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Utilize the principle of
overcompensation to generate
a killer synopsis.
A great novel synopsis is:
•
compelling to read on its own
•
all story (no introductions, interpretations, or
author intrusion of any kind)
•
written in present tense
•
with capitalized character names the first time
they’re mentioned
•
two to three pages, double spaced
I've called the killer synopsis dust jacket copy on steroids.
Go to your bookshelf, bookstore, or library, and study a
whole bunch of dust jackets from novels in your genre.
Your synopsis should have a similar feel, but over two to
three pages.
Remember, your synopsis is a tool to get the reader
to request the whole manuscript. That’s why it is only
two to three pages. It “sells the sizzle, not the steak” as
the ad folks used to say. It does its job and gets out of the
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way. And more and more agents and editors are asking
for synopses of this length.
There used to be a rule of thumb of something like
one page of synopsis for every 10,000 words of your novel.
On the off chance you are asked to submit a synopsis of
this length, do one. In fact, do one regardless. Do it no
matter how painful it feels. Do it fast. Don’t try to make
it perfect. You are generating raw material.
Now, what do you do with those ten or more pages?
Boil them down into two to three pages of the good stuff. This
is called overcompensation. Start big, then condense, and
there’s the synopsis you’ll use.
The good news is, if you are asked for the longer one,
then you’ve got one nearly ready. You now edit it the best
you can. But at least you’ll have the “fi rst draft” of the
longer synopsis already done.
Formatting:
•
Use 1-inch margins all around.
•
Double space your work.
•
Single space your name, address, e-mail, and
phone number in the upper left of the first page.
•
One third of the way down, center the title in
ALL CAPS and put Synopsis below that:
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Synopsis
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•
Hit two returns, and start the synopsis. Use
ragged right alignment for text:
SANTIAGO, an old Cuban fi sherman, has
had a bad run of luck. Eighty-four days
without a catch. The locals make fun of
him. Because of this, his devoted young
apprentice, MANOLIN, has been forced
by his parents to leave Santiago for more
promising fi shermen. But each night, the
boy sneaks back to help Santiago and talk
about American baseball.
Determined to get a catch the next day,
Santiago sets out alone, deep into the wa-
ters of the Gulf Stream. He catches a tuna
to use for bait. And then hooks a marlin.
A big one. So big it drags his skiff so far
out to sea Santiago can no longer see land.
The fi ght is on.
•
On page two, and all subsequent pages, put the
following as a header, on the left and right sides,
respectively:
Hemingway/THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Synopsis/(page #)
And that’s all there is to formatting the synopsis.
Keep it simple, so there is nothing to distract the reviewer
from the story itself.
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