What is a Synopsis and Why? . . . Part One

As a general rule, I believed a Synopsis was used to sell most fiction books, whereas a Book Proposal was the selling tool for nonfiction.  My book is a memoir and I was taught a book proposal would be required for submission.  I spent agonizing months laboring over this monster to put it kindly, and was ready to throw a party when I was finished.  Yet my research  uncovered a conundrum between the two . . . different books, articles and agents say one thing . . . while others say just the opposite.  Great!
 
The solution:  Be prepared to do both . . . unless you know something I don't know, or plan to self-publish.

. . . See B is for Book Proposal . . . Part One and Two in May & June.
 
Your initial contact determines the agent's first impression of you.  You want to be professional and brief.  Research plays an important role, show the agent you've done your homework.

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up."       Anne Lamott

Submission guidelines . . . The agent I described in my last blog stated they do not accept email queries.  This pleased me because of all the email queries I've sent . . . only 1 replied.  Instead, this new agent asked for a query letter,  a 1-3 page synopsis, and the first 50 pages of my manuscript, which is different from most.   Rewriting my query letter was a snap compared to the synopsis.  My original synopsis is part of my book proposal.  I slaved to shave the 109 chapters in Diary of a Vet's Wife down to 7 pages and I was RELIEVED when it was DONE!  Now I'm being asked to condense this same information into 1-3 pages!  Are they serious???

The SYNOPSIS is the most important part of your submission package!!!

It's your selling tool . . . your ticket in the door!  And it can prove harder to write than the actual book, but it's worth it.  You must develop, sweat over and polish it . . . giving it the same attention you devoted to your book!

Your query letter and synopsis are what sells the editor on your manuscript!

Your synopsis is an outline describing the general events of your book written in the PRESENT TENSE NARRATIVE. 

Some key questions to answer in a synopsis:

  What is your story about?

•   Who are the main characters?
•   What do these characters want?
•   What stands in their way of getting it?

A short description of the main theme of a nonfiction work should focus on:

•   The Main Characters
•   The Main Plot
•   The Main Conflicts 

How to Write a Great Synopsis . . . 

1. Focus on your characters and what is happening to them!
2. Give editor a sense of setting, tone and pace of your book.  They are your reader . . . entice them.
3. Follow the editors instructions!!! 
4. Don't reproduce first pages of your book!  Make synopsis original, yet a true representation of your story at the same time.
5. DON'T LEAVE OUT THE CLIFF HANGERS.
6. Don't include character's physical description
7. Don't include secondary characters, unless important to plot and affect your character

One Step at a Time . . .

Don't be intimidated . . . break it down . . . step by step

•   Sit for a final reading with a pen and notebook
•   As you finish each chapter, write a 1 or 2 paragraph summary
•   What happened?
•   Where?
•   To which character?

Notice themes running through chapters as you read.  Make note of themes.  You may uncover your one-line summary agents and editors like so much.

When you are done, you will have a chapter by chapter book outline called the author's outline.

Though this outline is no longer favored by editors and agents, it will remain one of your most valuable writing tools.  Never throw it away!  This outline will help if you ever decide to revise your novel.

Immediate use for the outline . . . Now you can pinpoint the most important plot points in the outline and put them into the synopsis. 

To be continued . . .

My trip to Ohio . . .

At my mom's, I was greeted by 100 empty cream puff shells, covered in plastic wrap, waiting on my bedroom dresser.  She's 94 and my cousin assisted in this endeavor.  As tradition goes, I help mom and my sister fill and frost these delicate shells the morning of the reunion. 

Mom was up early, too excited to sleep, and had 40-some filled before I wandered into the kitchen for coffee.  Everything went well until it was time for the frosting.  Mom didn't have a recipe . . . it's in her head and all she remembered was the list of ingredients!  What to do?  So, like 3 mad scientists, we added a little bit-of-this and a little bit-of-that into the pan hoping it won't turn to fudge. Soon mom announced, "It feels right," as she sat stirring the smooth, warm chocolate with a wooden spoon.

The cream puffs were perfection.  All 45 at the reunion once again savored this infamous delicacy . . . unaware of our chaos.

Lessons learned . . . my two cents

"Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality."  C.S. Lewis 

B Is For Book Proposal . . . Part Two

How all this life would vanish, evaporate, if I didn't clutch at it, cling to it, while I still remember some twinge or glory.                   Sylvia Plath

My goal is not to bore you with the mechanics of writing a book proposal.  Rather my blog is meant to show what I've learned as a novice, having possessed an insatiable need to write my story and get it out of my head.  I want to reach others who have stories of their own chewing at their insides.  And give them hope and encouragement to step off the edge and feel the wind in their face.

I'm still unsure how, or who will publish my book, I can only share the steps I've taken and why.  A book proposal is part of this process.  Each of us must find our own way . . . this is my uncharted journey.

You don't write because you want to say something: You write because you've got something to say.                                          F. Scott Fitzgerald

Your book proposal must answer these questions:
          Why this book?
          Why you?

The crucial first paragraphs of your introduction must hook the editor with the single most exciting thing you can write that makes your book new, needed and timely.  You have approximately 20 seconds to get their attention.  How's that for pressure?

