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ONLINE ACADEMY MAIN DIRECTORY (HOME)
BOOKSTORE
"TELLING" TO "SELLING"
CONTEST
CONTEST WINNERS
QUERY CLASSROOMS
AGENT UPDATES
SYNOPSIS LAB
MANUSCRIPT FIRST PAGE
WORKSHOPS / PRESENTATIONS
RAISED BY WILD BOOKWORMS
WRITERS' SERVICES / TUTORING
BOOKSTORE
"TELLING" TO "SELLING"
CONTEST
CONTEST WINNERS
QUERY CLASSROOMS
AGENT UPDATES
SYNOPSIS LAB
MANUSCRIPT FIRST PAGE
WORKSHOPS / PRESENTATIONS
RAISED BY WILD BOOKWORMS
WRITERS' SERVICES / TUTORING
TUTORIAL / WORKBOOK now available at the
BOOKSTORE Includes:
WHY your query first paragraph is a make-or-break situation
HOW and why to shift from "telling" to "selling"
WHAT agents want you to tell them
HOW to write story paragraphs to help you write all the sales documents you need (query, synopsis, first page, book proposal)
AWARD-winning first paragraphs to study
WRITING exercises that teach you how to write an effective "sales pitch" paragraph to motivate the agent to read your entire query
COST? $14.95 -- less than a movie ticket, gallon of chemically flavored cola, and bucket of trans-fat laden popcorn, and a whole lot more beneficial to your writing career.
BOOKSTORE Includes:
WHY your query first paragraph is a make-or-break situation
HOW and why to shift from "telling" to "selling"
WHAT agents want you to tell them
HOW to write story paragraphs to help you write all the sales documents you need (query, synopsis, first page, book proposal)
AWARD-winning first paragraphs to study
WRITING exercises that teach you how to write an effective "sales pitch" paragraph to motivate the agent to read your entire query
COST? $14.95 -- less than a movie ticket, gallon of chemically flavored cola, and bucket of trans-fat laden popcorn, and a whole lot more beneficial to your writing career.
Think about!
- Gaining the skills to write the big four "sales documents"-- query, synopsis, first page and book proposal (for non-fiction) is not easy, but you can do it.
- It's a learning curve. Not as long as the one you've completed in learning how to write, but a vital one and part of the process of becoming published.
- To learn anything from riding a bicycle to brain surgery, you begin with building blocks of information.
- Your first building block is your query letter. Use that information to help you write your synopsis. (No sense re-designing the wheel.)
- Need some query help?
- Do yourself a favor and visit the Query Classrooms. Read the information.
- Then do yourself an even BIGGER favor and order the PDF download for my 32-page Tutorial/Workbook: How to Write Your Query Letter "Sales Pitch" opening paragraph.
- Understanding the "sales pitch" aspect of the query will help you write your synopsis and stay focused on the protagonist and the most compelling plot points of the story.
- You can purchase the tutorial/workbook at the BOOKSTORE
The Synopsis Lab
What's the purpose of the synopsis? To sell your skills and your saleable story. That's it.
Like the query letter, the synopsis is a sales document. Even though you've already shown your skills and told your story sufficiently to motivate the agent to ask for a submission, you have to do it again . . . in a different and longer venue.
The synopsis tells the story, start to finish, focusing on the actions/thoughts/feelings of your protagonist. (Scroll down to read a sample one-page synopsis.)
In truth, writing a synopsis is just as challenging as writing a query letter. It isn't easy to reduce your entire manuscript into one or two pages, but it's doable. The goal of the synopsis is the same as for the query letter: to convince an agent you have writing skills and a saleable story. The one-page synopsis is 300 words or less (double spaced or 1 1/2 spaced), The two-page version is 600 words or less.
It may not seem fair that you must learn to write three sales documents--query, first page, synopsis, and book proposal (for non-fiction) in order to become published. Well, get over it. It's the way it is at the moment). The more skillfully you learn to write all four, the greater your chances of seeing your book on the shelves of Barnes and Noble.
In the good old days (like 2008), a synopsis could be three-to-five pages. Today, they're one or two pages. Max.
Once an agent has read your query and requested a sample of your work, you've made it over Hurdle #1. Woo-hoo for you!
