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The Synopsis - the most important page you will ever write!

Why do we say the synopsis is the most important page in your
novel? Because if it isn’t great, and doesn’t grab the attention
of an agent or publisher, they won’t ask to see the full
manuscript, and you are not going to be published. First thing
to remember is that formating is, if anything, more important in
the book synopsis than in the novel itself. This is because all
agents and publishers get countless submissions every single
day, and even a TINY little obstacle to quick skimming will
render your synopsis good for nothing but the waste bin and a
rejection letter. So double space it, use courier font, and
break it into easy to read paragraphs.

If you have created the plot for your story using the Plot Card
system at www.GetPlotted.com then
creating the first pass of your synopsis is easy. Just click the
button. Feel free to ‘jazz it up’ a little - add a little more
about characters and so on. On the other hand, if you are doing
it the hard way, a good place to start is the chapter structure.
You can summarize each chapter manually into a paragraph, and
set them down on a page or 2 to create a first pass synopsis of
your book. It isn’t necessary to ruthlessly include every
chapter in your synopsis - you can just include the main thrust
of your story. In fact, you can even stop before the climax -
this can often be a good way of getting an agent’s interest -
like all readers, he/she will want to know what happens next.

It also isn’t necessary for a synopsis to go into great detail
about characters - in fact some authorities claim that even
using first names is overload on the poor old agent or editor
reading your work. We say the level of detail you go into is
relative to the complexity of the plot itself. It has to fit on
a page or 2, remember! As an example, consider the ‘Thomas
Covenant’ novels. A synopsis for the first one could simply
introduce the main character as ‘Thomas, a leper, finds himself
facing a strange challenge as his illness intensifies’ rather
than ‘Thomas Covenant, divorced father of 3 and a suffering from
a form of leprosy, having lost his job as an accountant, and
been told by Ben Williams, his Doctor that his condition is
incurable, is surprised one day when…’ you get the idea. Keep
it brief and to the point.

Synopsis writing usually happens in the present tense, and the
third party. Even if your novel is a first person perspective,
the synopsis should still be third party. In other words don’t
write things like ‘I realize that all my investments have gone
bad’, write ‘Ben realizes all his investments have gone bad’.
You are effectively temporarily acting as an introducer -
introducing your characters and plot to someone else. It can
also be a good idea to try and reduce the plot to a 30 second
soundbite e.g. ‘An award winning psychiatrist, after a near
death experience, turns his back on fame and fortune and
determines that whatever the cost he will try and help a
disturbed child who claims to be able to see ghosts.
Compromising his marriage in the process, the doctor finally
helps the child come to terms with his condition, only to
realize at the end that he himself is actually a ghost, and the
near death experience was in fact fatal’. Sixth sense, anyone?

A good synopsis contains no dialogue - you simply don’t have the
space to include it. A prologue explaining the context may also
be useful - for example, if your story is sci-fi or fantasy, you
might want to outline the background to the plot before
beginning the synopsis proper. An example - ‘Three thousand
years ago, the Dark Lord Sauron is overthrown by an alliance of
Elves and men. Peace reigns across Middle Earth until Sauron’s
magic ring is accidentally found by Bilbo, a Hobbit’. There are
tips for writing good dialogue at www.GetPlotted.com if you
feel that your speech writing skills need a little work.
Basically, remember that if your context is likely to be
unfamiliar to your reader or editor, a little explanation will
go a long way to helping the synopsis work.

Synopsis length is also an issue. It is a summary, remember.
More than 4 pages and most editors will think long and hard
before launching in to it. These people didn’t go into the
publishing business because they enjoy hard work! Don’t think
that your own story can’t possibly be compressed down to this -
a good plot should fit in a paragraph if necessary. It only has
to attract the attention of an agent or editor long enough for
them to decide to ask you for the full manuscript. if you
haven’t actually written the book yet, your synopsis is in fact
a ‘proposal’, and proposals by definition are fluid. If you get
the go ahead to write the story, the proposal becomes an outline
roadmap, not a series of explicit route instructions. That’s
about it for now!

