Synopses and Multiple Perspectives--What to do?

[KC36]

I have no clue how to do this in case agents need a synopsis. I have four viewpoint characters. I love multiple perspectives, so I have three other SNIs that have two MCs: a boy and a girl.

I will appreciate any advice, suggestions!

[LuckyH]

It’s nothing to be afraid of. Submissions usually include a CV so that the agent knows something about the author, a synopsis so that he knows something about the story, and sample writing so that he knows something of the author’s writing skills.

I believe that the CV and synopsis should only be one page each, and the sample exactly what the agent wants, usually around 50 pages.

It doesn’t matter how complex the story is, you need to summarise it on one page, and don’t keep any secrets from the agent, tell him what happens in your story, including the ending. Keep it simple.

Also, CV and synopsis – ordinary spacing, sample – double spacing.

[kaitie]

I assume you're talking about a long-form synopsis rather than the short blurb that goes on the query letter (where you'd just pick one and go with it).

Anyway, I just have a couple of quick suggestions. One would be you could easily use a "meanwhile" or "While..." sort of sentence to switch between them if you need to. For instance, "While John and Mary were snorkeling, Max was hopping a plane to Cancun to catch them in the act." That sort of thing. I don't think you really need to specifically go through each individual time that you change. If the stories are basically one story just told from the different POVs on occasion, you should be able to just tell it the way you would a normal synopsis.

If you've got something with essentially three different stories that somehow link together, it might be best to go through a quick rundown of each one individually, and then go into what ties them together. I'd just say to keep them relatively short and don't put too much emphasis on any one, keep the main part what ties them together.

Anyway, it's a bit hard to know without seeing the actual work, but that's just how I would deal with a situation like that. Hope this helps some. You can always try something out and throw it at the SYW section lol. We'll definitely let you know if it doesn't work.

[Emily Winslow]

I know what you're going through. My book is similarly told, and similarly challenging to synopsize. (I think I made up a word right there!)

The synopsis should be in the third person. Tell the plot chronologically (which may be different from how the reader experiences the plot in the book.) That gives you your basics. You can tweak from there, if you feel its necessary.

[Stijn Hommes]

I'm with Emily. No matter how much POV complicates the storyline. A synopsis should be a third person rundown of everything that happens. No place for separate POVs.

[KC36]

The plot is in chronological order but it switches POV every so often within 30 chapters.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Also, what does CV mean?