Synopsis Styles

[Paulleon]

Hello,

I know I’m new and this is very early for a new post and certainly a question but…

Does a synopsis, a 1 – 3 pager the likes a potential Agent will wish to see, have to be a blow by blow account of what happens?

Or, for instance, would writing it from the point of view of one of the characters be a novel (no pun intended) idea?

Or, for another instance, in the style the book is written, could it be one character talking to another about future events (the future event being the novel).

I’ve read on many a site that the synopsis should not be ‘gimmicky’ – no fancy fonts or Hooray Henry colours, but should it be a regimental one approach to the synopsis?

Any comments would be most appreciated.

P

 

[seaside]

Yeah, avoid gimmicks. Be honest and clear with your synopsis.

 

[chrispenycate]

There have been a number of threads on synopses (just push "search" and "synopsis") which might save repeating the same information; I'd recommend reading :http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/531946-synopsis.html from critiques, but there are plenty of others. What it comes down to is that, on average, 'clever' ways of drawing attention to your oeuvre are more likely to generate annoyance than amusement. Agents/publishers want to be told the contents of the book in as efficient and time-economising manner as possible, not judge style.

 

[chopper]

chrispy is spot-on: keep it simple. leave the more tricksy stuff to the writing itself.

 

[Paulleon]

Thanks Chrispy, et al, I shall read it with interest.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

What we all need to remember is that there is probably nothing that agents haven't seen before, so anyone counting on getting points for originality in the way the synopsis is presented is going to be disappointed. Agents want to know the plot. They want it all presented in a professional and easy to read manner.

I don't say that they never ask to see a manuscript where the style of the synopsis is different from the usual, but if they do, you can bet it was because the story was of the grab-'em-quick-and-never-let-'em-go type, and not because of the gimmick.

And anything other than the standard format could put them off to the point where they don't give the synopsis a serious and careful reading. That is a big risk for any writer to take.
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[The Judge]

A quote from Miss Snark which might be of interest:

Lucienne Diver, who is a very good agent, once said "synopsis tell me if aliens arrive out of the blue in chapter 12". I thought she was kidding. She was not.

Synopsis tell you if the plot fails. It gives you an idea if the requirements of a genre are met, or played with in an interesting way.

Synopsis, when they are well written, give you a sense of character development and where the plot turns. Badly written, they tell you "what it's about" but not why you'd want to read it.


I have synopses for all the books on my list. When I'm placing projects, I read the synopsis before making a sales call. When you're shopping five books at the same time, details like names can get jumbled even in Miss Snark's well organized mind.

Good luck with it!

 

[Paulleon]

Thanks Teresa, I'm just trying to come at the task from all angles and leave no stone un-turned.

 

[Jake Reynolds]

And for the love of the Nine Divines, never try and be cute. Synopses including things like '...but you'll have to wait until you read the ending to know what happens' make me cringe.

I find that a good place to start in synopsis writing (one of the hardest things to do in my experience) is to imagine you are writing the text that appears on the back of the novel. This is a good way to isolate key points and at least make a start (but you will need to furnish it with facts!).

Also, focus on the promises you have made the reader (which you should be doing anyway). By promises I mean 'the stablehand will dicover his destiny as the most powerful mage ever'. The delivery of this promise should be covered in the synopsis as it essentially forms the skeleton of your story in any case.