The Terrible Trouble of Writing a Synopsis :(

jamesfinegan

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(Not entirely sure this is the right section for this, someone can feel free to move this if need be)

I'm currently writing my book's synopsis, in preparation for sending out to prospective agents. But the damn trouble is that the majority of them are looking for a one-page synopsis. Some of these psychopaths are actually asking for HALF a page!

Admittedly, at approximately 116,000 words, my MS is on the longer side. Yes, I've already been through a thorough edit. This is a big story. The trouble is, trying to condense this to one page is making it sound so thin and rubbish, that I worry it's enough to put off an agent altogether!

Anyone else have trouble getting a big plot into just a single page?
 

cornflake

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(Not entirely sure this is the right section for this, someone can feel free to move this if need be)

I'm currently writing my book's synopsis, in preparation for sending out to prospective agents. But the damn trouble is that the majority of them are looking for a one-page synopsis. Some of these psychopaths are actually asking for HALF a page!

Admittedly, at approximately 116,000 words, my MS is on the longer side. Yes, I've already been through a thorough edit. This is a big story. The trouble is, trying to condense this to one page is making it sound so thin and rubbish, that I worry it's enough to put off an agent altogether!

Anyone else have trouble getting a big plot into just a single page?

There's no such thing as a big plot.

The synopsis is what happens, and if you're having trouble condensing it, try writing it as if you're trying to tell someone. If someone asked you to just tell them what happens in any book or movie, so they know if they want to invest the time, you wouldn't go on for two pages. You could explain, step-by-step, using fewer words. Try that, and expand as necessary.

What'd you do for the query, if you're having trouble with the length of a synopsis, heh?
 

Unimportant

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Just think of it as a long query :D
 

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I did my synopsis really methodically, with one sentence per chapter of the book.

If you're trying to get a book that long down to one page, you'd better keep your sentences SHORT!
 

Cathy C

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You might wander through this thread, which consists of synopses that sold a book. Admittedly, they're romances, but the elements of the plot and characterization are what you're needing to look at. It might give you some ideas to pare down your own. :)
 

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I did my synopsis really methodically, with one sentence per chapter of the book.

If you're trying to get a book that long down to one page, you'd better keep your sentences SHORT!


THAT'S WHAT I DID!!!

Best advice I ever got on writing a synopsis!

Focus chapter by chapter, one sentence per chapter only. You lose a lot but that's ok...it's not supposed to be the whole book. If it were, they'd just ask for the book.

Then I took my list of chapter sentences and thought about what was most vital to the overall story/main conflicts/plot points and cut anything not super important out.

THEN...I did it again. Was there a way to combine what happens in 2 or 3 chapters and make that one? If there was, I did that, if there wasn't I left it alone.

You'd also be surprised how much you can shorten it by taking out unnecessary words or condensing thoughts (usually there's one word you can use to say something instead of the 5 you originally used.)

Anyway, my synopsis isn't the most amazing piece of writing I've ever done, but it does relay the guts of my story in one page.
 

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Sometimes I imagine myself writing the Wikipedia entry to my book as a guide!

Check out some popular books and their entries. The ENTIRE plot will be up on the site, but the summaries will be one or two typed pages at the most - you can see how people have dropped subplots and characters.

For example, the synopsis for the Hunger Games is a little over a page long:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games_(novel)
 

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Some of these psychopaths are actually asking for HALF a page!
Heee! Wait until they ask for a one-sentence summary. :Wha:

I'm not an agent but I thought I'd respond because I have a few tricks I use for writing synopses.

I begin with the inciting incident, then only include events that trigger other events. Each event should be linked to the former and lead to the next, like a chain, until you reach the end. This forces you to eliminate subplots and minor conflicts/characters.

If you need to incorporate worldbuilding or explain a concept, don't do it separately. Combine it with your inciting incident or other events. This way you'll show the world/concept through action rather than tell it. By combining all that with characterization, you're making your paragraphs do triple duty.

If your target word count is, say, 750 words (1.5 pages), which will probably suit most agents, limit your first draft to 500 words. This will force you to laser beam down to the bones. Then you edit up to add voice and clarity. But keep your long synopsis, because some agents might want it.

Once you get past 50 posts you can post your synopsis in QLH; I'd be happy to take a look at it. Good luck!
 

cmhbob

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You might also try reading some of the synopses over at IMDB. Some are very long-winded, but you should be able to get an idea of how to look at your story from the high level.
 

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(Not entirely sure this is the right section for this, someone can feel free to move this if need be)

I'm currently writing my book's synopsis, in preparation for sending out to prospective agents. But the damn trouble is that the majority of them are looking for a one-page synopsis. Some of these psychopaths are actually asking for HALF a page!

Admittedly, at approximately 116,000 words, my MS is on the longer side. Yes, I've already been through a thorough edit. This is a big story. The trouble is, trying to condense this to one page is making it sound so thin and rubbish, that I worry it's enough to put off an agent altogether!

