Does Outline=Synopsis?

When I think of a chapter-by-chapter outline, I think of nonfiction, and the proposal that accompanies sample chapter(s). If I were writing this, I wouldn't go chapter by chapter, which would interrupt the writing with headings (and cost space). Rather, I'd flesh out the synopsis with story, first and foremost. Show what your characters are up against and how they deal with it, remembering that biographical detail doesn't amount to character; character means what a person does when it looks as if the only choices available are bad and worse. The agent needs a few details to understand the character's context, but I say, no more than that.

You're trying to show that you can write a story--a story the agent can pitch to an editor, and so on down the line--and main characters who can compel a reader's attention. Subplots and supporting characters are all very well, but ask yourself why someone should read your book and keep reading it, and you'll know what to include in your synopsis.

BTW, Pisarz, congratulations on getting this strong expression of interest. Good luck, and keep us posted.

In that case, it is the same thing I believe. Write it in the same sense as your actual story though, using the same voice I mean. In an outline, it should have a little more detail but not the whole story. You also will want to reveal the ending, don't leave that out. The agent isn't someone in the book store trying to decide to read the book or not so it is okay to tell them the ending. If there are some crutial points in the story, reveal them as well.

Amber

Technically speaking, an outline is a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, as opposed a general synopsis. However, many agents or editors use the terms interchangeably concerning fiction. When in doubt, ask, or go by the standard approach, which is a general synopsis for fiction, chapter-by-chapter outline for non-fiction.

Outline

Technically, they shouldn't be the same thing, although they can be written the same way. Sometimes an outline is done chapter by chapter, and at other times an outline can also be written exactly like a synopsis, but can be much longer, and have considerably more detail.

Robert J. Sawyer says it's an outline if you write it before you write the book, and it's a synopsis if you write after you write the book. I've found the opposite to be true, but I think the principle is the same. He talks about both on this page, and has samples. http://www.sfwriter.com/ouindex.htm

In this case, I'd say they're much the same thing, though you won't see many eight page synopses around.