posted
Not to hijack another thread. KDW, in another post I recall you saying that it was okay to post the synopsis. I'm about to force myself back to work on that.
A thousand words, roughly, seems like an awfully long post. Were you referring to the shorter query synopsis, or is it okay to post the whole synopsis here for comment?
Edit: Well, not here. In F&F for Novels.
[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited March 01, 2010).]
I can see the point about not posting something 1000 words long, but I also feel that since the publishing concerns don't apply to synopses, I'd really like to make that option available to people.
Maybe, since full synopses (as part of a partial) are not the things that get an author's manuscript requested so much as query synopses are, the focus should be on queries.
Also, if the people who are helpful on a query synopsis are willing, the author could ask them to look at the full synopsis through email.
posted
It seems to me that we don't actively truncate member's posts and/or rants to a certain number of words, and that this is a good thing. In the same spirit then I think it's worth considering that a lengthy synopsis in novels F&F might be perfectly fine; the reasons for the first-13 limitation (publication rights, and "editor's first page" impression) don't seem to apply. (Or do they?)
The only thing that might be an issue (as I see it) is simply that, faced with a wall of text, some critiquers might be turned off. But then, that's a problem we face with everything, so why not give it a go?
I personally would love to see more Novels F&F presented as if to an agent: Here's a query, summarising the point of the story, and offering to email a partial and synopsis for prospective readers. Just like getting agent buy-in on reading a full story, if we get our pitch right in Novels F&F, we might get a few more buy-in for members to read the whole thing. I'd be much happier offering to critique a novel entry if I knew I was going to get the first few pages and a synopsis initially, rather than be presented with a huge workload for a story I don't know I care about yet.
Then again, maybe I shouldn't be too opinionated - I've not posted anything in Novels and won't be doing so for a while yet
[This message has been edited by BenM (edited March 01, 2010).]
posted
So far as I can tell right now, about half the agents out there request a synopsis as part of the initial query. Often, a query letter, some number of pages or chapters (which varies widely from 5 pages to 50 pages), and a synopsis.
I agree with the "wall of text" issue, but I wonder if posting the synopsis in F&F might get more readers than asking for people who're willing to read it via e-mail. The critiques, obviously, would be less extensive, but represent a wider audience.
I don't know. Maybe the synopsis could be parsed out in smaller chunks (250 or 300 words?). Then, if a reader didn't follow on to the next part of the synopsis, that would be where they lost interest? *shrugs*
posted
BenM, partials are the best way to "read" a novel for feedback as far as I'm concerned, because problems with the writing will be in the first few chapters, and problems with the story will be in the synopsis, and a critiquer doesn't need to read more than that to give useful feedback to a writer.
And it saves the poor critiquer from having to wade through the whole manuscript. I strongly recommend only offering to give feedback on partials, and I don't do it any other way myself.
If critiquers want to read the whole thing, they can always ask for the rest of it after reading the partial.
Meredith, posting a long synopsis in chunks is a good idea. Authors could say that they are going to do that and start each chunk with some kind of designation like Chunk 1 or Part 1, and so on. I think that's a great idea for dealing with the wall of text problem.
posted
Yeah, I agree Kathleen; I critiqued a full novel last year and there were just so many things broken, and I put in so many comments (>1,000) that while it was educational for me, I just knew most of those comments were going to be ignored if the author chose to rewrite. A sample of the writing, to deal with writing issues, and a synopsis, to deal with the plot, I've found to be a huge time-saver since; only if the plot looks solid and the writing amazing, could I imagine critiquing another full novel.
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posted
Meredith, I'll offer to read your full synopsis right now.
I truly don't mind the size and complexity at my leisure but if I saw a wall of text here on Hatrack I might give it a pass. That's because I usually visit here in small chunks of time and can't always give proper attention to a long post.
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