Anyone else have trouble getting a big plot into just a single page?


you don't think you're the only person to write a 116K or longer story, "about stuff," do you?

Yet the other folks managed....

It can be done. It can be a bruising and often needed exercise in both brevity and humility, but it is utterly possible.
 

Chasing the Horizon

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Some of these psychopaths are actually asking for HALF a page!
But isn't a half-page synopsis the same thing as a query letter? I mean, they'd be the same length, and probably contain most of the same details. That sounds redundant to me and I don't remember seeing anyone asking for a synopsis shorter than 1-2 pages when I queried last year.
 

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Can't remember who it is right now (they're somewhere on my querying list but haven't gotten to them yet) but there's an agency with an online form that want's a 500 word synopsis.

Just saying...
 

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I hate, hate, hate synopses. HATE. Hate hate. *vomits all over synopses* I feel your pain. I have also been rejected by an agent because according to her my synopsis is boring. BWAAAHHHH. Synopses! *rips them apart and eats them*

Um, anyway, do hop on over to QLH and put your synopsis up to get critiqued. That does help.
 

jclarkdawe

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Simple structure for a synopsis is find ten points you want to discuss. Point one is the beginning, point ten is the end, and the eight in the middle are the biggest points in your story. If you have room, you expand on your points, so this can be ten sentences long or ten paragraphs or ten sections or ten chapters.

A query is a marketing tool and doesn't include the ending. A synopsis should include the ending. A synopsis that is boring is usually boring on the plot level.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe
 

Jamesaritchie

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Read the jacket or cover synopsis of a published novel. Not the blurbs, the actual synopsis. Not of them take more than half a page, regardless of how long and complicated the novel is.

If you can write a synopsis as exciting as the ones on published novels, you won't have any trouble getting requests. The only real difference is that your synopsis should reveal the ending.
 

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I don't think the length of the book has any bearing on the problems you're encountering in writing this synopsis. Lots of people struggle with writing synopses. It's a difficult skill to develop so don't lose hope: just keep at it, and take good advice.

My friend, Nicola Morgan, has written a great book called Write A Great Synopsis, which many people have found helpful.
 

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Writing a synopsis is probably my least favorite part of the writing/selling process. Personally, I find it easier to start super-short and then expand outward, usually by starting with a logline.

I write one sentence to describe the beginning, the middle and the end of the plot. Then I start filling it out until I have a one or two page version. When I was querying agents I also did a five page and eight page version as well. These days I'm usually writing synopses for my agent to use as part of a pitch so I try and keep it tight.

But the real key is identifying the main plot in a single sentence or two, then summarizing the book by only talking about the points that have a bearing on that main plot.
 

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Can't remember who it is right now (they're somewhere on my querying list but haven't gotten to them yet) but there's an agency with an online form that want's a 500 word synopsis.

Just saying...

My guess would be that they want a query. Unless they're also asking for a query letter, they're asking for the pitch part of your query right there.

One-page synopses are pretty standard, but I'm wondering the half-page synopsis request is also really looking for a query pitch and wording it as a synopsis.
 

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My guess would be that they want a query. Unless they're also asking for a query letter, they're asking for the pitch part of your query right there.

One-page synopses are pretty standard, but I'm wondering the half-page synopsis request is also really looking for a query pitch and wording it as a synopsis.

But 500 words isn't half a page, right? Not unless the font is unbelievably small..
 

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I was addressing two different people actually. The one I quoted specifically said an online form wanted 500 words. The OP was complaining about one page (standard) and said they saw a request for half a page.

But single-spaced 12pt TNR vs. double-spaced 12pt CN (which is about 250 words/page), I bet 500 words is about 3/4 of a page.
 

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Ah, the synopsis. I haven't been on this forum in so long because I've been writing that damn synopsis. I'm still writing that synopsis, heh. Everyone has great tips and advice.

Keep at it!
 

Laer Carroll

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Lots of good ideas about writing a synopsis. I'm going to use several of them, since I'm doing that right now.

As to one comment, or question: No, a short synopsis is not a query. It's just a short synopsis. It includes the ending of the story.

A query typically includes the beginning of a synopsis but not the ending. It's also fairly short, just enough to hook the reader's interest. A sort of synopsis of a synopsis.

A query may include a bit of bio info but that depends a lot on what an agent or acquiring editor asks for in their submission guidelines. Or what an author thinks will help interest the agent or editor in their work. If the book is a medical drama & the author is a doctor, for instance.

[FONT=&quot]A query may include other info. It depends a lot on to whom the author is writing. Every agent is different, at least in little ways, so every query should be different, tailored to that agent. Sometimes the same identical query might serve more than one agent or editor, but chances are such a query will be a formulaic one-size-fits-all attempt at the "perfect" query.[/FONT]