A golden opportunity missed

Some years ago, in a self-published book written by an American about his frustrating experiences studying martial arts in China, I came across a marvelous potential hook, buried midway through the volume. In a photo caption which bookstore browsers would almost certainly likely miss were the words: “...holding the sword I had to use on the day I left the school.”

I've no recollection of the image it referred to, but the words have stayed in my mind. As soon as I read them, I realized the author should have put them in the book's very first paragraph. Had he done so, he would've hooked a good few readers. They would've said to themselves: “What on Earth happened? Did the author have to fight his way out of the martial-arts school? Who tried to stop him leaving and why? Was blood spilled?”

And they would've continued reading until they found out.

Since then, whenever I'm close to finishing an article, I scour it for potential hooks.