As I mentioned before, I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo this year.
Because I actually want to continue querying through November, I decided to give Doorways one last look-over. The way I see it, if the story is as polished as it will get, won't have to worry about anything except copy/pasting into the query.
I plan to do the same with my query letter. Another version will be coming out, although I don't know what it will look like yet. All it know is it better be better than any of the previous ones.
Lots and lots of Query Shark readings will ensue.
Then there's another monster lurking in the querying waters: the dreaded synopsis. About 80% of my expanded agent list has at least a 1 page synopsis as part of their submission requirements.
Uhm...
I don't have a CLUE how to write a synopsis.
Any good query and synopsis links for me?
I hate writing synopsis. I had a link in Cool Links a few weeks ago. *goes off to find it*
ReplyDeletehttp://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/
Man, you and I are in EXACTLY the same boat... ready to query except the damn synopsis... I haven't gotten around to it either. But if you do a search at http://hiveword.com/wkb/search it should pull up several options.
ReplyDeleteFor the query, Elana Johnson has a downloadable e-book that can help with the query. The synopsis...yeah...I still got to work on that.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had advice for you, but I'm going to be sitting back here bookmarking any links that are left, if that's all right.
ReplyDeleteI hate writing the synopsis. Making a book sound exciting in just a couple short paragraphs. is tough.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you could think of a synopsis as a book report (without the psychological interpretations.) Look at each chapter and pull out the main idea/theme.
ReplyDeleteJohn meets Sally.
John realizes he likes Sally more than Jane, his current girlfriend.
John asks Sally out.
Sally finds out John has a girlfriend.
Sally finds out his girlfriend is her best friend Jane.
Jane breaks up with John.
Sally goes out with John.
Sally discovers John is a jerk.
Sally breaks up with John.
Sally and Jane commiserate with each other.
Sally and Jane become lovers.
You get the idea. These are bones of your story. Once you have them listed, then you can fill in the nuances, the voices of your main characters, the setting etc. And, to keep it tight and short, you can delete the bones that aren't absolutely necessary.
John meets Sally.
John asks Sally out.
Sally discovers he's going out with her best friend Jane.
Jane breaks up with John.
Sally breaks up with John because he's a jerk.
Jane and Sally become lovers.
I don't know if this is the correct way to do a synopsis, but a certain knowledgeable mentor of mine felt my synopsis was spot on and that's how I did it. This method will also give you very loose out-line of your story in case there's an agent or publisher who wants one of those!
Hope this is helpful.
I wish I could offer advice but I haven't reached the query/synopsis stage. I'm sure there are lots of people who will offer great links and ideas, though.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing this a long time, and I still hate writing the synopsis. It's too bad we couldn't have our own special synopsis and query writers on call. Hi Misha.
ReplyDeleteI too hate synopsis. Infact I think I targeted agents who did not require a synopsis. But I do have few links regarding synopsis, I will search and send you.
ReplyDeleteI hate synopsis almost as much as I hate queries, still two things I need to work on.
ReplyDeleteNo links to help with writing a synopsis or query letter. But I do wish you luck! Oh, have you read Elana Johnson's From the Query to the Call? She was giving it away for free on her website the last time I checked (several months ago). It can help with the query letters perhaps. If you can't find it, I can email you a copy that I have downloaded.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that a synopsis has to be engaging. So it can't just be a plain old "Callan went to school. Callan met Darrion, etc. etc." There are specific things that you should do as well. The very first time a character is named in a synopsis it should be in all caps. After that, it's okay to use regular upper and lower case letters. The hardest part is to keep it engaging. But I'm sure you can do that. Hook the reader Misha!
ReplyDeleteI've never written a synopsis so I'm afraid I don't have any links. Hope you find a resource--good luck!
ReplyDeleteStep one, open a bottle of wine...
ReplyDeleteStep two, check out this link, which has tons of other links on it too: http://www.charlottedillon.com/synopsis.html
Step three: The best thing, although it takes time, is to write your one or two sentence tagline or "elevator pitch" first.
Step four: Write a one paragraph summary of EACH chapter.
Step five: Then, keeping the tagline close at hand, reduce the chapter summaries until you've weeded out all the less important stuff and reached the desired 1-3 page synopsis.
Good luck!
I can't remember where I found my advice for the synopsis. I think I wrote it, then had someone look it over for me and they gave me some great feedback on it. It's definitely worth getting someone to run an eye over it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the queries, keeping my fingers crossed for you.
I'm hoping to join up to Nano.... hoping... :)
Bish had the right idea about simplifying each chapter into one sentence. Also, they are looking for the main plot lines and don't really care about the rest unless it greatly impacts the main part of the story.
ReplyDeleteYears ago (the last time I wrote a synopsis) I remember reading (sorry I don't remember the source) that when you first introduce a character in your synopsis, it should be in bold type so whoever is reading it will quickly get the characters straight, since they read so many story queries.
The tense of your synopsis should always be present tense, as Bish demonstrated. Use simple sentences and choose your verbs carefully because the publisher, first reader, or whoever is not impressed by purple prose (using a lot of adverbs and adjectives) and will junk it almost immediately. That's about all I can remember about writing a synopsis. Good luck, Misha! :)
The best way to write a synopsis is to include your seven major plot points
ReplyDeleteI just read (and Tweeted) tips from Lynnette Labelle.
ReplyDeleteMisha, go and read this article right now. It has to do with what agents are saying about "portal fantasy".
ReplyDeletehttp://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/1081331.html
robin weeks & matthew mcnish at the qqqe are great for query help
ReplyDeleteas for the evil synopsis, i've read and used a sentence per chapter is a good place to start!
good luck with querying & synopsis-ing!
Oh, it's sounds like you're going to be so busy with NaNo and writing a synopsis. A synopsis can be either long or short. I tend to think 2 pages is good. Also the hardest thing is that when writing the novel your brain has been in detail mode. With a synopsis you have to go into summary mode. It's not easy to make the shift. One way to start would be to summarize each chapter with the key plot point. Then you can cut whatever you don't need to form the synopsis. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any tips either, in fact I was looking over some of the links that were suggested in the thread- so it was helpful to me too, thanks to you and your readers! Hope NaNO goes well!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the great links and tips! I'll definitely be going through them all. :-)
ReplyDelete