Why I LOVE a book synopsis
NEWS UPDATE: My editor just sent me the complete cover (front, spine, and back) for Armed & Magical. WOW!! It's absolutely gorgeous! I'll post it as soon as I can. There's still some tweaking to be done to the arrangement of author quotes, and the whole thing needs to be officially approved -- but as soon as that happens, you'll see it here.
I now return you to my regularly scheduled blog. . .
Yes, you heard me right -- I love having a synopsis for a book that I'm writing. I came to this conclusion last night when I finished Chapter 6 of The Trouble With Demons, and started blocking out the action for Chapter 7. Here's why:
A day or two after I turned in Armed & Magical to Anne Sowards at Ace Books, she contacted my agent Kristin Nelson and said she'd be interesting in more Raine Benares books, and would I be interested in writing them? My answer was an emphatic and resounding "YES!" Usually an editor wants to see the first 50 pages and a detailed plot synopsis. But since I'd already done two books for Ace, Anne said that a synop of each book would be fine. So I got to work.
And it was Work with a capital "W". Writing a synopsis is also a couple of other things that I won't say here so as not to traumatize sensitive ears. It took me a little over a month to get those two synops to where they needed to be to send to Anne. It was well worth the effort, blood, sweat, swearing, etc. My books tend to get a little complex in the plot department. The trick is making the complex seem simple -- or at least able to be followed by readers. That calls for weaving in subplots as seamlessly as possible. A detailed synop keeps a complicated plot organized and at my fingertips when I need it. Last night, I needed it. I've found that every couple of chapters, I need to refer back to my synop to make sure I'm on track and have included the plot twists and introduced any new characters when they need to come "on stage."
There is absolutely no way I could keep all of that straight in my head. Other writers may be able to, but I can't. All hail the wonderful and all-powerful synopsis.
And for the writers out there, don't forget Kristin Nelson's (my agent) mini-seminar on her blog about how to write a pitch paragraph for query emails or letters. She started it on Tuesday of last week and is continuing it into this week. And don't just read Kristin's posts, be sure to read the comments as well, there's good stuff in there, too. Her website is www.nelsonagency.com, but you can click on the "Agent Kristin" link in the list to the right and it'll take you straight to her blog.
I now return you to my regularly scheduled blog. . .
Yes, you heard me right -- I love having a synopsis for a book that I'm writing. I came to this conclusion last night when I finished Chapter 6 of The Trouble With Demons, and started blocking out the action for Chapter 7. Here's why:
A day or two after I turned in Armed & Magical to Anne Sowards at Ace Books, she contacted my agent Kristin Nelson and said she'd be interesting in more Raine Benares books, and would I be interested in writing them? My answer was an emphatic and resounding "YES!" Usually an editor wants to see the first 50 pages and a detailed plot synopsis. But since I'd already done two books for Ace, Anne said that a synop of each book would be fine. So I got to work.
And it was Work with a capital "W". Writing a synopsis is also a couple of other things that I won't say here so as not to traumatize sensitive ears. It took me a little over a month to get those two synops to where they needed to be to send to Anne. It was well worth the effort, blood, sweat, swearing, etc. My books tend to get a little complex in the plot department. The trick is making the complex seem simple -- or at least able to be followed by readers. That calls for weaving in subplots as seamlessly as possible. A detailed synop keeps a complicated plot organized and at my fingertips when I need it. Last night, I needed it. I've found that every couple of chapters, I need to refer back to my synop to make sure I'm on track and have included the plot twists and introduced any new characters when they need to come "on stage."
There is absolutely no way I could keep all of that straight in my head. Other writers may be able to, but I can't. All hail the wonderful and all-powerful synopsis.
And for the writers out there, don't forget Kristin Nelson's (my agent) mini-seminar on her blog about how to write a pitch paragraph for query emails or letters. She started it on Tuesday of last week and is continuing it into this week. And don't just read Kristin's posts, be sure to read the comments as well, there's good stuff in there, too. Her website is www.nelsonagency.com, but you can click on the "Agent Kristin" link in the list to the right and it'll take you straight to her blog.
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:35 AM
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