I am afraid...of SYNOPSIS!

I can't write a synopsis. Someone I knew once said that writing a synopsis is an art form in itself. I have never been good at it. Mine always end up sounding like pure shit. I still don't know what to do when it comes to that. Most of the time I avoid places to submit which require them.

There's got to be a synopsis workshop out there on the internet somewhere, I'd think. I'm nowhere near that step...I wish I could be more help.

Except, I don't think an agent/editor is worried about the mystery ending so much as the nuts and bolts of your MS. I wouldn't worry about spoiling it for them.

Synopses (er, whatever the plural is) are scary. Far more terrifying, IMO, than query letters (I've written query letters so far but never a synopsis). I guess my best advice is to go with less detail first--very roughly sketch out important parts of the plot. I've heard 'tell it as if you were telling your friend about a movie you saw the night before, with about that level of detail'. And remember--Query Letter Hell takes will read a synopsis too. If you make mistakes, people there will point them out...sometimes brutally...and sometimes offer help & advice.

Try a site like this: http://www.charlottedillon.com/SynopsisSamples.html. I just pulled it at random, but it might give a good structure to copy for how you summarize elements.

Here's another one--scroll down to the "lecture series."

http://www.lisagardner.com/tricks/index.htm

It feels like you're going to spoil your manuscript, but agents want to know that you can take your idea and see it through, all the way to the end. Spoil away.

ETA. YOu're not giving them your whole work, you're giving them about twenty out of two-hundred and six bones, just so they can see that you can build a book without extraneous appendages and nonfunctioning second heads.

My synopsis of my book I'm rewriting/revising:

OK, there are these people, right, and they're like...see, there's a book and it has all the stuff they're gonna do, and they recruit each other, and since they travel in time...Oh, I didn't mention that, well, they do, but they don't know when or where the gates'll open...yeah, that's how they travel in time...and Oh, yeah, it messes up their lives too. Cause marriage, whoo, man, I'm tellin' ya.

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Etc

I went to QLH here a while back. So many people wanted "lots more information" (who, what, why) in the query that I wrote something to satisfy them out of desperation, and it worked out quite nicely as a one page synopsis.

christinalbarr said:

The Lonely One-that link is helpful...though that synopsis is sleazy!

I think why I hesitated with writing a synopsis (besides apparently being bad at it) is that I am afraid to give someone my whole work, basically.

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Well at least you know what the problem is, then.

Here's an exercise. Start by summarizing each chapter. Write each summary in a different word document. Do it over a couple of days. Then, when you've finished the last chapter, combine them in one document. Then go through and edit the chapter summaries like a set.

If you're worried about giving someone your entire work, maybe you need to start in smaller pieces.

christinalbarr said:

What's a good length for a synopsis? My book itself is 128,860 words and 27 chapters. It's pretty long. Should I focus on keeping it short and sweet for the agents or should I focus on explaining everything?

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I'd write a few synopses, personally. Five pages, two pages and one page. Some agents have guidelines with regards to length.

I have a document named synopsis. Occasionally, I'll open it, scroll to the bottom, and write the same synopsis for the same novel again. Without reading the earlier ones I'll save and exit. Someday this will come in handy.

I hate synopses so much I don't submit to any agents who require them.

I also fear the synopsis. Queries - easy. Synopses - terrifying. I don't believe the plot of my novel is especially great, so the most I can aim for is coherent and in idiomatic English.

Have a peek here.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84990

Of course they (the Agent) will know how your story is going to end. That's the whole purpose of a synopsis -to demonstrate you have a structured plot that reaches a satisfactory conclusion.

The synopsis doesn't cover everything that happens in the story -it deals with your main plot thread so you should concentrate upon that and ignore subplots. You don't need to mention all your characters by name either -concentrate as much as possible on the principals continuously involved in the main plot thread. Deal with their contribution to driving the story onward and, of course, the plot conclusion must be shown.

If other characters who also have occupations or titles like Master-at Arms or innkeeper or captain or 'travelling salesman' etc., have a passing part to play and require mention, use their profession and don't clutter the synopsis up with unnecessary names.

Events need not be in chronological order if relating things out of order better enables you to get the plot across.

If one knows the core story well enough it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a draft synopsis although it may well take a few shots to get it as smooth as one would like.

Don't kid yourself into thinking the Agent will only read the manuscript to find out how it ends and won't be interested if he knows the ending in advance. The Agent is not a reader -he's an Agent. He is more interested in how a story is constructed with a good plot thread and characters and how well it is written because he is looking for a story that is good enough and written well enough for him to be able to sell it to a publisher.

Good luck.

christinalbarr said:

I highly understand why an agent would ask for a synopsis. I get it, but it's so scary to me. A query letter is nothing to be scared of. A couple of pages isn't that big of a deal, but if someone has a synopsis, they know exactly where your book is going and how it's going to end.

I'm not even sure how I should start writing my synopsis. Truth be told, I should have already written it, but I haven't. There are so many small things in the book that add up...I just kind of don't know what to do. It's a mystery and I don't want the synopsis to spoil the actual manuscript...

Help!