Hurdle #2 is the synopsis, submitted with the manuscript and usually read first. Write it with the same care and attention as you gave to your query letter. Your goal, with this "sales document," is to motivate the agent to read your manuscript. (A poorly written synopsis discourages further reading of anything, including your manuscript).
The synopsis tells your story, start to finish, focusing on the actions/thoughts/feelings of your protagonist.
BIG HINT: Like the characters in the synopsis example below, you already may have written some of the information you need for your synopsis. Where would this be? In your query letter. Expand what you've written in your first two paragraphs.
Haven't yet written a query? Visit the Query Classrooms.
The greatest synopsis assist currently available can be found my Query Letter "Sales Pitch" tutorial. This 36-page workbook will help you determine your protagonist's goal, obstacle, and resolution as your complete writing and self-evaluation exercises. Pay particular attention to the "story paragraph" writing exercises. This process teaches you how to select the most vital aspects of your story to include in your synopsis. Order your copy of the 36-page query tutorial (ebook) from the Bookstore.
Just like the query letter, your synopsis must focuses on the goal (s), obstacle (s), and resolution (s) of your protagonist. Additionally, you must tell how the story ends to prove you can write full circle: from beginning to middle to the end.
Also, like the query letter, your synopsis can be a make-or-break situation. Write it well and you increase the odds the agent actually will read your manuscript. Write it poorly and they'll take a latte break instead. Agents believe (and rightly so), if you aren't skillful enough to tell your story in one or two pages, chances are you don't have the writing skills to tell it in a full-length manuscript.
EXAMPLE OF ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS: Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy runs away with her dog who is tagged for euthanasia. When she spots a tornado coming her way, Dorothy changes her mind and heads for home.
She races inside moments before the building becomes tornado-borne. Dorothy, dog, and house fly into another dimension and crash land on a bad witch. Confused about her location, Dorothy’s unsure where home is or how to get there. She meets a good witch who directs her to seek counsel from the Wizard in far-away Emerald City. Dorothy's warned to avoid capture by the squashed witch’s vengeful sister.
Dorothy heads out, following a yellow brick road. She meets and befriends three needy strangers. One longs to have a brain, one wants a heart, the third yearns for courage. They manage to avoid capture, reach Emerald City, and meet the Wizard who agrees to help them get what they want. But first, a little task: steal the broom of the evil witch. Dorothy and friends set out on this hopeless quest and are captured. When the witch torches one of her friends, Dorothy douses the flames, accidentally splashing the witch who whines and melts.
A triumphant Dorothy, broom in hand, returns to the Wizard who turns out to be a scam artist (but one with some understanding of human nature). He coaches Dorothy’s companions into self-realization about having that which they thought they didn’t have. Although he agrees to take Dorothy home . . . whoopsie, he leaves without her.
Heartbroken, Dorothy believes she’ll never be able to return home. But, when the good witch reappears, she teaches Dorothy a simple truth. She'd always been empowered to achieve the goals of her heart. Dorothy taps her heels together as she taps into the power of intention and proves “there’s no place like home.” (294 words)
The following structure can help you figure out what information to put where.
First Paragraph:
Introduce the protagonist, what they want, and what stands in their way.
Show and tell how the protagonist struggles to achieve their goal (s) as depicted by their thoughts and actions.
Wrap it all up. Show and tell how the struggle is resolved.
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What's the purpose of the synopsis? To sell your skills and your saleable story. That's it.
Like the query letter, the synopsis is a sales document. Even though you've already shown your skills and told your story sufficiently to motivate the agent to ask for a submission, you have to do it again . . . in a different and longer venue.
The synopsis tells the story, start to finish, focusing on the actions/thoughts/feelings of your protagonist. (Scroll down to read a sample one-page synopsis.)
In truth, writing a synopsis is just as challenging as writing a query letter. It isn't easy to reduce your entire manuscript into one or two pages, but it's doable. The goal of the synopsis is the same as for the query letter: to convince an agent you have writing skills and a saleable story. The one-page synopsis is 300 words or less (double spaced or 1 1/2 spaced), The two-page version is 600 words or less.
It may not seem fair that you must learn to write three sales documents--query, first page, synopsis, and book proposal (for non-fiction) in order to become published. Well, get over it. It's the way it is at the moment). The more skillfully you learn to write all four, the greater your chances of seeing your book on the shelves of Barnes and Noble.
