When to start on synopsis/query?

How about: when you get sick of one, you work on the other--until you get sick of that, and then you switch back ?

Congrats on finishing your draft! It's an exciting feeling.

For me, it never hurts to start it now. After I finished my first draft I took some time editing it and then when I thought it was good to go, I started writing the query and synopsis, both of which have taken me a while to complete. They're a different type of writing that I have a very hard time getting right. Now, I'm back to my manuscript after realizing it needs more work - but so do the query and synopsis. It's a process, so starting now might force you to not rush it.

Good luck!

What will happen if a agent contacts you right after you send out your query/synopsis? Are you ready to submit chapters?

You can write your synopsis any time. Everyone's process is, of course, different: I often say I'm a pantser and I kinda-sorta am. I start with a basic premise (or prompt) then write a longish synopsis in one fell swoop; that could be called an outline, I guess. Then I try to come up with at least three really good scenes and add them to the synopsis. And I keep writing the story, adding and taking away scenes and adjusting my synopsis alongside the story as I go. At the end, I have a rather long synopsis that I can cut down, if need be. The primary benefit to me is that as I go I'm making sure what I'm writing matches what I have in my pointed little haid and that the story flow I envisioned is there.

ETA: As a bonus, the shortened synopsis can be condensed further to help you write your query and the story flow is already there.

When is a synopsis/ query needed? I published 4 novels and I haven't been requested to write any.

Morri said:

I would submit my query letter to an agent to get them to represent my book to publishers, and I’ve seen that sometimes they will ask for a synopsis along with the first few pages if they’re interested. I think it would be good to have one handy.

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Thank you for your clarification. So this is why I have never needed one - there are no agents in my country, the writer and the publisher do everything together. And my publishers have always wanted a finished novel to be sent to them, not a query/synopsis. They want to assess it fully.

I started my query for MS2 before I'd written anything of the actual book. I worked on it for the next 7-8 months infrequently, modifying and updating the query as the story changed. Sometimes, I modified the novel (because a query really crystalises conflict in a succint way and can show when it is lacking.)

Same thing for synopses; I wrote them periodically while completing the manuscript (see Emma Darwin's article on the usefulness of a developmental synopsis) and then wrote a "selling" synopsis for agents when done.

In short, as soon as you like you can wait till you're done, or start halfway through, or start before the book. Whatever works.

Elenitsa said:

Thank you for your clarification. So this is why I have never needed one - there are no agents in my country, the writer and the publisher do everything together. And my publishers have always wanted a finished novel, not a query/synopsis.

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PUblishers and agents here also want a finished novel; you cannot query or pitch without one, unless you are writing nonfiction in which case you're submitting a proposal. The query is a pitch that shows a sample of your writing, and may include first few pages/chapters though not always. A synopsis can show the agent that the rest of the story is there, because it's not uncommon for a novel to look "good" in the first few chapters and then deteriorate past that point. If synopsis, query, and sample pages check out, then the agent requests more.

I'd at least work on the query. I waited until my manuscript was done, and my letter still isn't what it should be. I started over a month ago, and it's slowly driving me insane.

You may well find that writing the query helps reveal certain structural issues with the book that you can then address in revisions. And vice versa: decisions you make in revising will affect the query.

It's often a good idea to revise from the top down, addressing large-scale plot issues first and then doing polish once everything's in more or less the right place. To write a query, you need to know what your story is really about, what it's core drama is, the stakes, how the characters are propelled to make decisions, etc. Those are really, really good questions to think about when you're revising, whether you've started the query or not.

I've heard it might be better to write the query letter before writing the story.

I think it can be worth it to do both before and after.

Before it can be great for outlining/planning.
After is great because you'll have a deeper understanding of your work.


I write my queries before hand and revise throughout. I *should* write my synopses before too but I suck at them and procrastinate haha.

tylermarab1987 said:

I've heard it might be better to write the query letter before writing the story.

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My new favorite outlining tool. If the query "works" (goals, motives, stakes, conflict) you know you have the ingredients for a good story.

ETA:
The first query I attempted to draft was while writing a WIP. It uncovered lots of problems in the story, not the least of which was a passive protagonist. Beware the first query draft; it could shine a light on story problems. Another reason I start drafting queries while outlining now. I have queries for projects that have not yet (and may never) be written. Which is cool!

I write a one page synopsis and query letter towards the end of a novel and refine them once the manuscript is edited & polished and ready to submit.

I'm hoping to start querying next week and I'm TERRIFIED. Absolutely mortified. I've been working on my book for so long that it's my baby, I want to get everything right, but I know I just need to be brave and submit.

Mary Love said:

My new favorite outlining tool. If the query "works" (goals, motives, stakes, conflict) you know you have the ingredients for a good story.

ETA:
The first query I attempted to draft was while writing a WIP. It uncovered lots of problems in the story, not the least of which was a passive protagonist. Beware the first query draft; it could shine a light on story problems. Another reason I start drafting queries while outlining now. I have queries for projects that have not yet (and may never) be written. Which is cool!

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One of the best pieces of advice I've read is to write your query letter either before you start or soon after, because at this point, you know the basics of the story without all the details bogging you down. You're not going to be tempted to throw in a zillion details that you've come up with, you just have the essence of the story. If you reach the end and suddenly you realize you forgot to mention that the Prom Queen is abducted by aliens from the stage because you added that in after you wrote the query and it's really important to your story, you can add it in later, but you already have the basic framework of what your story really is right in front of you. (I'm exhausted and had kind of a bad night after a near-fall in the shower, so I feel like I'm not explaining this well at all.)

And as Mary Love pointed out, it can really show you some issues with your story early on, if your MC is too passive, if your plot isn't strong enough, if your subplot is lacking or absent, etc. It's a tactic that's worked well for me. I have a few queries for stuff I've barely started (because I'm working on other stuff), just to get them out of the way for later.