Obvious questions for partial manuscripts

lauralam · Aug 25, 2011

1. 50 pages double-spaced or single-spaced? I'm assuming double.

2. How long should a synopsis generally be? I've seen anything on agent's guidelines from 1-4 pages, but again, I'm not sure if that's single or double-spaced, which makes a bit of a difference.

But, hurray, my first request for a partial!

Terie · Aug 25, 2011

Congratulations!

1) Manuscript pages must always Always ALWAYS be submitted double-spaced. ALWAYS.

2) If the agent didn't specify, I'd suggest going with the default of one page single-spaced. Check the agent's website to see if they specify a preference.

And good luck!

lauralam · Aug 25, 2011

1. Actually, not always! When I submitted my manuscript to a certain publisher's open door month, they requested single-spaced.

2. Cheers. So perhaps aim for around 500 words?

Anne Lyle · Aug 25, 2011

Terie said:
Congratulations!

1) Manuscript pages must always Always ALWAYS be submitted double-spaced. ALWAYS.

Laura's right - read the agent/publisher's guidelines. If spacing is not specified, you can assume double-spaced, but don't just assume without checking. Angry Robot do their manuscript reading on ereaders and don't like double-spaced text. Or underlining for italics. Or Courier.

lauralam said:
2. Cheers. So perhaps aim for around 500 words?

The synopses I did for Angry Robot (and my agent) were about 800-1000 words - I had trouble fitting my plot into less than that. Fantasy tends to need more explanation than contemporary fiction, so I would go with whatever fits into 1-2 pages without selling your book short.

lauralam · Aug 25, 2011

I've currently pared it down to around 650 words but it feels a little rushed in places. I think I'll aim for 700, as it's a shorter book. Thanks, Anne!

Kitty Crocodile · Aug 25, 2011

Just wanted to say congratulations, lauralam, and good luck! Your book sounds very interesting.

Obvious questions for partial manuscripts

lauralam

Moonshade

Terie

Writer is as Writer does

lauralam

Moonshade

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian

lauralam

Moonshade

Kitty Crocodile