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Synopsis anyone?

pbwpbw
edited September 2010 in - Writing Problems
The moment of The Synopsis is looming....okay I'm not desperate I've got a few weeks but I have started to research it. And what did you discover, PBW? I discovered, dear TBers, that there are as many pieces of conflicting advice about writing the synopsis as there are about everything else. Would any of you like to chip in your two cents worth please? The Dos and Donts? The How Tos and the How Not Tos and especially if you feel that is was your synopsis that got you through the slush pile and out the other side...
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Comments

  • The dreaded synopsis... :(
  • I'm in the same boat, PBW and my first attempt wouldn't sell toffee. I'll be interested to see what any experienced hand has to say here as well. I've combed the internet and like you say, you come away just more confused. Good luck.
  • edited September 2010
    Lou Treleaven is going to do a blog on writing a synopsis soon. Her last one on publishers was very useful.

    http://www.writersnews.co.uk/writers_talkback/comments.php?DiscussionID=163962&page=1#Item_24
  • It takes practice, PBW. Imagine you're at a party and someone asks what your book is about. You have about three minutes to sum it up, so you have to concentrate on the main points of the plot and filter out the piddling details. Same with a synopsis.

    You'll find millions of articles on the internet about this, but here's one:

    http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/08/how-to-write-synopsis.html
  • ah, the dreaded synopsis.
    I'm at edit no 15
  • A synopsis depends on where you send it. Some agents like a full chapter by chapter synopsis, some like one sheet of A4. Some only want aroud 150 lines. Take the time to find out what ypur agent/publisher requires, then tailor it.
  • A chapter-by-chapter would normally be called an outline, I think, Red, and is not strictly speaking a synopsis in the book submission sense. The synopsis is for plot only. You are writing out the plot in one page. Here's yet another online guide page :) :

    http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com/workshops/writing-the-tight-synopsis/
  • I disagree, Dwight. If you send your MSS to the States, many of the agents there want a full synopsis, which can be 4 pages to 20 pages long. A synopsis can be a short or as long as THEY want it.

    The link you've shown is for American markets, which is fine, but UK aents are very very very picky. They tend to only want something on one or two pages of A4.

    It is extremely wise to know your targeted agent/publisher's requiremets.
  • Most publishers I've seen only want a one page synopsis - very difficult for a book that's over 80000 words. It's a matter of working out what's really important and putting it in a way that shows your style of writing.

    Good luck with it. I must admit, I would probably have submitted a whole lot more if I didn't have to do a synopsis!
  • edited September 2010
    I have just found my synopsis for a complicated book spanning hundreds of years, alternating boy/girl/ each chapter leaping on 100 years and yet linked to the chapter before, showing every variation on first love that there is.
    (Bodley Head said it couldn't be done...)
    does this help? It's one A4 page.
    Synopsis of Forever

