A popular post from May 2009
By Josi S. Kilpack
Over the last six years or so I have given several presentations on how to write a synopsis. I gathered my information from books and websites; compiling it into instructions that are easier to follow and understand than many other resources. At a recent writing conference I was told that one of the 'rules' I have been teaching, is no longer in favor with the novel writing community. I have updated the Synopsis posts I've done on this blog, Part I and Part II, but am trying hard to make everyone that might have read the 'rule' aware of the change. Needless to say I am humbled by the correction. I certainly prefer to be right about everything all the time, so admitting I was wrong does not come easy to me, but I hope it's less about my ego and more about truly wanting people to be pointed in the right direction. Maybe it's a little of both :-)
Oh, what was the rule?
I've taught that when writing a synopsis you should put your characters name in ALL CAPS the first time you mention it in your synopsis, then use regular capitalization for other mentions of that character. Editors and Agents currently prefer just normal capitalization of the first letter of the name.
Thanks much,
Showing posts with label Synopsis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Synopsis. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2016
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Should I Give Away the Ending?
by Heather Moore
When I was a newbie, it would have killed me to give away the end of the book in a synopsis. As a reader, I never read the end first . . . so combining the two together, it seemed that if I gave away the end of my book in a synopsis I was going to ruin the reading experience.
But agents want to know the end. Recently I read a blog written by Nathan Bransford, an agent with Curtis Brown Literary. Bransford recommends that a synopsis be 2-3 pages, double spaced, unless otherwise specified by an agent or editor.
Bransford’s excellent advice includes:
“A synopsis is not an opportunity to talk about every single character and every single plot point in a "and then this happened and then this happened" fashion. A synopsis needs to do two things: 1) it needs to cover all of the major characters and major plot points (including the ending) and 2) it needs to make the work come alive. If your synopsis reads like "and then this happened and then this happened" and it's confusing and dull, well, you might want to revise that baby.”
Bransford also said, “A good place to start for a model on how to write a good synopsis is to mimic book cover copy, only also include in the synopsis what happens in the end.”
As a published writer, I understand that it’s important to be able to write a concise synopsis of your novel. Once you have a synopsis nailed down, it’s easier to write a hook or a pitch, and of course that query letter.
With my publisher, I turn in a synopsis to the editor after the book has been accepted. This synopsis goes to the committee and gives them the insight they need to position and market the book. Also the backliner and marketing blurbs are easier to put together with a handy synopsis. Like Josi, I write the synopsis after I’ve finished the manuscript. Too many things can change if you write it while your book is still in progress. Josi also cautioned writers against holding back what happens at the end of their novels.
So, to make a long blog short. Go ahead. Spill the ending.
When I was a newbie, it would have killed me to give away the end of the book in a synopsis. As a reader, I never read the end first . . . so combining the two together, it seemed that if I gave away the end of my book in a synopsis I was going to ruin the reading experience.
But agents want to know the end. Recently I read a blog written by Nathan Bransford, an agent with Curtis Brown Literary. Bransford recommends that a synopsis be 2-3 pages, double spaced, unless otherwise specified by an agent or editor.
Bransford’s excellent advice includes:
“A synopsis is not an opportunity to talk about every single character and every single plot point in a "and then this happened and then this happened" fashion. A synopsis needs to do two things: 1) it needs to cover all of the major characters and major plot points (including the ending) and 2) it needs to make the work come alive. If your synopsis reads like "and then this happened and then this happened" and it's confusing and dull, well, you might want to revise that baby.”
Bransford also said, “A good place to start for a model on how to write a good synopsis is to mimic book cover copy, only also include in the synopsis what happens in the end.”
As a published writer, I understand that it’s important to be able to write a concise synopsis of your novel. Once you have a synopsis nailed down, it’s easier to write a hook or a pitch, and of course that query letter.
With my publisher, I turn in a synopsis to the editor after the book has been accepted. This synopsis goes to the committee and gives them the insight they need to position and market the book. Also the backliner and marketing blurbs are easier to put together with a handy synopsis. Like Josi, I write the synopsis after I’ve finished the manuscript. Too many things can change if you write it while your book is still in progress. Josi also cautioned writers against holding back what happens at the end of their novels.
So, to make a long blog short. Go ahead. Spill the ending.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Synopis Part 2
by Josi S. Kilpack
Last week I posted about synopsis—what it is, what format to use, why it’s important. This week, will be how to write it.
The first thing I do is finish the book. There are those that write the synopsis first, or midway, or whatever—more like an outline—I don’t. My books change too much during the writing process and I need the whole thing in front of me.
Once the book is finished, and revised, I go back to page one. I read through Chapter One, doing my final proofreading, and when I finish I open a new document and I summarize chapter one into one, maybe two, paragraphs. It will read something like this.