While there’s no Golden Rule to “Being Published”; it appears the only way to get your foot in the door is to have a respected literary agent hold it open. (I can’t count the number of times my toes, and my ego, have been smashed.) Most of the large NY publishing houses don’t accept unagented queries, and those that do will assign assistant editors to muck through the slush pile. A good literary agent has spent years in the publishing business, building relationships with editors, studying the market, knowing what editors are looking for and which publishers specialize in specific markets or genres. They will be your guide and your advocate to the publishing world.
The trick is finding a good literary agent. By now you have probably heard many horror stories about disreputable agents. If not, do yourself a favor and read the information at Writer Beware, http://www.sfwa.org/beware/agents.html. Be wary of any agent that charges an upfront fee, regardless of what they call it, or an agent that requires an author to use editing or marketing services as a condition of representation. Agents who make their money up front, as reading fees or marketing fees, or who receive a kickback from referrals, are not motivated to sell books. The anonymity of the Internet provides an ideal environment for these creative con artists but it also lets us warn others. According to Writer Beware, here are few methods employed by dishonest agents:

•Reading Fees - This practice, once seen with some reputable agents, has been abused to the point it is now prohibited Association of Authors’ Representatives for members.
•Evaluation or Critique Fee - If you feel that you need a critique, why not hire the services of a reputable editor?
•Submission or Handling Fee - Good agents make money selling books, not selling contracts for representation.
•Submission Expenses - Reputable agents don’t routinely bill their clients out-of-pocket. These expenses may include a large number of manuscript copies, color printing, photos, etc.
•Sliding scale of Fees - Good agents do as much work as is needed to sell a book, all for the same 15% commission.
•Selling “adjunct” services - Websites design, book cover design, illustrations, etc. etc. It’s a conflict of interest for an agent to offer paid services.

As you can see from this list, dishonest agents are as imaginative and creative as the writers they swindle. Unfortunately, there are no licensing requirements, regulatory agency or competency standards for literary agents. One organization that self regulates literary agents is the Association of Authors’ Representatives or AAR. To become a member of AAR, an agent must meet certain criteria, years in business, number of clients, no upfront fees, etc. While there are no guarantees, your odds of selecting a reputable agent will be greatly increased if they are a member of AAR or similar organization. According to AAR, http://www.aar-online.org/faq.html, “Literary agents are listed in many sources, including Literary Market Place, a directory of the publishing industry, which is available at most libraries. You may also ask for recommendations from editors, writing instructors, or fellow writers.”

According to Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato, authors of Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction — and Get It Published, you can also locate an agent a your favorite bookstore: “…check out all the book sections, to determine where your book would likely be shelved in that store. From that section, pick up a book similar to yours in content and presentation, one that you believe appeals to the same reader your book will appeal to. Turn to the “Acknowledgments” page, located either in the front of the book or the back. The author will often thank his or her literary agent. Put that agent’s name on your list of possible agents.” There are two online services that may be of use, for a small fee. “The first is www.publishersweekly.com, and the second is publisherslunch.com… they list each week’s new sales to the publishing industry and the name of the agent who sold the book.” The final suggestion offered by Rabiner and Fortunato is to attend writers’ conferences. Editors are usually in attendance and you can ask for their recommendation of a good agent. (This is also useful when you submit your query letter: “Mr. Editor suggested I contact you regarding my book…”)
To contact an agent, write a short introductory letter which should be informational, no more than one page in length, to the point and professional. Tell the agent if your work is fictional, non fictional, include a sentence or two summarizing the book and then a brief summary of your credentials. Do not make claims that your book will be the next best seller, or comparisons to other works. Include a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) if you would like a reply.

It is acceptable to submit your work to more than one agent at a time, however, you should let them know your work has been sent to other agents.

Many agents will not accept queries by phone, fax or email, so you should use snail mail for all submissions. Upon request, you can submit additional information, such as writing sample and story synopsis.

