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How Long Should a Synopsis Be?
Say that your query letter has piqued the interest of an agent. She wants to see a synopsis but doesn’t specify how long it should be.
How do you decide? (For some reason you can’t just phone her and ask.)
You can search the web for a nice simple answer. You’ll get answers, but none will be simple.
Here’s one:
Most synopses are one or two pages long at most and give the reader a basic idea for what the book is about.
Here’s another:
Suggested length of synopsis, according to Wood: ten to twenty-five pages (each chapter one to three pages).
Then there is this one that covers all bases:
One guideline is to allow one synopsis page for every twenty-five pages of manuscript…Most editors and agents…prefer short synopses — two to ten pages. The busier ones like five pages at most. I personally consider two pages ideal, and have distilled synopses down to a single tight page.
Instead of worrying about length, it may be more useful to think about content. A synopsis is a sales tool. Its purpose is to persuade an agent or editor that your novel is worth a further look.
Write the synopsis in present tense. Ex. Charlie Jones is a personable young man with a third eye he keeps covered with a patch….
Think book jacket blurb. The synopsis should make the agent want to read the book. NOTE: If your novel is a mystery, don’t hide the ending. The synopsis should give all the information the agent needs to know that the plot structure is solid.
Take pains. The synopsis, even a one-pager, reveals your writing ability.
Focus on important things. Include the main conflict/s, plot turns, and final resolution of the main conflict. Focus on your main characte. Subplots and secondary characters may be mentioned in passing, but keep character names to a minimum. When you do name a character, accompany the name with a few descriptors. Anything else is irrelevant.
Keep it brief. If the person you’re writing the synopsis for hasn’t specified length, short is better than long.
TCM ‘s “full synopsis” of a film called Send Me No Flowersgets the job done in about 280 words, a little more than one typed page.
Say that your query letter has piqued the interest of an agent. She wants to see a synopsis but doesn’t specify how long it should be.
How do you decide? (For some reason you can’t just phone her and ask.)
You can search the web for a nice simple answer. You’ll get answers, but none will be simple.
Here’s one:
Most synopses are one or two pages long at most and give the reader a basic idea for what the book is about.
Here’s another:
Suggested length of synopsis, according to Wood: ten to twenty-five pages (each chapter one to three pages).
Then there is this one that covers all bases:
One guideline is to allow one synopsis page for every twenty-five pages of manuscript…Most editors and agents…prefer short synopses — two to ten pages. The busier ones like five pages at most. I personally consider two pages ideal, and have distilled synopses down to a single tight page.
Instead of worrying about length, it may be more useful to think about content. A synopsis is a sales tool. Its purpose is to persuade an agent or editor that your novel is worth a further look.
Write the synopsis in present tense. Ex. Charlie Jones is a personable young man with a third eye he keeps covered with a patch….
Think book jacket blurb. The synopsis should make the agent want to read the book. NOTE: If your novel is a mystery, don’t hide the ending. The synopsis should give all the information the agent needs to know that the plot structure is solid.
Take pains. The synopsis, even a one-pager, reveals your writing ability.
Focus on important things. Include the main conflict/s, plot turns, and final resolution of the main conflict. Focus on your main characte. Subplots and secondary characters may be mentioned in passing, but keep character names to a minimum. When you do name a character, accompany the name with a few descriptors. Anything else is irrelevant.
Keep it brief. If the person you’re writing the synopsis for hasn’t specified length, short is better than long.
TCM ‘s “full synopsis” of a film called Send Me No Flowersgets the job done in about 280 words, a little more than one typed page.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
