Wednesday 25 April 2012

The Dreaded Synopsis

The Dreaded Synopsis

Ask any author which bit they most hate writing and the chances are they will say it’s the synopsis. Tied firmly in with plotting, it is some sort of commitment to the storyline. Many people I know actually write the synopsis at the end but if you want to pitch a novel with a partial, (a few chapters only) this can often be impossible without a synopsis. We have discussed before how some people always finish a story before sending in even the partial. I like to know that what I’m writing is likely to be accepted before spending too much time on it, so I send a partial, three chapters or so, before I finish a book. Even though the partial may be approved, there are still no guarantees the final product will be accepted. However many books are behind you, the current work is only as good as it an editor considers!

So, what is the function of the synopsis? It should clarify the story’s drive, give an outline of the main characters and show the potential publisher how it all hangs together. Even three chapters may not be enough to show how the characters are going to turn out. Looking at a publisher’s guidelines, it become obvious that there are many different ways of producing the synopsis. Some require multiple pages with chapter outlines and huge amounts of detail. Others want an A4 page with the outline of the plot. Clearly, it is important to know exactly what is required before sending out material. Sadly, not all publishers or agents make it clear, so approaching a new publisher could be doomed at the outset if you get it wrong.

Writing the synopsis at the beginning of the work is really a form of plotting. If ever I do start with the synopsis, I rarely seem able to follow it all the way through. My characters develop their own lives, their own characters and often find them doing something quite unexpected. This can take the plot into a different route entirely. I may have the idea of what is to happen eventually and even begin to write that bit, far too early. The synopsis then has to change to accommodate this. I suppose I am saying that I don’t really like to plot in too much detail as this doesn’t leave the scope for developing characters to drive the story themselves.



My most recent People’s Friend Pocket Novel was the fourth in what started as a one off and turned into a series of five. My editor was enthusiastic about the series and didn’t want to see a synopsis at all. This was great and things kept happening unexpectedly (for me too) and made it a fast moving story to write and I hope, a good pace to read. Of course, this depends on an editor knowing a writer and both having a mutual trust. And dare I say it, on having reasonable experience.

Unlike the ‘blurb’ on the back of a book that is designed to draw in the reader, the synopsis must present the whole story and characters and is a key selling point for the book.

Dreaded or not, the synopsis exists to sell your work.

13 comments:

  1. An interesting post, Chrissie, and very timely for us. As you say the characters do tend to take on lives of their own, so writing the synopsis at the beginning isn't always the best option. But the synopsis is definitely the thing which can make or break a sale as it's the first thing the editor sees.

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  2. Even if I don't write a synopsis at the beginning, I do write a summary of what I hope will happen. Then I have something to refer to if my story seems to be getting off-track. For My Weekly and People's Friend novellas I seldom write more than a one page synopsis. Keeping it to that length means I think hard about what needs to go into it.

    Nicola Morgan's ebook Write A Great Synopsis is a very helpful guide to get you through the synopsis writing process.

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  3. I used to write the synopsis at the end of the finished book but the last couple of novels have been pitched entirely on a proposal synopsis so it had to be done first. Now I'm convinced of its value and intend to write one in advance of any future works. I think its true to say that when pitching to publishers/editors they know the synopsis may be a little different to the finished product and that's okay unless it is vastly different from what was offered.
    I have never been brave enough to send synopsis and first chapters without having finished the entire book - I always worry I'd get an answer back to quickly and not be able to write fast enough to get the book to them in time!

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  4. Good point there Chrissie. I'm one of the people who can't do a synopsis until they've written the book but when I heard Nora Roberts say she was the same I didn't feel in such bad company!

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  5. Carol I had exactly that happen to me with Mills and Boon. I would NEVER do it again.

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  6. Angela, I read an article about Nora Roberts the other day, I think it was to mark her 200th best seller or something phenomenal. She said that she doesn't do heroines who aren't feisty and I guess that's part of her appeal. Needless to say, my latest heroine is just that...

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  7. Oh dear, the joys of the synopsis!

    Like Sally, I prefer to write an initial summary of the plot, so I know where the story is going.
    It’s especially helpful now that I write and plot my work in Scrivener. (Brilliant software. The more I use it, the more I love it. You can download a free month’s trial from the website. It’s well worth having a look.)

    I’m not sure that sending the synopsis and first chapters to an editor before the rest of the book is written really works for me…Not when a request to see the rest, ASAP, comes pinging back by return. It’s no fun writing 40K words in just over two weeks….

    Thank you for another great post, Chrissie.

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  8. I had great success the first time I dared to send in just three chapters and the synopsis before finishing the novel. Tracey Steel got back to me very quickly and said she liked it. So I finished it in double quick time! I work better that way. And once Maggie just asked me to send her what I'd written of Mistletoe Mystery (after she'd turned down my werewolf novella) and she liked that immediately. So it does work if you know you can write quickly enough.

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    1. That's right for me too Sally. Dare I say it? ... I usually do 5,000 words a day when I'm working properly. If I get a request to see the rest, I know I can do it as long as life doesn't interrupt too much. With Tracey, I just tell her what I'm thinking of writing and she's usually happy with that.Maggie seems to want more but she's experimenting at moment, I think. New ideas and different angles.
      Looks like I'm suddenly not anonymous!

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  9. 5,000 words a day, Chrissie? Wow!! This could be where I'm going wrong.
    Congratulations, by the way, on getting your identity back.

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  10. Meant to say…I read recently in someone’s blog that the way to achieve 5,000 plus words a day was to jot down a brief resume of the ground you planned to cover that day, therefore focussing your mind and not wasting time wondering what comes next.
    Does anyone have any opinions on this?

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    1. Occasionally do this but I have htinking time while I'm out with the dogs first thing. Today I have so many ideas I'm bursting to get going! Suddenly, the plot is carrying me along with a whole new lot of inspiration. No time to jot down ideas.

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    2. I can write about 3000 or 4000 words on a good day, and the most I've written in a day is 7000 words but that was at the end of a novella and I was itching to get it finished.

      At the moment I'm struggling to write more than 1400 words a day, and as I don't normally work that way, it feels really plodding and I'm finding it hard to go back the next day. I really need to apply myself.

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