Synopsis (what does an agent want?)

You may want to ask this in the basic writing questions but when an agent asks for a synopsis, they essentially want the blurb on the back of the book.

priggy said:

You may want to ask this in the basic writing questions but when an agent asks for a synopsis, they essentially want the blurb on the back of the book.

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That would be if you're writing a query letter.

An actual full synopsis (which some agents will ask for) is a summary of the entire book from start to finish including all main characters, main plot points, and ending (think about the book reports you read in high school).

There's no hard and fast rule about length but 2-4 double spaced pages seems to be quite typical. Agent Nathan Bransford (gosh that sounds like there should be a double 0 something at the end) has a rather good blog entry on the topic which can be found here.

There are also lost of samples (with feedback) in the Share Your Work forums.

Going to bump this over to BWQ.

Also take a peek at the Query Letters & Synopses sub-forum in our Share Your Work area (password = vista) -- specifically the sticky info threads which include "How to Write a Query Letter" and "How to Write a Synopsis"

-Derek

Some agents will ask for a ONE page synopsis. To me, this is a different animal altogether. I wrote a synopsis that turned out to be 7 double spaced pages. I worked on that one for a day, and trimmed it down to 2 full pages. In order to trim down to a one page synopsis, I had to strip out all but the main plot with no details about how the good guy caught the bad guy. Keep in mind, you really only have about 20 lines to tell your story.

Also, when writing a synopsis, always include the ending!

You wouldn't believe how many writers think, "If you want to find out what happens, buy my book!" will work.

It won't.

Kathleen42 said:

That would be if you're writing a query letter.

An actual full synopsis (which some agents will ask for) is a summary of the entire book from start to finish including all main characters, main plot points, and ending (think about the book reports you read in high school).

There's no hard and fast rule about length but 2-4 double spaced pages seems to be quite typical. Agent Nathan Bransford (gosh that sounds like there should be a double 0 something at the end) has a rather good blog entry on the topic which can be found here.

There are also lost of samples (with feedback) in the Share Your Work forums.

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He may be right, Kath. A synopsis is more or less a blurb, but a bit more eleborate. For instance, Janet Evanovich's Hard Eight features a blurb on the flap jacket that is pretty much a synopsis. Even Nathan seems to agree (I've quoted him below); but he also stressed that there's no definite strategy for a synopsis. I used a different, more laconic blurb for my query letters, though.

"A good place to start for a model on how to write a good synopsis is to mimic book cover copy, only also include in the synopsis what happens in the end. The blurbs on flap jackets and on the back of paperbacks are usually good synopses -- they're a hybrid of plot points but with a bigger sense of what makes the book unique and interesting (although discard the stuff in cover copy that talks about the author -- that doesn't go in a synopsis)."
--Nathan Bransford

dpaterso said:

Also take a peek at the Query Letters & Synopses sub-forum in our Share Your Work area (password = vista) -- specifically the sticky info threads which include "How to Write a Query Letter" and "How to Write a Synopsis"

-Derek

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That's a brilliant guide, and there's some great links in there to other sites that show examples as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a synopsis should be written in [removed this part - thanks Eryl!]

cheers
Sam

Sam Stephens said:

That's a brilliant guide, and there's some great links in there to other sites that show examples as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a synopsis should be written in first person. That's an odd feeling after writing an entire manuscript in third person

cheers
Sam

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No, bro. Your synopsis must be in the third person present tense.

ErylRavenwell said:

No, bro. Your synopsis must be in the third person present tense.

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You're 100% right, Eryl! Thanks for pointing this out!

I had present tense in my mind, I'm not sure why my fingers wrote 1st person.

I think I need a lay down.

Thanks again!

cheers
Sam