    Story 1 – Aethelfryth – 495 AD, unrequited love. Girl for boy – she ‘plants’ a cursed stone which begins a cycle of problems for that piece of land. She also plants an acorn which begins the oak at the centre of the village.
    Story 2 – Estmund – 595 AD, unrequited love boy for girl – the curse on the land continues but disabled Estmund thinks he has a way of lifting it, a way which involves sacrifice to get the girl he wants. He intentionally starts a new ritual.
    Story 3 - Ealda - 695 AD – she is terrified when in the woods for the ghost of the knight on the white horse (the one killed by Estmund) appears to be charging towards her. In fact he is her new love. He also settles a dispute between the two rival families in the village, the Lamberts and the Blacs.
    Story 4 – Kenweard – 795 AD - Kenweard has been roving the land to get money, to become rich, before coming back to claim his bride. Has she waited for him, and will his wealth be enough to overcome the family rivalries and let him claim her?
    Story 5 – Ceola – 895 AD – Ceola is pregnant and isn’t aware of it … until she seeks the wisdom of the wise woman. She has a problem, the father of her child is killed by a wild boar and she has to seek another potential suitor very quickly, thus bringing a different line of genetic inheritance to her own dark line.
    Story 6 – Osbeorn – 995 AD – Osbeorn is trying to keep the people faithful to the Old Ways against the golden headed wonder who is trying to bring in the new Christian religion and a new church to go with it. In his fight for the hearts of the people, Osbeorn realises he is losing his, to the golden boy, who in turn is courting a female artist …
    Story 7 – Elveva – 1095 AD – busybody Elveva, working in the church, listening to secrets, whispering the secrets onwards, causes more problems than she ever realised.
    Story 8 – Gerard – 1195 AD – a story of first love ending in sadness but the church has much added to it during this time.
    Story 9 – 1295 AD – Pentecost – unfortunately ugly, shunned by everyone but who seeks love above all else. When she finds it, with a blind man, she sets fire to the village on her way out of it forever.
    Story 10 – Daniel, 1395 AD – lord of the manor, surveying the newly built village in its new form, still with the oak at its heart, still with its rituals. Daniel is lonely and is seeking a love –
    Story 11 – Margaret – 1495 AD – the oak is being cut down, it has finally died, and Margaret is hopelessly in love with another woman. From this a new oak is born and a new tradition established.
    Story 12 – Richard – 1595 AD – Richard, also hopelessly in love, becomes a Highwayman to get jewels for his beloved. But they are recognised and she tells everyone who gave them to her …
    Story 13 – Katherne – AD 1695 – Post Civil War and Katherne is looking for a little excitement in her life … she has been given a gold cross by the poor boy of the household staff but her heart is with Blasé Seaman, pirate adventurer, who gives her a dagger - …
    Story 14 – Thomas – 1795 – hopelessly in love with Lisette, Thomas discovers a box in a grave, one containing jewels and a dagger – and realises Lisette is about to use him as a pawn in her game.
    Story 15 – Emmeline – AD 1895 – longs to be in the stables, not on the dance floor, can’t stand being a lady, and after rescuing horses from the stables when they catch fire, she finds her true love, a man who needs horses and outdoor life as much as she does.
    Story 16 – Landon – 1995 AD – amateur archaeologist Landon Black has been part of the team which found a grave on top of the local hill, where they also found a stone with a face carved on it – and so the story goes full circle.
    The story revolves around the village, the growth of the oak, the growth of the village itself, the rivalries between the main families: Lamberts, Blacks and Seamans, cross marriages, feuds, rivalries, the attending to the old rituals for fear of superstitious recriminations. The growth and development of the church plays its own part.
    But always there is love, the centre of it all, the passions, the hatreds, fears and longings set up by those who want or don’t want someone else.
  • Wow!

    I agree with most of the comments above - it's very useful to have a single page of A4 (doesn't have to be double spaced) that sums up your whole story. Concentrate on the plot outline, the 'journey' of the main characters, their motiviations and how the climax of the story is achieved. Most publishers/agents prefer one page so if you've crafted that in advance you are prepared. Try to disregard minor characters, subplots etc. I am trying to gather various resources on it at the moment; as you say, there is conflicting advice but the main point is to summarise your story in order to sell it. Oh yes, present tense and write from an author's point of view, not your character's.

    One way to approach it is to try to precis your book in one sentence, then one paragraph, then half a page, a whole page and so on. That way you are only adding the absolutely vital details unless you have space for more!

    Good luck, pbw!
  • Flippin-geck, Dorothy, that's an epic oeuvre you must have written there!!!

    I like that approach, Lou. There's the possibility of doing it the other way round too: write out the plot of your story and REDUCE it to one page if it turns out to be too long. But I like the concentric idea: it's what was suggested by Beth Anderson above.

