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Finished Draft, Synopsis and starting the next one

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SCARPA:
I Finished editing my last draft of my novel and am writing the synopsis. Also writing the outline and first chapter of its sequel. I have 15 min. of pitch time scheduled with an agent 1st week of May.

Kali:
Nice!  How nerve-wracking, trying to sum up a novel in a pitch catchy enough in 15 minutes... 

I've taken a stab or two at writing my synopsis.  Most people say it should be 3-4 pages.  My biggest problem has been that by the time I whittle it down that far, it is indeed just a boring "This happened, then this happened, then this happened" recitation.  How are you managing with it, and have you stumbled across any tricks for doing a good synopsis?

svb1972:
She's a sexy dermatologist
He's a hot dog vendor.

Together.. they fight supernatural crime
 

Darwinist:
He's a wily, paraplegic porn star with a heart of gold.
she's a frigid soccer mom who becomes his part time nurse.

They fight crime, and together... they're Wheels and Balls.

Coming soon, to a theater near you.

yea, I see what you mean, Synopsis are actually kind of insulting in a way. I don't look forward to doing mine, because it requires you to really dumb down your work to the lowest common denominator and then pitch it to someone. The problem you run into is, if you can truly describe the tone, pace, setting and plot of the book in 3-4 pages, you have to wonder how intricate the premise really is.

Not to put doubts in your head, Scarpa. Congrats. Hoping to be where you are within the next month or so.

Starbeam:
Something I'll likely end up doing is practicing on movies or books that I've seen/read. 
--- Quote from: Darwinist on April 02, 2010, 02:11:19 PM ---yea, I see what you mean, Synopsis are actually kind of insulting in a way. I don't look forward to doing mine, because it requires you to really dumb down your work to the lowest common denominator and then pitch it to someone. The problem you run into is, if you can truly describe the tone, pace, setting and plot of the book in 3-4 pages, you have to wonder how intricate the premise really is.

--- End quote ---
It's in the details.  For example, a synopsis of one of the Dresden books wouldn't fully catch Harry's sense of humor. 

Plus, when you look at the page count, also look at the formatting.  The formatting asked for is usually double-spaced, which would actually be more like 1-2 pages single-spaced.  And google submission synopsis.  It came up with a lot of different stuff. 

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