Part of the search for an agent can include sending in a novel synopsis. Not every agent asks for one. In fact, many don’t. But for the agents that do, having a novel synopsis prepared is just one more element that I need to produce. OK. Fair enough.
But then …
As far as the synopsis goes, what exactly is an agent looking for? Well, that depends on the agent. According to several sources I’ve consulted, the synopsis of your novel should be as long or as short as it needs to be. If yoPart of the search for an agent can include sending in a novel synopsis. Not every agent asks for one. In fact, many don’t. But for the agents that do, having a novel synopsis prepared is just one more element that I need to produce. OK. Fair enough.
But then …
As far as the synopsis goes, what exactly is an agent looking for? Well, that depends on the agent. According to several sources I’ve consulted, the synopsis of your novel should be as long or as short as it needs to be. If you can summarize the whole book in a few pages, do that. If it takes 35 pages, it takes 35 pages.
They say that your synopsis should essential read like your novel, just boiled down to the key elements, but also including the nuance that makes your novel special. Also, they want you to reveal the surprises as they happen, so the agent can get a feel for how your novel will unfold.
So that’s what I did. I boiled down FINDERS KEEPERS into a synopsis, and it totaled out at about 20 pages single-spaced. That’s pretty long, but that’s how long it took. FINDERS KEEPERS is a multi-character adventure with many subtle moments of significance. Writing the synopsis wasn’t easy. It took me a few weeks, sitting down several days a week for several hours at a time. Because once I wrote the synopsis, I had to go back and edit the darn thing!
Even the synopsis has to be "perfect." No spelling mistakes. No redundancies. It’s another example of how well you write and what you bring to the table as an author.
And yet …
Some agents want a [i]short [/i]synopsis. No more than a page or two. So I ask you, how in the heck do you boil down a 20-page synopsis to a 2-page synopsis?! It was enough to make you me want to tear me hair out.
But I did it anyway.
It took some doing, but ultimately I just left out all of the secondary characters, and just stuck to the key characters and only the most important plot points. Writing the synopsis this way was actually a good lesson in story telling. It forced me to look at FINDERS KEEPERS in a new way. It also made me think it could use another rewrite! (I’m only half-kidding), but as much as writing the synopsis aggravated me, I’m glad I did it.
Hopefully it’ll pay off.