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I started to write up the synopsis for the WIP for one of my betas and decided to just write the one I'd need for an agent. It got ridiculous, trying to cram in all the twists and keep the voice of the piece. When I realized that I still wasn't sure of my plotline in the 3/4 mark, I decided to stop and do it when the work was finished.

If it's any consolation, I've been lead to believe that the agent will read the partial or some of the full before reading the synopsis. From what I understand, if they like the premise and the writing carries, the synopsis simply serves to show that you've brought the story through an interesting plot and to a satisfying conclusion. Perhaps a reason not to let the synopsis scare you too much.

ETA: Yes - the synopsis is SUPPOSED to show the plot and the ending. You use the query to entice the agent with suspense. That's where you put your cliff hanger.

Synopses are generally in present tense and THIRD person.

Yeah, they're tough, but you've got to bite the bullet and do 'em. For the novel I'm subbing now, my first synopsis draft came in at 13 double-spaced pages. Seven drafts later, I had carved that sucker into a lean, mean 5 double-spaced pages machine. And then I had to slim it down to a two pages single-spaced mini-machine. Finally, a one page single-spaced micro-machine.

Because, yes, agents ask for synopses in all different lengths, the 5 pg. double-spaced, 2 pg. single-spaced and 1 pg. single-spaced being the most common. Once you have these, you can adapt to odd length requests. They want three pages? The two-pager will do. 10 pages? I'd send the five-pager, unless it was a contest. Contests tend to be very picky about their instructions.

Write long to start. Then start whittling that sucker down to the core. Your 5 pager will be the richest in detail, your 1 pager the core-iest. Once you realize that you don't have to squeeze in every detail, every character, every subplot, you'll do fine.

Actually, I did my 1 pager by starting from the plot synopsis in my query letter and adding a bit more detail, including the end. That was easier for me than to whittle down the two-pager any more.

At whatever length, just keep at your synopses until they tell your simplified story with a touch of verve. And so that they make sense. Gotta make sense, I'm afraid.

Oh, and even if you get an agent without a synopsis, the agent is going to need a synopsis to show to editors. So it really needs to be done, the sooner the better.

I hate them too. It was easier for me to keep the synopsis interesting if I used a kind of chapter by chapter logline approach. I distilled each chapter to one or two sentences making sure to retain the voice of the story. This kept it from simply being a dry account of this happened then that happened.

This seems like a good idea, but let me tell you a little story. The day after I signed with my agent he said, "To help me prep the sub package, send me a one paragraph jacket blurb and about a two-page synopsis."

Oh crap. Yeah. Snagged the agent without a synopsis, but a LOT of editors at major publishing houses want to see a synopsis before they commit to reading the whole MS. Better to start writing one now than put it off.

trocadero said:

I hate synopses so much I don't submit to any agents who require them.

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I've tackled this from two different directions and find they both work. One is to take your ms and write one sentence that describes the main character/action/plot point for each chapter. Have the sentence define the purpose of the chapter. Why is this chapter necessary? How does it advance the plot or futher develop the character? This gives you a good basis to work from. If you can't describe each chapter in a sentence, there's a good chance something in that chapter is unnecessary and can be cut. Once you have all your sentences, refine them. You can then add one or two sentences more for each chapter.

The other way is to take the story summary you put in your query and build on it. Add a little flourish, reveal a few more characters, describe a subplot.

Beth

katiemac said:

I'd write a few synopses, personally. Five pages, two pages and one page. Some agents have guidelines with regards to length.

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QFT.

Better to have different versions prepared, than stick to one and try to shrink it down (or inflate it) in the space of a few hours or days.

trocadero said:

I hate synopses so much I don't submit to any agents who require them.

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I've never heard of an agent who didn't.

On a side note...I wrote a synopsis for thethinker42 and it sold her book, so I rule!

lol I had to giggle at the title of this thread - it sooo relates to how I am feeling right now. afraid.. VERY MUCH!!

But. I am not fearing the synopses right now, I'm dreading to rework an article to send to a local mag, & all the interviews needed to make it better (or write another article), & all the fuss & the work..

It seems ludicrous (sp?) to fear something like that, but every night before an interview I was frazzled & totally panicked.. Also every night before deadline, sigh.. (you can tell I'm rather new to this, right?)

soo.. what I'm saying is, (almost) every new thing is scary.
once this will be all over, you & I will probably giggle at the thought how scared we were..

there are some guidelines for writing synopses online, yeah.. I actually started writing my novel this way, just writing over a script synopsis (of a totally different film) lol.. so synopses don't scare me at all.. just make sure to have the book totally finished..
maybe see it as a script, or a film & describe what happens..
the magic will be seen from your sample pages anyway..

Good luck!!
/I am also planning to write dow my worst fears & 'worst case scenarious' to see what EXACTLY I'm frazzled about, & then try to come up with solutions!!/

When I was querying, an agent asked me for a synopsis, and what I sent him was absolute crap. Yes, it's terrifying and not fun at all. However, the Tor/Forge submission site, has a good summary of what a synopsis should look like: http://us.macmillan.com/Content.aspx?publisher=torforge&id=255#ctl00_cphContent_ctl30_lblQuestion

The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as aspects of character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format.

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Hope that helps a little bit.