Angry Robot Open Submissions - July 2020

[Jo Zebedee]

Harebrain is correct. Query letter if they ask for one to attract interest, writing sample then to draw them in, synopsis at the end to give confidence in your structure and length etc.
synopsis one page, single spaced, detail of the book.

 

[Ursa major]

And there is the feeling "It's a spoiler" what motivation to read it do they have now?

The synopsis is not the blurb and those reading the synopsis are not buying the book to read (for pleasure, that is) but to see if they might want to sell it to those who might want to read it. Their motivation to read what you've sent them (and what they might ask for later) is thus very different.

And has been pointed out many times (even in song), "it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it", i.e. the most hackneyed plot can be the basis of a book that's a joy to read (not that one should take the risk of using such a plot, at least not obviously so), while the most amazing plot can still lie at the heart of a real stinker that would only be thrown across the room once full PPE had been donned.

 

[Dan Jones]

I swear the synopsis is harder to write than the book! Getting the plot and the "feel" across is a nightmare. So far it is one page but single spaced.
And there is the feeling "It's a spoiler" what motivation to read it do they have now? There are no surprises.
Anyone else having trouble with the synopsis?
It's times like this I wish I was just knocking out formula Mills and Boone boy meets girlers.

I was very lucky, I chucked my synopsis up to my writing group and they helped immeasurably. The synopsis actually took me weeks to get right, and it went through 4 versions, from 1200 words to about 600, which I just managed to squeeze onto one page with some clever formatting.

Best thing is to find a few (no more than three, I'd say) writers whose opinion you trust and ask them for feedback as you edit and tweak it.

I wouldn't put it up on the crits board as you'll get too many opinions; I think with synopses it's better to have focused feedback rather than everyone's contributions as it can get a bit confusing.

Actually, from what I've heard several times from industry professionals, it's likely to be the other way round. They look at the actual writing first, and then, if they like that, they'll read the synopsis to get feel for how well you've got your whole story under control. The chapters themselves are much more likely to be the deal-breaker than the synopsis (which in most cases probably won't even be looked at).

This is true, they will always look at the writing sample first. If they like that they'll look at the synopsis to see if the writer is able to create a story that's logical and makes sense. And if the synopsis doesn't make sense then it'll be a rejection, so it is just as important.

In any case, an assumption that it won't be looked at could come back to bite you if you sub a crap synopsis and they do look at it. And why would anyone hamstring their chances by submitting a sub par piece of work?

 

[Bren G]

Good to know folks! Seems it is a bit different than a job interview but then if we circle back to the original question, how much do you reveal in the synopsis? I would still think you will want to include the spoilers as they will help to determine the overall structure and depth? No?


BG

 

[HareBrain]

I would still think you will want to include the spoilers as they will help to determine the overall structure and depth? No?

Yes, don't hold anything back for spoiler reasons. (Leaving things out to simplify or clarify is another matter.)

 

[Astro Pen]

Glad I asked the team, it's an education.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

These things are often called an elevator pitch, which to us Brits means a lift pitch. You get into a lift, see somebody who's an editor, then you have 30 seconds to reel them in with a tag line or two. I personally find synopses okay to write, but a query letter can be more difficult, not least because you usually have to tailor it. Here's an example of one of mine:
"Modern humans and Neanderthals met in Europe 40,000 years ago, and interbred. What if such a meeting happened half way through the 21st century?"

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Good to know folks! Seems it is a bit different than a job interview but then if we circle back to the original question, how much do you reveal in the synopsis? I would still think you will want to include the spoilers as they will help to determine the overall structure and depth? No?


BG

No spoilers in the synopsis. It’s a dry, fairly boring document

 

[Bren G]

Lol... I have so much to learn!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Lol... I have so much to learn!

We all did! keep asking the questions

 

[Justin Swanton]

I often wonder what publishers are really looking for as they sift through one MS after another. I mean, it's reasonable to assume that they receive much more good-quality material their readership would be happy to read than that readership has time for. What makes them actually choose an MS and decide that this is the one out of several hundred or thousand they are going to get behind? Is it personal preference: a particular kind of story that chimes with them? Or something original, a different kind of worldbuilding that hasn't been tried before?

Given that something around half or even more of published books are commercial failures and that most if not all bestsellers received dozens of rejection notes before finally getting accepted, I think it a safe assumption that the average publisher doesn't have a magic sixth sense that can unerringly pick out a winner. So how do they view their own process of choosing?

 

[Dan Jones]

I often wonder what publishers are really looking for as they sift through one MS after another. I mean, it's reasonable to assume that they receive much more good-quality material their readership would be happy to read than that readership has time for. What makes them actually choose an MS and decide that this is the one out of several hundred or thousand they are going to get behind? Is it personal preference: a particular kind of story that chimes with them? Or something original, a different kind of worldbuilding that hasn't been tried before?

Given that something around half or even more of published books are commercial failures and that most if not all bestsellers received dozens of rejection notes before finally getting accepted, I think it a safe assumption that the average publisher doesn't have a magic sixth sense that can unerringly pick out a winner. So how do they view their own process of choosing?

It's a brilliant question, and one for which I suppose there is no answer; or, at least, no satisfactory answer. Agents and publishers are only human, and they can only go by their own tastes, experiences of what sells, trends, and eye for quality. That doesn't mean they get everything right.

One big downside of the "slush-pile" method of determining which manuscript to take on is that manuscripts are judged on a case by case basis - they are read and the agent/pubbie thinks either "yes" or "no". Its an odd way of doing things. In my line of work a proposal for a piece of work is evaluated by a transparent set of criteria and scored accordingly so that all proposals can be judged side by side. With publishing theres no sense of that; a manuscript is judged in perfect isolation, and if the agent isnt really in the mood or they are distracted or hungover or whatever then that could easily result in a no, whereas a manuscript that might not be as good catches the reader in the right mood and gets the nod
Of course one would hope that all agents approach the such pile with the utmost professionalism, but like I say, they're only human.

I suppose this highly imperfect approach is mainly owing to the obscene, sheer size of the slush pile. I had a meeting with an agent a couple of years ago and saw the slush pile first hand, and it was grim. If you think most of the subs that agents read are sh*te (and apparently they are) then it's a pretty hard job to slog through them all.

Still, them's the rules! Now, where did I put that brandy...?

 

[Trollheart]

One would also hope agents and publishers and editors don't go into work suffering with hangovers. "What's that name? Luke Sky what? I'm too drunk to read a name that long! Where's my REJECT stamp?"

 

[Dan Jones]

Well, we've all done it. My passengers rarely complain...

 

[Astro Pen]

Okay team. The submission is in
A big thanks to the chronner (no name unless they want to hold their hand up) who gave my chapters a last read before submitting