In the good old days (like 2008), a synopsis could be three-to-five pages. Today, they're one or two pages. Max.
Once an agent has read your query and requested a sample of your work, you've made it over Hurdle #1. Woo-hoo for you!
Hurdle #2 is the synopsis, submitted with the manuscript and usually read first. Write it with the same care and attention as you gave to your query letter. Your goal, with this "sales document," is to motivate the agent to read your manuscript. (A poorly written synopsis discourages further reading of anything, including your manuscript).
The synopsis tells your story, start to finish, focusing on the actions/thoughts/feelings of your protagonist.
BIG HINT: Like the characters in the synopsis example below, you already may have written some of the information you need for your synopsis. Where would this be? In your query letter. Expand what you've written in your first two paragraphs.
Haven't yet written a query? Visit the Query Classrooms.
The greatest synopsis assist currently available can be found my Query Letter "Sales Pitch" tutorial. This 36-page workbook will help you determine your protagonist's goal, obstacle, and resolution as your complete writing and self-evaluation exercises. Pay particular attention to the "story paragraph" writing exercises. This process teaches you how to select the most vital aspects of your story to include in your synopsis. Order your copy of the 36-page query tutorial (ebook) from the Bookstore.
Just like the query letter, your synopsis must focuses on the goal (s), obstacle (s), and resolution (s) of your protagonist. Additionally, you must tell how the story ends to prove you can write full circle: from beginning to middle to the end.
Also, like the query letter, your synopsis can be a make-or-break situation. Write it well and you increase the odds the agent actually will read your manuscript. Write it poorly and they'll take a latte break instead. Agents believe (and rightly so), if you aren't skillful enough to tell your story in one or two pages, chances are you don't have the writing skills to tell it in a full-length manuscript.
EXAMPLE OF ONE-PAGE SYNOPSIS: Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy runs away with her dog who is tagged for euthanasia. When she spots a tornado coming her way, Dorothy changes her mind and heads for home.
She races inside moments before the building becomes tornado-borne. Dorothy, dog, and house fly into another dimension and crash land on a bad witch. Confused about her location, Dorothy’s unsure where home is or how to get there. She meets a good witch who directs her to seek counsel from the Wizard in far-away Emerald City. Dorothy's warned to avoid capture by the squashed witch’s vengeful sister.
Dorothy heads out, following a yellow brick road. She meets and befriends three needy strangers. One longs to have a brain, one wants a heart, the third yearns for courage. They manage to avoid capture, reach Emerald City, and meet the Wizard who agrees to help them get what they want. But first, a little task: steal the broom of the evil witch. Dorothy and friends set out on this hopeless quest and are captured. When the witch torches one of her friends, Dorothy douses the flames, accidentally splashing the witch who whines and melts.
A triumphant Dorothy, broom in hand, returns to the Wizard who turns out to be a scam artist (but one with some understanding of human nature). He coaches Dorothy’s companions into self-realization about having that which they thought they didn’t have. Although he agrees to take Dorothy home . . . whoopsie, he leaves without her.
Heartbroken, Dorothy believes she’ll never be able to return home. But, when the good witch reappears, she teaches Dorothy a simple truth. She'd always been empowered to achieve the goals of her heart. Dorothy taps her heels together as she taps into the power of intention and proves “there’s no place like home.” (294 words)
The following structure can help you figure out what information to put where.
First Paragraph:
Introduce the protagonist, what they want, and what stands in their way.
- #1 Dorothy's goal is to save her dog. A tornado forces her back home.
Show and tell how the protagonist struggles to achieve their goal (s) as depicted by their thoughts and actions.
- #2 Dorothy flies into Oz and squashes a witch. Unsure about how to return home, she heads to Emerald City and the Wizard.
- #3 Dorothy befriends three needy strangers who travel with her. Before granting their wishes, the Wizard sends them on a mission, which appears to be fatal, but turns successful at the last moment.
- #4 The Wizard resolves everybody's issues, except Dorothy, who is abandoned.
Wrap it all up. Show and tell how the struggle is resolved.
- #5 Dorothy utilizes self-empowerment, taps into her inner world, and returns home.
CLICK HERE to return to the School Main Directory (HOME)