How to write a synopsis

[Leigh Walker]

I dont exactly know where to post this, but I am looking for some kind of guidlines on writing a synopsis to send to agents. I have the one that I wrote for myself, but I cant find anything concrete as to what agents who request them are looking for (e.g. length, format, ect.) other than it should be in present tense. Maybe I just havent searched enough?

thanks!
Leigh

[Prawn]

I dont exactly know where to post this, but I am looking for some kind of guidlines on writing a synopsis to send to agents. I have the one that I wrote for myself, but I cant find anything concrete as to what agents who request them are looking for (e.g. length, format, ect.) other than it should be in present tense. Maybe I just havent searched enough?

thanks!
Leigh

Google is your friend. There are many sites (http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=witing+a+synopsis&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2) out there.

I can send you my one page synopsis, if you like. Writing my query and synopsis took forever. I must have worked on them a few hours here and there over the space of about two months. Probably about six or eight hours for each one. It might give you an example to work from.

Let me also say that writing my synopsis made a lot of things clear to my about the novel, such as which themes were important.

[Leigh Walker]

thanks, I would love an example. I have googled and found sources that say 1 page and sources that say 10 pages and sources that say two lines per chapter and sources that say every agent is different. I guess I just dont know where to start. the one I wrote for myself is kind of half outline, half narrative, chapter by chapter and I am assuming that wont work to send to an agent.

[Prawn]

I shot you a PM. I hope it helps.

Preston

[ChaosTitan]

You can also search this forum and the AW Roundtable for past threads about writing a synopsis. You may even find some in the FAQ at the top of this forum.

Best of luck.

[Leigh Walker]

Thank you! I should have done that before I asked. Sorry!

[donroc]

I can easily write a synopsis of a story I have yet to write, but once the novel is finished, it is exceedingly difficult. Next time, I will write it as a -- sorry to say it and please do not barf -- as a Hollywood pitch, then write the damn book and modify it as needed.

[Leigh Walker]

That actually seems like a good idea. When I wrote my synopsis the first time i wasnt thinking about publishing it at all, just wanted to write it. so i didnt even know I would be needed a synopsis that I could actually send to someone. next time, I will be thinking ahead for sure.

[Deirdre]

First you take your novel.

Place the novel carefully inside a cider press.

Crank as much pressure on the work as it can stand.

If your novel is in good shape, the synopsis should come pouring out.

[Leigh Walker]

Alright. I am putting it into the old cider press. my problem is Im just not pressing hard enough. some of my favorite characters are secondary and I'm just so sad to have to leave them out. They just keep wanting to pop their heads in and say hi. but if i have to do this in one or two pages, they just can't be there.

[FennelGiraffe]

It won't help the OP now, but I once saw this advice in a How-To-Write book (I forget which one)--start by writing a one-sentence summary of your book. Such as"Luke Skywalker leaves his home planet, teams up with other rebels, and tries to save Princess Leia from the evil clutches of Darth Vader."
or "Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
(IMDB is a good source of examples for this.)

Next, expand the sentence to a paragraph. Finally, expand the paragraph to a few pages. Save all three versions.

This particular book advocated doing this as planning before you begin to write, which sounds quite horrific to me. I suppose it might work for some people. What does seem reasonable is the idea of doing it at the end of the first draft, before beginning revision. (Which is not to say that I've actually accomplished this yet. :D)

For one thing, stopping to think about the big picture should give focus to your revisions. For another, you now have a query hook, an elevator pitch, and a synopsis. Or at least some raw material you can tweak to get those.

[Leigh Walker]

I like it! And I actually already have a query that I am pretty happy with, so I can use it to expand from there. better than staring at the blank page for another day!