    That's interesting to know, Red. I suppose, as you said higher up, you need to read the detail of what the agent/editor wants.
  • edited September 2010
    Dwight, it's about 44,000 words. YA. That's all. Write tight. It can be done.
    it was accepted by Bodley Head and then dropped. It may well go out with my current publishers in the future.
  • [quote=kateyanne]Lou Treleaven is going to do a blog on writing a synopsis soon. Her last one on publishers was very useful.[/quote]
    Great ! :)
  • [quote=Red]A synopsis depends on where you send it. Some agents like a full chapter by chapter synopsis, some like one sheet of A4. Some only want aroud 150 lines. Take the time to find out what ypur agent/publisher requires, then tailor it. [/quote]
    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
  • [quote=dorothyd]does this help? It's one A4 page.
    Synopsis of Forever[/quote]
    Yes it DOES help. What you've done, in fact, is to summarise the threads! Ah ha! so THAT's how you get it down to one page of A4!
  • A book of examples would be good.
  • I'd love too see the synopsis that was sent in for any of the published books I've read.
  • Another tip is to read the summaries on Amazon. Although they are more of a blurb as they don't give the plot ending away.
  • Yes, Lou, some of them are very concise summings up of books. I've bought a lot through reading them.
  • Film ones are good too.
  • I have been spurred on to complete my blog entry on writing the synopsis. If you can think of anything I've left out or any other resources, let me know!

    http://loutreleaven.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/how-to-write-a-synopsis/
  • Brilliant Lou. I'm writing one at the moment and one of those links has already solved a problem. Thanks.
  • Wikipedia does full synopses of books if thats any good?
  • You're right, I've just looked up the summary of War and Peace! A good tip b_r, I will add that to my guide.
  • Thanks, Lou. The advice has come just at the right time. By the way, you look nothing like I imagined.
  • Ha ha! Not quite sure how to take that, Susie!
  • Thanks again to all of you. I have found Lou's blog on the synopsis and the advice by Caro Clarke especially helpful. Caro Clarke's method is a five stage process. It's a great deal of work but I think it's the only way to achieve a really compelling synopsis. I have completed the 'jot down' stage (around ten thousand words) and now I have stepped back from it for a while .
  • I'm not sure I quite agree with her jot down stage, though. I think if you do the synopsis from memory it forces you to leave out the unimportant bits and just get the bare bones of the story down.
  • I think SusieM hit it on the head when she said her first attempt wouldn't sell toffee. The point is that you have to 'sell' it. The person reading it is in the business of selling books and wants to fine one that will sell more than the others.
    Cynical maybe -but the bottom line is the bottom line.
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]I'm not sure I quite agree with her jot down stage, though. I think if you do the synopsis from memory it forces you to leave out the unimportant bits and just get the bare bones of the story down. [/quote]

    You've raised some very interesting points here and the reason it's taken me a couple of days to comment is because it has taken me that time to tease out of my brain what they were. Before I read Caro Clarke's method I did what you said - the synopsis from memory and I ended up with a stream of consciousness that is as boring as hell. I thought to myself "Well I wouldn't waste money on that book!".

    Now, what's interesting about the jot down stage, unnecessary as it seems, is that along with the spade work of digging out the soil of the plot, you pull a few tiny jewels, little snippets of action, interaction, wit and/or observation that seem to matter when you're summarising. I haven't done it yet but I suspect that as you progress to reducing that big heap of soil to the important stuff, you retain one or two of those jewels which give your synopsis a bit of sparkle about it. I don't say I've done that yet - I havent' - but I'll let you know how it turns out.
  • Good point. Perhaps it's just the thought of going through the book for the umpteenth time that puts me off!
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]Good point. Perhaps it's just the thought of going through the book for the umpteenth time that puts me off! [/quote]
    yes it gets tedious. Actually I've left my 'jot down' summary alone - I haven't looked at it for a week. This is because I'm still revising the manuscript and I will not progress the synopsis now until I really feel confident that I've finished it. I shall wait for the moment when I feel like looking at the synopsis again - I think this is the only way, otherwise your editing will be tired and uninspired.
  • Got my copy of Writers' Forum today ( November) and it says on page 51 Della Galton is going to write about how to write a synopsis in the December issue.
  • Yes, I saw that too. I will enjoy reading that next month.
  • I saw it, too. I'm sure it'll be good advice, without the spelling errors in the sample letter of proposal recently shown as a recommended example.
  • I was looking at the submission details for Myrmidon Books ( WN this month page 11) it says