Chapter One
Garrett is looking for an identity, and the seller has several to select from. After reviewing the candidates information, he wants Chressaidia Josefina Salazar, a Mexican American women with no criminal record, US citizenship, and who lives in Idaho Falls. She’ll be perfect and he’s willing to pay ten thousand dollars to own her name.
Then I move on to Chapter Two, proofread, then go into my new document and summarize chapter two.
Chapter Two
The real Chressaidia Josefina Salazar, Chrissy, shows up for her most recent blind date with a chip on her shoulder and a stat sheet in her pocket. At thirty-five, she’s tired of meeting whatever men her best friend Amanda thinks will be perfect for her. This guy is white, wears jeans and a baseball cap, and has a penetrating stare that throws her off guard. However, it’s his quick wit and willingness to spar with words that captures her interest and when all her attempts to put him off are parried right back to her, she wonders if perhaps there is something special about him. After finally coming to terms with the fact that she will likely be single forever, could this guy be THE guy?
And so it goes for every chapter in the book. When you’re finished, you have what’s called a Chapter Outline and typically I end up with one page of outline for every twenty pages of the manuscript. You want to keep this, as it can come in handy later on. Once saved; copy and paste it into a new document—this is the one that will become your synopsis.
The next step is to condense the Chapter Outline down to about five pages. This is the longest synopsis length I have seen requested by editors and agents so it’s the longest one I bother with.
Start by putting the author/book information in the upper left hand corner, single spaced.
Eye of the Beholder
LDS Romantic Suspense—85,000 words
1200 word synopsis
Josi S. Kilpack
Then, change the rest of the spacing to double and start condensing each chapter paragraph into one sentence, maybe two. The first two chapters end up reading like this.
Garrett is in the market for a new Identity, Chressaidia Josefina Salazar is exactly the Identity he needs. At thirty-five, Chrissy is finally making peace with the fact that she might be single forever, until the blind date with Micah topples her defenses and leads her down roads of expectation she thought she’d given up on a long time ago. Amanda has been setting her up for years, and Chrissy’s enthusiasm for these dates is definitely waning, that’s why she does everything she can to put Micah off, convince him she’s not the girl he’s looking for. But Micah doesn’t seem dissuaded and by the end of the evening Chrissy wonders if maybe he is different. Maybe she won’t be alone forever.
Follow this pattern through the entire chapter outline, you’ll end up with close to five to seven pages of information. At which time it’s necessary to polish it, transition the sentences into one another and make sure that the flow is there.
Chressaidia Josefina Salazar is the exact profile Garret is looking for. At the moment her identity is being sold, Chrissy is meeting yet another man on yet another blind date that she is sure will be yet another dead end. However, Micah is nothing like the other poor saps Chrissy’s best friend Amanda has set her up with. In fact, he’s the first man in a very long time that Chrissy hopes will ask her out on a second date.
Keep in as many details as you can, introduce as many sub-plots as possible, but be sure the focus is on the main character and the main conflicts. After you’ve polished your five pages, save it, copy it, and paste it into another new document. It’s now time to cut it down to two pages. You do this by basically taking two sentences and turning them into one.
At the moment Chrissy’s identity is being stolen, she is meeting yet another man on yet another blind date that she is sure will be yet another dead end. However, Micah is nothing like those other dates. Until he doesn’t call her.
The last sentence is what comes about in chapter three. So, I just summarized three chapters into three sentences. I’ve lost details in each phase of the synopsis, but the story is still there. Once you finish your two pages, save, copy, paste into a new document and change the spacing to single. You’ll likely have to cut out a couple sentences to make it fit, but once you finish this one you have a Chapter Outline, a Five Page Synopsis, a Two Page Synopsis and a One Page Synopsis. You’ve also completed boot camp for tight writing, as you had to weigh each word, each sub plot, each character against the book and see what was imperative and what could be cut.
Happy writing!
Last week I posted about synopsis—what it is, what format to use, why it’s important. This week, will be how to write it.
The first thing I do is finish the book. There are those that write the synopsis first, or midway, or whatever—more like an outline—I don’t. My books change too much during the writing process and I need the whole thing in front of me.
Once the book is finished, and revised, I go back to page one. I read through Chapter One, doing my final proofreading, and when I finish I open a new document and I summarize chapter one into one, maybe two, paragraphs. It will read something like this.
Chapter One
Garrett is looking for an identity, and the seller has several to select from. After reviewing the candidates information, he wants Chressaidia Josefina Salazar, a Mexican American women with no criminal record, US citizenship, and who lives in Idaho Falls. She’ll be perfect and he’s willing to pay ten thousand dollars to own her name.
