This is my first post regarding my long... long journey trying to get my book Kill the Gods published. If you're not quite sure what steps a writer must take before they can become a published author—fear not! I will explain all that shortly.
If you are familiar with the steps a writer must take before they can be published, and you're squinting at this website trying to understand why anyone would ever want to endure such a process, well...
I think my book is really good. And that's not me being biased, I swear. I want people to meet my characters and read my world, and if that means I have to write a synopsis... *insert me scowling viscously at my keyboard* ... so be it!
Here is a brief overview of the steps necessary to getting published professionally (or at least what those steps look like for me):
STEP 1) WRITE A BOOK—preferably the whole book—AND EDIT IT TO THE POINT THAT IT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE.
STEP 2) SHARE IT WITH SOMEONE. A lot of writers skip this step, but personally, I find it to be the most helpful. Beta readers are meant to give you honest feedback, including what they did and did not like in the book, what they found confusing, or what they thought was boring.
STEP 3) APPLY THAT FEEDBACK. You don't need to take all of the beta readers' feedback to heart, but think about what they said, and how it might improve your novel.
STEP 4) ONCE YOU HAVE A HALF-DECENT NOVEL, START SEARCHING LITERARY AGENCIES IN YOUR AREA.
STEP 5) FIND A LITERARY AGENT WHO, BASED ON THEIR CRITERIA, MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH YOU AND YOUR BOOK.
*This is where you'll see their guidelines for submissions/applications. There, likely listed under their guidelines, they will require you to write a SYNOPSIS. Hence, I am writing this blog post.
STEP 6) HOPEFULLY YOU FIND A LITERARY AGENT INTERESTED IN YOUR BOOK AND, AFTER MUCH SEARCHING, THEY FIND YOU A PUBLISHER WHO WANTS TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK
*skip a bunch of steps*
STEP 109) YOUR BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. NOW YOU CAN BECOME RICH AND FAMOUS...
Just kidding...
... Well, sorta, I guess.
For those of you who want to be writers one day, you probably already know the term "synopsis." If you don't:
syn - op - sis
(noun)
definition: a brief summary of the main points of an argument, theory, or story.
synonyms: summary ; abstract ; outline ; rundown ; review ; torture
Alright, so maybe the dictionary doesn't list "torture" as a synonym for "synopsis," but it should. Writing the 500 word synopsis for my book was harder than writing the 160,000 words for the novel in the first place.
So, after relentless Googling and writing and rewriting and then sharing it with my sister (hi, Meaghan *waves*), and then rewriting again... here's my master recipe for writing a decent synopsis to share with a potential literary agent (including a short example from my Kill the Gods synopsis).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START WRITING:
Before you can even begin writing your synopsis, you must know these essential things: a synopsis should be around 500-800 words long; it should be written in neutral third person language; it must follow the same timeline of events as your novel (including major plot twists and character development); and most importantly, INCLUDE ALL SPOILERS. A synopsis
is NOT what you read at the back of a book cover, and it isn't just a description of your book. It is a short but detailed summary of every important thing that is in your novel, in the same order that it is written in your book (often writers make the mistake of writing things chronologically, or including background information that isn't important to the timeline of events). Your synopsis is also NOT a sales pitch. Literary agents will likely read your query and manuscript first. If they are intrigued, they will look to the synopsis to see the rest of the story, and most importantly, how it ends. They are looking ONLY at whether or not your story has a plot that is marketable and will keep readers engaged. Always remember: a literary agent is not just another reader!
TELL DON'T SHOW!
