Authors: Help...I'm so nervous?

Question

I'm just about finished with my first book in a series that I began. I am getting ready to send the manuscript to TorForge Publishers and I need to write a synopsis. I've never written a synopsis and I don't even know where to begin! Has anyone ever published with them before? How long did it take to get a response? I'm just nervous about putting my work out there. Any advice?

Answer 1

How many drafts have you done? Hopefully at least 3-4 before you even consider sending it to a publisher. An imperfect manuscript will be a sure sign of an amateur and end up in the slush room for rejection. Have you made sure you are following their guidelines to the letter? http://www.tor-forge.com/Faq.aspx?#ctl00_cphContent_ctl30_lblQuestion

The best way to write a synopsis is to just sit down and start writing until it is done. It must include the ending. Then you have to start whittling away at that synopsis until you have it down to the length that the publisher wants. Expect to spend a lot of time on the synopsis.

A good exercise I learned in a Master Class I took was to start with a 5 page synopsis, edit it down to two, then one. Then start with a 5 paragraph synopsis, cut it down to two paragraphs and then one. Then a 5 sentence synopsis, then two, then one single sentence. This way not only are you prepared for all possibilities a publisher or agent can throw at you, you also get to the essence and core of the book.

Another bit of advice. Do NOT tell them it is a series.. The book should stand alone. No publisher is going to commit to a contract for more than one book from a new author. It will make them very nervous. What if the first book tanks and they are committed to publish several more? No publisher will give a new author such a contract. Make sure the first book can stand alone. Also, if the first book is a hit, you will get a better deal for subsequent books if you sell them later on.
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Go to a library and tell the librarian exactly what you've written here. Tell him or her that you need a good book on how to write a synopsis for a publisher, or whoever you are writing this to.
Just tell the librarian you need to learn how to write a synopsis that really delivers a punch, and ask for those good books that will give examples, and in other ways teach you how to write just what you want to write.
Luck--

Answer 3

If you do some searching on the web you'll find all sorts of advice about this sort of thing, although you still won't find it easy to do. Be prepared to write it, and write it, and write it again.

I suggest you start your search with the terms: synopsis novel

Dai Alanye
http://alanye.com/

Answer 4

Take a deep breath and start writting! Start by get some paper and write a five page synopsis, then four pages, three, two,, one, five paragraphs, four, three, two, one, then three sentences, two and ONE SINGLE SENTENCE!