Then I move on to Chapter Two, proofread, then go into my new document and summarize chapter two.
Chapter Two
The real Chressaidia Josefina Salazar, Chrissy, shows up for her most recent blind date with a chip on her shoulder and a stat sheet in her pocket. At thirty-five, she’s tired of meeting whatever men her best friend Amanda thinks will be perfect for her. This guy is white, wears jeans and a baseball cap, and has a penetrating stare that throws her off guard. However, it’s his quick wit and willingness to spar with words that captures her interest and when all her attempts to put him off are parried right back to her, she wonders if perhaps there is something special about him. After finally coming to terms with the fact that she will likely be single forever, could this guy be THE guy?
And so it goes for every chapter in the book. When you’re finished, you have what’s called a Chapter Outline and typically I end up with one page of outline for every twenty pages of the manuscript. You want to keep this, as it can come in handy later on. Once saved; copy and paste it into a new document—this is the one that will become your synopsis.
The next step is to condense the Chapter Outline down to about five pages. This is the longest synopsis length I have seen requested by editors and agents so it’s the longest one I bother with.
Start by putting the author/book information in the upper left hand corner, single spaced.
Eye of the Beholder
LDS Romantic Suspense—85,000 words
1200 word synopsis
Josi S. Kilpack
Then, change the rest of the spacing to double and start condensing each chapter paragraph into one sentence, maybe two. The first two chapters end up reading like this.
Garrett is in the market for a new Identity, Chressaidia Josefina Salazar is exactly the Identity he needs. At thirty-five, Chrissy is finally making peace with the fact that she might be single forever, until the blind date with Micah topples her defenses and leads her down roads of expectation she thought she’d given up on a long time ago. Amanda has been setting her up for years, and Chrissy’s enthusiasm for these dates is definitely waning, that’s why she does everything she can to put Micah off, convince him she’s not the girl he’s looking for. But Micah doesn’t seem dissuaded and by the end of the evening Chrissy wonders if maybe he is different. Maybe she won’t be alone forever.
Follow this pattern through the entire chapter outline, you’ll end up with close to five to seven pages of information. At which time it’s necessary to polish it, transition the sentences into one another and make sure that the flow is there.
Chressaidia Josefina Salazar is the exact profile Garret is looking for. At the moment her identity is being sold, Chrissy is meeting yet another man on yet another blind date that she is sure will be yet another dead end. However, Micah is nothing like the other poor saps Chrissy’s best friend Amanda has set her up with. In fact, he’s the first man in a very long time that Chrissy hopes will ask her out on a second date.
Keep in as many details as you can, introduce as many sub-plots as possible, but be sure the focus is on the main character and the main conflicts. After you’ve polished your five pages, save it, copy it, and paste it into another new document. It’s now time to cut it down to two pages. You do this by basically taking two sentences and turning them into one.
At the moment Chrissy’s identity is being stolen, she is meeting yet another man on yet another blind date that she is sure will be yet another dead end. However, Micah is nothing like those other dates. Until he doesn’t call her.
The last sentence is what comes about in chapter three. So, I just summarized three chapters into three sentences. I’ve lost details in each phase of the synopsis, but the story is still there. Once you finish your two pages, save, copy, paste into a new document and change the spacing to single. You’ll likely have to cut out a couple sentences to make it fit, but once you finish this one you have a Chapter Outline, a Five Page Synopsis, a Two Page Synopsis and a One Page Synopsis. You’ve also completed boot camp for tight writing, as you had to weigh each word, each sub plot, each character against the book and see what was imperative and what could be cut.
Happy writing!
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Dreaded Synopsis
By Josi S. Kilpack
Question:
My book is written in first person, shouldn't my synopsis be in first as well?
____________________________________
In a word: No.
In about 700 words, here is why.
A Synopsis is not like a novel, short story or any other piece of creative writing. It is far more similar to technical writing--like the instruction manual to your treadmill--and it is always always written in third person, from a narrator's POV, never a character.
A synopsis is not designed to build suspense, reflect your writing style, or make an editor beg for more . It has one purpose--to lay out your story in a narrative form from page one until the end. It's point is to condense your entire book into something an editor can read on their way to the bathroom. In it, the editor gets to know your main character, your plot, your main subplots, your climax and your conclusion. If any of these parts are weak or missing, it will show up in your synopsis and the editor will exercise their SASE and send it back to you.
You're probably thinking "Sounds like one more hoop to jump through." You're absolutely right. A synopsis is a test, not only of your ability to follow instructions, but your willingness to do so, your understanding of the business of writing, and to test your writing skills. Anyone that has written a synopsis knows it is HARD to do. but the process itself helps you to become a better writer, not only with your next synopsis, but for the book you're currently knee-deep in.
