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Random Photo
from the Photo Galleries
2004 Bouchercon:
Robin Burcell with her Anthony for best paperback original
The Synopsis
In recent years, publishing houses have cut staffs and don't have the number of first readersthey used to have--people who sat all day reading through what is called the "slush pile' ormanuscripts that come in "over the transom," more professionally known as unsolicitedmanuscripts. If you send a synopsis to an editor rather than an entire novel, you save yourselfand the editor time. A synopsis lets the editor know you have the ability to organize and plot acomplete novel. If that kind of novel is not suitable for the particular publishing house, the editorwill recognize that fact immediately and tell you so. On the other hand, if it does seem suitableand the synopsis is well written, the editor will often encourage the writer to complete the noveland submit it, thus turning an unsolicited manuscript into a solicited one.
Some editors want a short synopsis, six pages or so; others want a long one of twenty pagesplus. It's probably a good idea to work out a ratio to the projected length of the book. I writetwenty to thirty pages (double-spaced) for a projected 340 page, 85,000 word novel.Traditionally, the synopsis is written in present tense. Be sure to include details of the ending. The editor wants to know if the story will work.