book, Life Strategies, we see this leader at work, both finding the fish and successfully baiting his catch-to-be. How, you ask?
Open this book and read. Page one, acknowledgments: Oprah, first sentence, third word, again in the second sentence and in the third. Introduction: Oprah, first sentence, second word, and a quick scan will give you almost thirty more. Chapter One: Oprah, twice in the first paragraph, once in the second paragraph, and fourth paragraph, Oprah, Oprah, Oprah. I'm drawn in and a bit curious. Who could be so lucky to have a hook like this one? It becomes a prosperous one as Dr. Phil "catches" enough to produce a best seller and an amazing career.
A "hook" is how you will draw your attention-deficit audience, and future fans, to continue reading your work.
Like the little fishes in the water, we need something to draw us. We swim around all day long ignoring the bits and pieces of rubbish floating around in front of our faces. But then, unexpected, we see a glimmer. It may be familiar or it may spark our curiosity. We swim over and nudge it here and there. If all else is going well--looks good, smells good, and holds our interest--we lunge at it. Set-the-hook success. Reel us in, cook us, sit back, and relax with your newfound fullness of a day well spent.
The first sentence in TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten reads, "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Our first thought may be, hmmm, familiar, I've thought about this too, or, unfamiliar, can't say I've ever wanted to kill anyone but, interesting, here's my chance to get into this head. "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Has one sentence set a glimmer through the muddied waters? Are you asking yourself, bring a gun where? Why? Has the sentence done it's job and propelled you to nudge the bait a little and read on?
"I thought about bringing a gun over there. Not just some little pistol. I had a statement to make. And a statement like this required one of those big shotguns..." Hmmm, one of those big shotguns? "One that would bring hell itself into the eyes of it's beholder." What? Why? What possibly could have brought on such horrid thoughts of revenge? These are the questions I hope you're asking because, like Dr. Phil and every other author out there competing for your time, I want to have at least tweaked your interest enough for you to lunge at my hook and read the book!
--------------------------
Tiffany Twist is the author of two books, TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten (June 2004 by Expert Publishing Inc.) and SOME DANCE: Hey Bartender, I'll take a decade of marriage on the rocks, a therapist straight up, and a fantasy guy with a twist (April 2005 by et al Publishing)
Tiffany has filmed for E! Television and Style Network's top rated "Diary of an Affair" to air in April and has currently been contacted by producers from both Oprah and Dr. Phil.
For more info and photos, visit http://www.tiffanytwist.com
car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareMindmapping is better than linear outlining because authors can use... Read More
Human beings seem to be born with a gene for... Read More
A book coaching client recently emailed me that she was... Read More
No matter what your fifth-grade English teacher says, some grammar... Read More
Regardless of what sort of writer you are and how... Read More
We writers are a powerful lot. We control time. We... Read More
You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh... Read More
Many writers stare at the blank page or clean computer... Read More
Ah, the age-old writer's debate--to outline or not to outline?Outlines... Read More
ESSAYS ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY: NUMBER 1Preamble:Nearly seven years ago I wrote... Read More
All sales begin with some form of advertising whether it's... Read More
Prolific authors write; they don't just dream about it. A... Read More
What to do when you get rejected.You've just finished your... Read More
Writing is a personal and introspective process. To share with... Read More
ADAPTATION 101Brimming with confidence, you've just signed the check purchasing... Read More
Self-examination sheds light on a writers motives, goals, and aspirations,... Read More
GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Some Catch-22, huh? In... Read More
Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio... Read More
Take out a white piece of paper and place it... Read More
What does one do as a writer who loves writing... Read More
I just finished to read a book. A story for... Read More
All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a... Read More
A few days ago, I critiqued a chapter for a... Read More
Part 1 of this article discussed the experience you need... Read More
As you set out to create your first niche non-fiction... Read More
Granger limo Chicago ..Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
[When I was a nineteen-year-old high school student and budding... Read More
Writing a sales letter doesn't have to be that difficult... Read More
ADAPTATION 101Brimming with confidence, you've just signed the check purchasing... Read More
Eight or nine times out of ten, picking up and... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?The writer, who doesn't have the time... Read More
Writing for the web is very different from writing for... Read More
The journey to having my first novel for children published... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
During the past few months I have received many questions... Read More
Real Estate has "Location, location, location," and writing has "Clips,... Read More
1) Can you summarize the story in about a sentence... Read More
Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More
Suspense novels, unlike any other genre, need fast starts. Fans... Read More
These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will... Read More
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More
Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From... Read More
Why should you consider creating a memoir of your personal... Read More
When you run an online agency for freelance writers, editors... Read More
Nothing is more daunting for any writer than having to... Read More
Op-ed articles, also known as opinion/editorial articles, are a great... Read More
One of the biggest problems that inexperienced writers have is... Read More
I'm willing to bet that quite a number of you... Read More
Beginning writers often tend to think of a book as... Read More
1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If... Read More
Writing |