So, here are some tips.
1) Synopsis length varies from one publisher, agent, editor to another. Read their Writers' Guidelines and give them whatever they ask for. Write the longest option they give you, for instance if they say 2-5 pages, for heaven's sake write five. It will allow you show some of your style and include more elements. Any length 2 pages or greater should be double spaced. If a length is not stated, the general rule is 2 pages double spaced or 1 page single spaced (the word count is within about 25 words in either format).
2) 1 inch margins all the way around (no cheating)
3) 12 pt New Times Roman font (don't get fancy, they hate fancy)
4) Put the following information in the upper left hand corner:
Title here (in italics)
Genre here--novel word count here
Synopsis Word count here
Author's name here
*This information should be single spaced even if your synopsis is double spaced.
5) Make the synopsis fully inclusive-It's up to you the writer to know what are the most important elements of your story and include them. And TELL THE ENDING. Never say, "And then....please contact me at kilpack@gmail.com for the rest of the story." This is breaking the rules and defeating the purpose, because the point is to tell the whole story so the editor knows if it's something they are interested in. They don't have time to read the full manuscript until they know if they like the story.
6) Introduce characters in ALL CAPS the first time you mention them, then regular case thereafter. (UPDATE: Per some feedback from Agents and Editors at a recent writing conference, I have been informed that this is no longer in favor for book submissions. It's still in place for Screenplays, but using the typical format of first letter capitalized is the preferred formatting for novel synopsis)
7) Write the story chronologically, as things happen in the story.
there should be no:
*Bulleted points like this
*Dialogue
*Excerpts
*Reader opinions
Just write a super-condensed-fully-inclusive-narrative of the story. That's all :-)
If you have more questions about a synopsis, please leave them in the comment trail. thanks.
Question:
My book is written in first person, shouldn't my synopsis be in first as well?
____________________________________
In a word: No.
In about 700 words, here is why.
A Synopsis is not like a novel, short story or any other piece of creative writing. It is far more similar to technical writing--like the instruction manual to your treadmill--and it is always always written in third person, from a narrator's POV, never a character.
A synopsis is not designed to build suspense, reflect your writing style, or make an editor beg for more . It has one purpose--to lay out your story in a narrative form from page one until the end. It's point is to condense your entire book into something an editor can read on their way to the bathroom. In it, the editor gets to know your main character, your plot, your main subplots, your climax and your conclusion. If any of these parts are weak or missing, it will show up in your synopsis and the editor will exercise their SASE and send it back to you.
You're probably thinking "Sounds like one more hoop to jump through." You're absolutely right. A synopsis is a test, not only of your ability to follow instructions, but your willingness to do so, your understanding of the business of writing, and to test your writing skills. Anyone that has written a synopsis knows it is HARD to do. but the process itself helps you to become a better writer, not only with your next synopsis, but for the book you're currently knee-deep in.
So, here are some tips.
1) Synopsis length varies from one publisher, agent, editor to another. Read their Writers' Guidelines and give them whatever they ask for. Write the longest option they give you, for instance if they say 2-5 pages, for heaven's sake write five. It will allow you show some of your style and include more elements. Any length 2 pages or greater should be double spaced. If a length is not stated, the general rule is 2 pages double spaced or 1 page single spaced (the word count is within about 25 words in either format).
2) 1 inch margins all the way around (no cheating)
3) 12 pt New Times Roman font (don't get fancy, they hate fancy)
4) Put the following information in the upper left hand corner:
Title here (in italics)
Genre here--novel word count here
Synopsis Word count here
Author's name here
*This information should be single spaced even if your synopsis is double spaced.
5) Make the synopsis fully inclusive-It's up to you the writer to know what are the most important elements of your story and include them. And TELL THE ENDING. Never say, "And then....please contact me at kilpack@gmail.com for the rest of the story." This is breaking the rules and defeating the purpose, because the point is to tell the whole story so the editor knows if it's something they are interested in. They don't have time to read the full manuscript until they know if they like the story.
6) Introduce characters in ALL CAPS the first time you mention them, then regular case thereafter. (UPDATE: Per some feedback from Agents and Editors at a recent writing conference, I have been informed that this is no longer in favor for book submissions. It's still in place for Screenplays, but using the typical format of first letter capitalized is the preferred formatting for novel synopsis)
7) Write the story chronologically, as things happen in the story.
there should be no:
*Bulleted points like this
*Dialogue
*Excerpts
*Reader opinions
Just write a super-condensed-fully-inclusive-narrative of the story. That's all :-)
If you have more questions about a synopsis, please leave them in the comment trail. thanks.
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