Once you have retained the services of an agent, you can expect them to provide guidance regarding the quality and marketability of your work. According to AAR, your agent may:

•Offer editorial guidance.
•Establish contacts for you with firms and persons who are acquiring rights to literary and/or dramatic material.
•Advise you about current trends conditions, practices, and contractual terms.
•Market your literary material and rights therein. Negotiate and review licensing agreements.
•Review royalty statements.
•Monitor licensees’ marketing of your work.

Agent representation is valuable when it comes to submitting works to publishers. Publishers depend on agents as a first screen to marketable work. Inept agents who submit marginal work to a plethora of publishers will develop a poor reputation and likely be ignored. Agents must exercise discretion, and the best agents will be highly selective when taking on new clients.

Holly Lisle, author of several published works including: Fire in the Mist, Diplomacy of Wolves, Vengeance of Dragons, and Courage of Falcons offers advise on finding the right agent @ http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/faqs3.html.
“The majority of queries any agent receives—probably around 99%—are rejected because they lack whatever spark that agent is looking for. This doesn’t mean they’re hopeless—what is wrong for one agent might be right for another. Remember that the agent you want will love the genre you work in and know the publishers and editors who publish it, and will love the work you do. Make sure the work you send out is your best, that it is professionally formatted, free of errors, and entirely yours.” She also recommends that you research the type of work an agent represents. “Read their descriptions of what they’re looking for and believe them—an agent who doesn’t like science fiction won’t like your science fiction, and won’t appreciate having his time wasted by yet another beginner who has proved by querying him that he is a beginner, and worse yet, can’t follow instructions.”

Do you still wonder whether or not you need an agent? I guess the question to you would be: “Do you want to be a writer, or do you want to be an agent?” Lisle offers the final bit of advice on the subject: “Good agents do much more than find homes for manuscripts. If he (or she) did nothing more for you than remove bad clauses from contracts, the agent would be worth his ten or fifteen percent.”

© Copyright 2004 Lisa Hood. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Lisa Hood is the author of “Shades of Betrayal” and “Shades of Revenge”. She has been writing for over 10 years and is presently working on her third suspense novel, “Shades of Jealousy.” Other articles by Lisa Hood can be found at http://www.bookjobber.com/articles.asp .
http://www.BOOKJOBBER.com is an Internet based company, which publishes and sells fiction and non fiction e-books.

If you want to know how to write poetry, the first thing you have to do is write some. It doesn’t matter how it turns out. Your own mistakes will become your teachers. Your own writing will motivate you to greater creativity. Now, once you start the process, how do you improve it? Here are three tips.

1. Use nouns and verbs more than adjectives. Which is stronger: “She was as beautiful as a flower…” or “Roses wilted in shame as she passed by…”? “He looked at the depressing clouds…” or “He watched as dark clouds moved in, covering his sky…”?

2. Don’t tell the reader how to feel. Let the words elicit the emotions directly, without explaining. “The tragedy touched them all,” is more touching to the reader as “Men and women, doctor and workman… thirteen people looked upon the scene… with tears in their eyes.”

3. Use dramatic and emotional words. Not all words are equal in their ability to “grab” a reader or elicit emotion. “Fell,” “take,” and “love,” will probably be weaker than “plunged,” “siezed,” and “worship.”

Look at the following lines, written two ways. The second way applies the three rules above. (From the poem “Gratitude.”)

1.

The mountains and lakes were beautiful

I looked at them, heard them and smelled them

And I felt in awe

2.

Mountains stand against the sky

My little lake at their feet

And in the middle of this creation

Which I see with my eyes

Hear with my ears

Smell and taste…

Words fail, as they should

I hope you agree that the second version is better. Again, if you want to know how to write poetry, you have to start writing. Use these and other rules to help you, but remember that all rules in poetry need to be broken at times. Read your poems aloud to yourself and others as a final “test.”

Steve Gillman has been playing with poetry for thirty years. He and his wife Ana created the game Deal-A-Poem, which can be accessed for free at: www.dealapoem.com