Nothing earth shattering here. Just wondering as I type my seemingly endless synopsis, if anyone else out there thinks that a synopsis does not really give justice to a long(in my case very long) book or books. Any tips on how to stop rabbiting on and on and on ? No cynical or offensive replies please. I myself prefer self publishing (as a geek) and wonder weather writers are still pandering to the almighty buck funded publishing houses? thoughts?
Thank you Lorraine for the brilliant answer. I love the idea of a map and a journey, it really suits my way of thinking. Thank you. Way back at my High school we covered synopsis writing, but just as everything has evolved so has this. Ah the good old days of english lit.
There is much confusion over what a synopsis is. The formal description is that it is an outline of the book. But in fact, this is wrong. You can produce the most brilliant description of your book but it still won't work as a synopsis. The aim of a synopsis is to GRAB an agent or a publisher, it is to sell you (as the author) and your story in similar manner to the banner and headline in a newspaper. Short, sharp and sweet. A synopsis is, in fact, a toolof marketing. The Bible, for all its length and involvements, could be summed up in a synopsis which would also serve Fifty Shades of Grey.
Hi, Anne,
Few things cause as much stress and hair-pulling as writing a synopsis.
Your obvious desire is to give a full flavour of the novel in all its glory, but that's not what a synopsis is - it's an overview. Make a list of the salient points, not a chapter by chapter write-up of what happens as it happens.
Your plot is a journey with various stops, like a map of the London Underground. You don't include the whole map when you're giving directions, only the relevant section of the line upon which you are travelling. That's what you're aiming for with a synopsis. You need to say where it takes place, who's involved, why they're travelling, and what the important stops are along the way. You have to include the destination too - your agent/publisher wants the whole story, not dark hints.
For a blurb, you're going to have to be even shorter; that only needs the start of the journey and hints of what is to come.
Both have to make your novel stand out from the crowd, but by quality, not sheer volume.
Lorraine