    'We rarely bother to read synopses and find they seldom do a novel justice. If you choose to include one, please restrict it to two sides of A4.'

    Interesting. Anyway I won't be sending anything as they don't accept children's books.
  • That's a very strange one, Kateyanne. According to general agents blogs, it's the synopsis which decedes whether they will start reading your page one, because it shows whether you can plot a novel or not.
  • I've heard quite a few agents and publisher say that they start with the first chapter (after reading the letter of course) and only if it catches their attention do they bother with the synopsis. But I suppose they are all different and you need everything to be as good as you can make it, to cover all possibilities!
  • every possibility I've looked at has been different: some want the whole manuscript, some want a few chapters, some want a synopsis and there are those who ask for any variation of those, so I suppose there are no hard and fast rules. I have prepared:

    a 'long' synopsis (two sides of A4, single spaced)
    a 'short' synopsis (one side of A4, single spaced)

    if they ask I'll send it with a choir or angels, a troupe of dancing poodles and a bottle of champers.....whatever
  • Robert Hale wanted a 3 page synopsis!
  • Harlequin wants a 5-7 pages, but they also say they would not be particularly bothered if it's longer of shorter.

    I'm writing a synopsis to my Nano novel aimed at Harlequin and I've got to Chapter 8 (of 10) and it's only page 2. looks like it won't be longer than 3 pages. well, tough.
  • I've reduced my 200+ page novel (when single spaced) to a one page synopsis. Do I have to put paragraph breaks in , in which case I'll have to reduce it further, or is a single stream of consciousness ok?
  • oh goodness, put paragraph breaks in! Nothing looks worse than a closely printed sheet of A4 without breaks!
  • [quote=paperbackwriter]a single stream of consciousness[/quote]

    Gosh that reminds me of someone who doesn't use proper sentences, including commas and full stops. I hope it's not a real stream of consciousness!

    Have you used paragraphs at all or do you mean do you need a single line break between paragraphs? I'm confused.
  • [quote=dorothyd]oh goodness, put paragraph breaks in! Nothing looks worse than a closely printed sheet of A4 without breaks! [/quote]
    Relax girls, yes I know. It does look awful at the mo., true. I do have 'proper' sentences and the fully Monty of all punctation marks in English. I do take special care, really. I must remember not to be quite so facetious. I haven't used any paragraphs at all nor even a single line break between paragraphs and now I shall do it. It means I'll have to cut it down even more to fit it on one page but hey! Why did we have all those exciting lessons on 'doing a precis' when I was little? Thanks guys.
  • No need for additional lines between paragraphs, just indent by five spaces. That alone will make it look better.
  • pbwpbw
    edited December 2010
    [quote=dorothyd]just indent by five spaces[/quote]

    Ah HAAAA! This is what I need...the tricks of the trade!
  • the world is hung up on lines between paragraphs and I don't know why. I used to get ms like that and wondered why, no book comes out with lines between every paragraph. Seems to me to be common sense not to do it! Letters, yes, MS, no.
  • [quote=dorothyd]the world is hung up on lines between paragraphs and I don't know why. I used to get ms like that and wondered why, no book comes out with lines between every paragraph. Seems to me to be common sense not to do it! Letters, yes, MS, no. [/quote]

    I think it's to do with WP applications like Microsoft Word - if you indent they force a line between the para - I've never sussed out how to stop it doing that.
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