Add to that some agents asking for an outline when what they means is a synopsis and it's no wonder we're confused.
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Actually, I rent her out as a synopsis ninja. $15 per synopsis, preferably paid directly through me to PayPal.
Oh cool, if you give me the details so I can pay you via PayPal I will submit my MS to your ninja, and then by the weekend I expect to have a synopsis from the said ninja that will make any agent choking on their coffee and frantically emailing me for my full manuscript J
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Oh good lord, I posted about this one myself a couple of weeks ago. I assumed they meant synopsis, but that one definitely could have been made clearer.
My synopsis was about a page and a half, single spaced - 600 words. This was for a 70,000 word novel. I queried 40 agents during my agent search and never had anyone ask me for something longer than this.
I also found it difficult to write. I dreaded doing it... in retrospect, I'm not sure why. Most of it describes the events of the novel, which I know pretty well. I think the hardest part was the last paragraph, where I had to make sure the ending sounded intriguing and important, and where I had to take a stab at explaining what it all meant. But that's something I really needed to know and understand, so it was good to have to get it down on paper.
I also found it difficult to write. I dreaded doing it... in retrospect, I'm not sure why. Most of it describes the events of the novel, which I know pretty well.
I think the hardest part was the last paragraph, where I had to make sure the ending sounded intriguing and important, and where I had to take a stab at explaining what it all meant. But that's something I really needed to know and understand, so it was good to have to get it down on paper.I've queried four novels. I sent out well over a hundred queries between them, and only needed a synopsis three or four times. But I'm still glad I had it ready when I needed it. As for querying only agents who don't ask for a synopsis, what if they like your query and request a partial and want a synopsis to go with it? I wouldn't want to keep an agent who requested a partial waiting.
It is confusing, since most agents do use the word synopsis when listing what to include in the letter. It's not always clear whether they mean in the letter or with the letter.
It is confusing, since most agents do use the word synopsis when listing what to include in the letter. It's not always clear whether they mean in the letter or with the letter.
The letter's supposed to have a blurb, not a synopsis. A blurb sucks in the agent in one paragraph but doesn't give the end away. The synopsis always should.
It's confusing for some to call them synopses; just as it's incorrect to use 'synopsis' and 'outline' interchangeably, neither should we do so with 'synopsis' and 'blurb'.
Ask someone who let me sell two of her books.
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Ask someone who let me sell two of her books.
Listen to the Peach. She knows of what she speaks.
The letter's supposed to have a blurb, not a synopsis. A blurb sucks in the agent in one paragraph but doesn't give the end away. The synopsis always should.Originally Posted by jclarkdawe
Sort of. In the query is a short version of the story, which is technically a synopsis. However, the story portion of the query may only cover the first fifty pages of the book, or may cover a longer section, but will rarely have the ending. Sometimes the story in the query does have the ending.
So technically, yeah, the agent is requesting two synopses.
It's confusing for some to call them synopses; just as it's incorrect to use 'synopsis' and 'outline' interchangeably, neither should we do so with 'synopsis' and 'blurb'.
Ask someone who let me sell two of her books.
Absolutely it's confusing. But when you go back to the definitions of the words, you'll understand why the confusion exists. A synopsis is a brief summary of something or the outline of a book, movie, etc. There is nothing in the definition of a synopsis that says it can't be one sentence or one paragraph long. In fact, in many industries, a synopsis can be anywhere from one sentence long to many pages.
A blurb is a short description of a book or movie for promotional purposes. And notice that the definition of synopsis includes being an outline.
These are the dictionary definitions, which unfortunately means that people using these terms in these ways is proper.
But then industries develop terms of art, in which everyone in the industry understands what you mean. Problem for publishing is that not everyone got the handbook, including some people that are very knowledgeable about the industry. As a result, people will refer to the story's description in a query as a synopsis. Technically proper use of the word, but in the publishing industry, incorrect.
By thinking through the definition, and how the person is using the word, it tends to become evident what the person is talking about. Basically, this discussion started after:
Shadow is right, according to the dictionary, that both documents contain a synopsis. You responded that a query is a letter, which is also right. But you weren't addressing Shadow's issue, which is how the hell do you figure out what is and what isn't a synopsis in the publishing industry, which is why I responded.
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
Let the confusion reign outside.
Inside, why can't we just treat a fiction Query letter as a Query letter, and a synopsis as something completely separate - which it is.
Inside, why can't we just treat a fiction Query letter as a Query letter, and a synopsis as something completely separate - which it is.
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