Below is a brief description of each phase of my proposal:

Premise - Your topic must stand out and fill a distinct need with national, and possibly international appeal.
Overview - Show how your book satisfies that need by reaching your readers curiosity, heart or mind.  Think of this section as an expanded book-jacket blurb.
Manuscript -  Status of your manuscript and book proposal.  How long until completion, or completed? 
Note:  It's best to have a book proposal completed when you begin to send query letters.  Agents and publishers need this tool, if they're interested.  Delay may quench that appeal.
Charastics of reader -  Know your readers.  Who will buy your book?
Statistics - Are there statistics that show a growing need for your topic?  If so, show them.
Example:  US Military in Afghanistan had lost 761 soldiers in combat, but a higher number in service.  817 had taken their own lives over the same period.  The surge of suicide has risen five years in a row.  Mark Thompson - Time Magazine  April 13, 2010. 
Competition -  List other books on your topic, and show why yours is different and/or unique.
The Author - Emphasize your authority for writing the book.  I was intimitated as a writer with no prior achievements.  In class, I was told to list writing classes, conferences, community functions I've attended, and any other areas that might give me creditability.
Mission Statment - Optional.
Synopsis -  This was more difficult.  In the end, I condensed my entire book to 5 single-spaced pages.  This included chapter highlights, noting each main character, important scenes, and the end.
Sample Chapters - In this area, I chose my first chapter, and one of my "best" chapters.  A chapter filled with action and emotion.

Writing my book proposal was a labor of love.  It was complex and demanding, but it helped me to grow as a writer.  For this I am grateful.

New Zealand . . . I'm so jealous of their accent

My trip to Auckland was amazing, other than some cold rainy days. I arrived almost 2 hours late, which upset Max (7) who alerted others in the airport his Nana was missing.  And I noticed Charlie (4) had picked up some of the accent.  My favorite word was "Da-dee."  I loved it! 

One afternoon, my daughter and I took a ferry to Waiheke Island for lunch at the Mudbrick Vineyard.  Our view overlooked the vineyards to the sea where we watched the rain approach.  We sipped white wine made from grapes grown there, while dining on elegantly prepared dishes.  But I must warn you . . . don't order the scallops because you only get TWO.  And I was hungry.

The days were filled new places, new faces and lovely food.  Too many to mention here.  A few things I found unique:  Children weren't required to wear shoes in school . . . Cars drive on the other side of the street, which is scary going up a mountain . . . Time seems to go more slowly . . . People are extremely polite, cars drive slower, and no one ever honks their horn.  Can you imagine?   

The night before I left, we were invited to a lovely dinner at a neighbors, whose parents and their friends were visiting from Australia.  It was one of the nicest evenings I can remember.  And my son-in-laws roasted beet root with sliced avacado was a hit.

It was a wonderful trip and I'm thrilled I went, even though it was winter.  Thank you, Tiff and Scott for your gracious hospitality.

Lesson Learned . . . my two cents 

Writing a book proposal is much like eating an elephant . . . one bite at a time.

Q Is For Query Letter . . .

Ode to Saturday morning and the opulence of writing in my PJ's.  A steaming cup of black coffee, a handful of cold cherries and a rice cake smothered in peanut butter at my elbow.  Seagulls screech over the crashing waves at Big Sur ebbing from my Media Player.  A setting decadent as a piece of rich dark chocolate. 

What more could a writer want?  THEIR BOOK PUBLISHED!

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.    
                                                                                                                        Gilbert K. Chesterton 

A query letter was my next mountain to scale.  Daunting and foreboding.  I knew it must start with a "hook" like my story, something that will grab the readers attention.  And it must be short!

Research . . . write, then rewrite.  It took weeks before I had something solid in place.  Something I was ready to read in class, if asked.  And I was . . .

Why was reading aloud so terrifying?  But I knew the answer . . . self-doubt!

May 1, 2010

Mr. Mick Silva, Editor

WaterBrook Press

Dear Mr. Silva,

              “Why in the hell did you call 911 when I tried to commit suicide?”

              This was part of a message left on my answering machine by my husband, a Vietnam vet, three months before he took his own life.  Devastated, I could not comprehend why our men and women die by their own hand after surviving the ravages of war.  I knew I wasn’t alone suffering in silence, watching the man I love destroy himself.  I knew tens of thousands, perhaps millions of other families live this nightmare with no place to turn.   

              

              Diary of a Vet's Wife, subtitled Loving and living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, my memoir at 96,000 words covers an eighteen year period in my life lifted from personal journals.  This heartfelt love story took sixteen years to write and reads like a novel. 

Divorced with three young children, I longed to find the love of my life.  Eighteen months later we meet, oblivious to the perils waiting and all I would sacrifice for my dream.   Laced with love and heartbreak, secrets and fear, my unique story shows the family dynamics of living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a normal reaction to abnormal life threatening stress.  I later learned I too had developed PTSD from living with my husband’s illness.  The reader will slip into my world like a fly on the wall as I take them places most have never been, while bonding with others who know the terrain that only love dare travel.

            In search of reason, I stumbled upon the peace that surpasses all understanding when I came to know God’s love as a born-again Christian, convinced He held my hand and walked with me through the valley of the shadow of death.  

            My expertise is that I survived to tell this story.  I’m committed to get this book into the hands of as many people as possible, exposing them to a deadly epidemic infesting our nation and the world, drawing attention to the raw wounds of war destroying families.  After all these years, suicide is still on the increase.  Each suicide is a tragedy . . . .     

Manuscript and Book Proposal are completed.  May I submit my work for consideration? 

Critique given in class showed compassion and concern, confirming the need I saw for those touched by war.  Now to find an agent and/or publisher who held the same vision . . . the same passion.

Within weeks, I attended the Orange County Christian Writers Conference.  Mick Silva, an acquisition editor with WaterBrook Press, was key speaker, later hosting a workshop.  He announced he would accept any well-written book proposal.  I only had my query letter, which he agreed to take a look at.   

But it wasn't meant to be.  By the time I returned from my family reunion in Ohio, he was no longer with WaterBrook Press.  He was on his own.   

Now I had to go to Plan B.  The problem . . . I didn't have a plan B.

Lesson learned . . . my two cents

Every writer who wants to be published must have a Plan B!  And maybe a Plan C and a Plan D as well.