When you decide to sell your manuscript to a traditional publishing house, your next step is to write a query letter and a synopsis. Entire books are devoted to each of these important documents. And for a creative writer, they can be especially hard because they require a different style of writing than your manuscript did.
But you can do it! You're a writer!
In this post, I'll give you some basic tips and hints to get you started. To complete your query and synopsis, check out your prospective publisher's or agent's submission guidelines.
Your query letter needs to be a business letter telling the publisher or agent who you are and a little bit about the work you're pitching to them. It is a LETTER and needs to be written as a letter with all the letter components -- even if the publisher or agent wants you to submit to them via webpage submission. Show your professionalism by giving them an actual query letter. Think of this letter as your author resume and include any professional organizations you belong to, as well as any contests or awards you've won. Show the publisher or agent that you are a professional that they can build a long-term relationship with -- not someone who one day wrote a book because it sounded fun and might be a one-hit wonder.
Your synopsis is yet another challenge. It has to condense your 60 thousand, 100 thousand, or 300 thousand-word manuscript into 3 or 4 pages. But, it's not a book report. It has to capture your writing style, give them an idea of the tone of the book, AND tell them the ending. Excluding the ending or adding cute little phrases like "read the manuscript to see how it ends" automatically sends your work to the recycle bin. Think of it as a longer, more detailed book blurb. If I were writing a synopsis for my current WIP (work in progress) The Ugly Sister, it would be less of this:
Hailey Knowles is a wild child who decides she needs to get a boyfriend before her twin sister Bailey does.
And more of this:
Being the second-place twin is getting old for Hailey Knowles. Just once, she'd like to beat her sister Bailey in something, and when she sees the opportunity to get a boyfriend, she goes for it.
The first statement says basically the same thing as the second one, but the second one gives the publisher or agent a hint into my writing style and foreshadows that Hailey is the "bad" twin and that she is spontaneous and opportunistic.
Play around with your writing as you work on the synopsis. Take it seriously and spend the time needed to get it perfect.
I do recommend that you find articles and books on writing your query letter and synopsis. Check out the websites for the publishers and agents you're targeting and pay very close attention to any directions or suggestions they make. Don't rush through this important step. If you want your work to be read, a strong query letter and synopsis is crucial.
And when you get that publisher or agent contract, post here so we can celebrate with you!
But you can do it! You're a writer!
In this post, I'll give you some basic tips and hints to get you started. To complete your query and synopsis, check out your prospective publisher's or agent's submission guidelines.
Your query letter needs to be a business letter telling the publisher or agent who you are and a little bit about the work you're pitching to them. It is a LETTER and needs to be written as a letter with all the letter components -- even if the publisher or agent wants you to submit to them via webpage submission. Show your professionalism by giving them an actual query letter. Think of this letter as your author resume and include any professional organizations you belong to, as well as any contests or awards you've won. Show the publisher or agent that you are a professional that they can build a long-term relationship with -- not someone who one day wrote a book because it sounded fun and might be a one-hit wonder.
Your synopsis is yet another challenge. It has to condense your 60 thousand, 100 thousand, or 300 thousand-word manuscript into 3 or 4 pages. But, it's not a book report. It has to capture your writing style, give them an idea of the tone of the book, AND tell them the ending. Excluding the ending or adding cute little phrases like "read the manuscript to see how it ends" automatically sends your work to the recycle bin. Think of it as a longer, more detailed book blurb. If I were writing a synopsis for my current WIP (work in progress) The Ugly Sister, it would be less of this:
Hailey Knowles is a wild child who decides she needs to get a boyfriend before her twin sister Bailey does.
And more of this:
Being the second-place twin is getting old for Hailey Knowles. Just once, she'd like to beat her sister Bailey in something, and when she sees the opportunity to get a boyfriend, she goes for it.
The first statement says basically the same thing as the second one, but the second one gives the publisher or agent a hint into my writing style and foreshadows that Hailey is the "bad" twin and that she is spontaneous and opportunistic.
Play around with your writing as you work on the synopsis. Take it seriously and spend the time needed to get it perfect.
I do recommend that you find articles and books on writing your query letter and synopsis. Check out the websites for the publishers and agents you're targeting and pay very close attention to any directions or suggestions they make. Don't rush through this important step. If you want your work to be read, a strong query letter and synopsis is crucial.
And when you get that publisher or agent contract, post here so we can celebrate with you!