This is probably the opposite of what you've been told before, but in the case of the synopsis... forget everything you've been told before. By "tell," I mean that you should ONLY make clear the hook and premise of your book, including how the plot progresses and how the story's momentum increases. Skip the finer details of the story. By "show" (and remember this is what you DON'T want to do), I mean going into lengthy descriptions, including dialogue, or straying from a simple summary of your plot structure. You might be tempted to describe the extraordinary and complicated setting of your novel... NO! Using Kill the Gods as an example, this is what I would write: This novel is set in Torrix's palace in the Kingdom of Creation. That's it! The same goes for characters. You only want to include a single line to tell the agent their age, a major character trait, and what they do. For example: Cyra, a sarcastic and troublesome assassin for the gods... See? That's telling instead of showing. And speaking of characters, I will bring us to our next step:
CLEARLY IDENTIFY MAIN CHARACTERS
As I mentioned before, you only want to include a single line of description about your character when you mention them for THE FIRST TIME. Although the websites I've visited had different opinions how to do this best, I found that most of them agreed on the same type of resume format. It looks like this:
Character Name, (age), include a few defining character traits and what they do. An example for my book would be: Cyra Ganthys, (an immortal), is a sarcastic and troublesome assassin for the gods. You should also bold or capitalize their names to help keep the synopsis organized and help the agent follow your story. Keep in mind that your agent doesn't want this description for every single character in your book. A standard rule is to name five of your most important characters. If you need to mention anymore, don't include their name or age, and you don't need to bold them. Simply state what they do, like "the police officer" or "the new detective." You can also mention major character development arcs, if you aren't too tight on your word count.
HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR SYNOPSIS
While writing a synopsis, many writers focus too much on the plot machinery and not enough about the characters and the emotional aspects of their novel. But, when you think about it, it is the characters that make a story so interesting, and their emotions that make a story compelling. One tip to follow would be to divide your synopsis between plot machinery and emotion. If your synopsis is 500 words long, 300 words should be used to describe the major plot points (as I mentioned in the steps above). This should also include your story's ending detailed at the end of the synopsis. This is very important! Agents wants to know that your story comes to a reasonable and satisfying conclusion. There's nothing worse than a great story with an awful ending. The other 200 words should be reserved for introducing the agent to your characters' reactions to things, their development, and their personalities.
FORMAT
The format of your synopsis is just as important as its contents. It's the first impression your agent will make—and you want it to be good! A format should include 1.5 spacing (this is generally the standard, but some agents may ask for it to be double spaced); normal margins; Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman font size 12; and it should be approximately two pages long. At the top of the page (unless otherwise described by the agent's guidelines), include your novel title first, followed by your name in smaller text the line beneath it. And don't forget about your file title! It should be formatted like title-synopsis. Example: Kill-the-Gods_Synopsis.docx (or something similar).
EDIT, EDIT, EDIT
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! There's not much to explain: make sure your synopsis has perfect grammar and no spelling mistakes! Phrases should not be worded awkwardly. Have a friend read through it for you, or try reading it aloud. I also really like using websites like Grammarly to help me catch mistakes I might have missed. Another important thing to remember is to try and cut down your word count. State things simply, without any fancy or redundant words. Keep your synopsis around 500 words, maximum 800. Write well, but also remember to show your personal style—you know what I'm talking about! Every writer has their own unique style, and yours should shine through your synopsis. This, too, will capture an agent's attention.
EXTRA TIP: I've read on a few websites now that some writers like to include a short snippet or hook at the beginning of their synopsis. Usually around 2-3 lines, it's an interesting way to sell your story that will immediately catch the agent's attention. Keep in mind, however, not to spend all your word count on trying to sell your book. This tip is ONLY to catch the agent's interest before you describe the plot in a much more (and let's be honest here) boring way.
Now, I can't share the full Kill the Gods synopsis with you because... well, it would spoil the whole book, obviously... but here is the first paragraph to give you an idea what it should look like:
Cyra Ganthys (an immortal with the maturity level of a young adult) is a sarcastic and morally-grey assassin who has spent her entire life as a slave to the gods. She has nothing left—no family, no freedom, no powers, and no friends—all because of the seven deities.
So when Res Ganthys, another young immortal and the man she considers her brother, returns after two hundred years with a plan to kill the gods, Cyra is eager to have her revenge.
And that brings our synopsis writing to an end *insert me sobbing with relief here.* Hopefully, you found this blog post useful, and it will help you through your own journey of getting published professionally. I wish you all GOOD LUCK, and stay tuned for more updates.
Yours truly,
Kelsey Gatis
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