Writing a Selling Synopsis

Before you can write a synopsis you must understand what the word means. A synopsis is a bare-bones summary of your novel. It is the mechanism that sells an editor on your work. A synopsis is a concise account of what happens in your story, and must present a clear idea of the characters, the conflict that shapes the story and how the conflict is resolved.

The following are points covered in a synopsis of a romance novel:

• The Encounter: How the story opens. Reveal what is at stake for the protagonists.
• The Romantic Relationship: Why do these two people love one another and not someone else? What makes them uniquely right for one another?
• The Central Conflict: What keeps the characters apart?
• The Chase: The drama that arises out of the conflict.
• The Obstacles: People, events, issues or principles relevant to the central conflict encountered in the chase.
• The Dark Moment: The great event that tears them even further apart just before they can finally reconcile. The dark moment will be a grand obstacle that reiterates the conflict.
• The Resolution: How do they get back together again? What makes them change internally so that they overcome the central conflict and all the obstacles they've encountered?

Other genres will will have different elements, but the purpose and layout of a synopsis will be similar. In a mystery novel, for example, the romantic relationship might be replaced by the progression of the crime and the investigation. In a techno-thriller, the dark moment might be when the protagonist believes he is too late to stop the launching of the nuclear missile.

Some Do's and Don'ts:

DO:

• Include all pivotal scenes.
• Tell the editor how the story will reach a satisfying ending.
• Answer all questions.
• "Tell" how the story will evolve, don't "show" it evolving (the opposite of "show don't tell.")
• Keep it short-a good rule of thumb is 1 synopsis page per 10,000 ms words.
• Eliminate unnecessary adjectives-the editor doesn't need to know the characters' hair/eye color.
• Use only the names of the main characters, referring to other characters by their relationship to the hero and heroine.
• Use third person, omniscient point of view, in present tense.

DON'T:

• Submit your synopsis in the form of an outline.
• Go off on tangents.
• Use dialogue.
• Include anything not directly relevant to the characters and their evolving relationship.
• And the biggest no-no of all-don't ever end your synopsis with a cliff-hanger, telling the editor they'll have to "read the whole book" to find out the ending!

Presentation:

• Use quality white bond paper
• 1" margins all the way around
• Double space
• Use standard font such as Courier New or Times New Roman, size 12 font.
• Create a header listing your last name, the title and the word "synopsis" in the left corner, page number in the right.

About the Author:

STAR member Mia Crews is the Immediate Past President of the SpacecoasT Authors of Romance (STAR), Melbourne, Florida and serves as the STAR newsletter editorial director. She has authored five Silhouette Romances under the pen name, Mia Maxam, spent eight years as a correspondent for the Florida Today newspaper and just finished a stint as a political campaign and speech writer for a newly elected member of the Florida House of Representatives. She is one of the original founders of STAR, located in Melbourne, Florida.

Please do not reproduce without permission.