I'm Trying to Get a Book Published! discussion

Does anyone have questions about how to write a synopsis?

yes i do what is a synopsis

A synopsis is a short amount of writing that tells the main plot of the book without giving EVERYTHING away. It's like the thing on the back/front flap of a book.

(Brigid, you spelled synopsis wrong in the topic name. LOL :])

oh thanks im new to all this writing stuff

♥ Tink ♥ (Paige) wrote: "A synopsis is a short amount of writing that tells the main plot of the book without giving EVERYTHING away. It's like the thing on the back/front flap of a book.

(Brigid, you spelled synopsis wr..."

noooo "synopses" is the plural of "synopsis". :]

oh and actually a synopsis pretty much IS supposed to give everything away ... all the important stuff, anyway. ;D

I hate 'em. I don't see the point. I get that the agent needs a quick run though of what's to come, but I hate writing them. Maybe it's 'cause I suck at 'em, though. LOL

sypnosis? anyone know the answer to submitting a query, sample chapters, and a sypnosis at the same time? I mean, there's already a sypnosis in the query. Is there a difference?

If you're in Write in 2009, this question is also in my cubi.

Having written quite a few synopses for my books, I can tell everyone that without knowing how to write an effective synopsis, you will not be published. One of the key things to remember about submitting a synopsis to a publisher is that you should never try to hide the ending to your story. Editors/agents despise reading a synopsis that doesn't tell the full story. A synopsis is not the place to create suspense. An author who omits the ending in a synopsis does so at his/her own peril.

~♥~ Annie ~♥~ wrote: "sypnosis? anyone know the answer to submitting a query, sample chapters, and a sypnosis at the same time? I mean, there's already a sypnosis in the query. Is there a difference?

If you're in Wri..."

The synopsis in the query is a short one that tells the basics of the book w/o necessarily giving away the ending.

The separate two-page synopsis goes through the story in more detail, citing important plot points, and it SHOULD give away the ending! :)

okay. Thank you!

So, what if you have 3 different stories taking place throughout the book, how would you put that into a sypnosis?

hmm ... i don't know. i've never had that problem before. i guess you'd just write it like a regular synopsis ... only it would be like "while so and so is doing such-and-such, someone-else is doing such-and-such" ... i don't know.

idk either

hmmmmm

deleted user wrote: "So, what if you have 3 different stories taking place throughout the book, how would you put that into a sypnosis?"

I have a similar problem. My character gets split in two and both are having completely different experiences. What I did in my rough draft of my synopsis is explain that the actual novel alternates between the two points of view. Then I went ahead and explained one at a time, citing when an action was the result of something the other did. I don't know if this'll work with your piece, but you might consider it.

cool