Generally speaking how long and detailed does this need to be, to please publishers you send it to?
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
Two to three pages long, though you can go to four or five pages if the novel is complicated enough. (That's single-spaced, by the way.)
The thing is, it had better really need to be four or five pages long, or the editor's eyes will glaze over and you'll get a rejection before they even look at the actual manuscript.
So if you can keep it down to two or three pages, that would be best.
(Also, be sure to include how the story ends in your synopsis. It is not the place to be coy or teasing.)
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
At writer's conferences you're sometimes asked to limit your synopsis to only one page, double-spaced. Obviously, in the 15-minute interviews the editors/agents don't have time to read much, so brevity is important.
I've found it a great exercise, though, and would further suggest starting with a blurb of just a few sentences, the sort you'd read in an ad about your book. The more you work with whittling your work down, the easier it gets to keep to a few pages for a synopsis, and more important, it gives you the essence of a query letter.
Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :
Doesn't Writer's Digest publish a book called Manuscript Preparation (or something like that) that details things like a way a manuscript should look, the synoposis, outlines, etc.?
While I'm thinking about it, I've noticed that there are several "how-to" books on editing one's own work. Has anyone used on of these books? Which one(s)? Have they helped?
Thanks.
Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :
The Comlpete Guide to Editing Your Ficiton---Michael Seidman
It was a major breakthrough for me.
Shawn
Oh and the Writer's Digest book is Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript.
On th esynop--I have a one-liner, a two paragrpah one, a four page one(double spaced) and a nine page one(double spaced).
When I query I state that I have both a short synop and a detailed one. Thenl et them ask for what they want.
Shawn Shawn
[This message has been edited by srhowen (edited June 25, 2003).]
Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :
Shawn,
What exactly was it about Seidman's Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction that you liked?
Have you used Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript? Is it worth the money?
Thanks.
Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :
The manuscript one is worth it because it covers anything you want to submit no matter what type of writing you do. I use it a lot.
The other is great---it is easy to understand and apply to your own writing. So many of the how to books offer things that just don't make sense. To me this one did. It may not be the same for everyone--but the auhtor knows what makes writing work.
SHawn
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Ditto on Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
Posted by Jules (Member # 1658) on :
I'm not familiar with either of those books, but one I've found particularly helpful in the past is 'The Author's Guide to Publishing' by Michael Legat. Its companion volume ('Writing for Pleasure and Profit') by the same author is also a reasonably good introductory text on some of the primary issues in writing, but is very generic and therefore cannot cover enough ground in the areas that are of interest to any specific reader...