How to Break Into Print Publishing (Part 2 of 2)
By Michael LaRocca
Writing Your Synopsis
To quote one agent, “There is no such thing as a good synopsis.” And how can there be? How do you sum up 50,000 or 100,000 words in a page or two? I’ll tell you how I do it. Very badly.
Having said that, this is your first chance to show the publisher that you can write. Some publishers want a minimal amount of information on first contact (query letter, bio, synopsis). Others want to see the first chapter or two as well. Nobody wants to see the whole manuscript at first, except those who say so in their writers’ guidelines. If you include sample chapters, the chance of them being read depends largely on the quality of your query letter and synopsis.
Keep your synopsis short, two pages maximum unless the writers’ guidelines say differently. Shorter is better. Pick out the theme and the strengths of your book and, in as clever a fashion as possible, relay these qualities in a brief chronology. The chronology is less important than the theme because, in truth, your only hope with a synopsis is that your theme or concept will strike a chord with the editor or agent reading it.
If your story is funny, your synopsis should be funny. If it is a romantic story, then your synopsis should be a romantic synopsis. You are a writer, and here is where you can be creative.
A lot of the great works of literature do not have easily defined stories, just fine writing and good characters. If you have no story, then you have to sell your idea. The synopsis must have fine, clear writing. Say how your book starts, how it ends, and what is the interest in the middle. This isn’t the time to employ cliffhangers.
Your sample chapter should do the main talking, but your synopsis should offer up those clever memorable sound bites that will linger in the editor’s mind and convince him to read the sample chapter.
Preparing Your Manuscript
Did I mention that your manuscript must be flawless? I’ll mention it again. Your manuscript must be flawless. Especially be sure that the first chapters, the “hook” which you will submit, will be the type that grabs the reader and makes him/her/it wonder what happens next.
Beyond that, some mechanics:
If the publisher you’re submitting to lists all this information in its guidelines, you’re in luck. Do what they say and they’ll read the manuscript. Fail to do so and they’ll set it down unread, even if you’re the next John Grisham.
Remember, they’re budgeting their time and trying to get out of reading this stuff. Once they read it, they’ll be fair. (If not, you don’t want them.) If it’s good solid writing, you’re in. But until they get to the writing, they’re always expecting the worst. If you’d seen some of the crap that comes their way, you’d be just as pessimistic. But in the end they do love good writing or else they’d quit that job.
If the guidelines don’t tell you how to prepare the manuscript, consider the information below as a “generic template.” Otherwise, ignore my guidelines and use theirs.
Fonts - UK publishers prefer Courier New 10pt, US publishers prefer Times New Roman 12pt. Both are trying to ease their eyestrain, so don’t be fancy.
Paper sizes - This one’s easy. Letter (8 1/2″ by 11″) in the US, A4 in the rest of the world.
(Hong Kong residents can find letter-size paper in Admiralty. City Office Supplies in Tower 1, Admiralty Center, sells it by the ream. Jumbo Grade on the first floor of Pacific Place sells packs of 50 or 100 sheets, I forget which. You can get to either store by taking train/bus/taxi/your car to Pacific Place.)
Binding - US publishers prefer none at all. UK publishers prefer that you punch two holes in the side and use simple brass fasteners to hold it all together - ugly but effective.
Use one type of paper throughout your presentation, preferably plain white. (If you have personal stationery that’s not too funky, you can use that for the query letter.)
The title need not appear on the beginning of every chapter, but it’s a good idea to put it on each page, along with your name and the page number, in case the manuscript is separated or mislaid at the publisher’s.
Double-spaced text, unjustified right margins, one-inch margins all around. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (or self addressed envelope with IRCs) of the appropriate size if you want your manuscript back.
Package it so it’s easy to open but not all wrinkled and nasty when it arrives at your publisher’s office. No folded manuscripts hastily stuffed into a manila envelope. No envelopes that scatter hundreds of little brown paper shavings all over the desk. They’re opening far too many of these things, and anything that looks “amateur” gets bumped unread.
Publisher List
The Publisher Web Site Directory contains the websites of almost 100 publishers. I recommend visiting this after you’ve gone through the selection process, either from books you read or from a book such as Writers Market.
Agent List
When you select an agent, forget about who’s closest to you. Think about who’s closest to the publishers you’re targeting. Those agents are more likely to know which publishers want which types of manuscripts, and they’re also the ones who can lunch with the publisher instead of handling everything by mail or email or telephone.
Here’s some advice from the Agent Research and Evaluation website. They define an agent as:
“…someone who makes a living selling real books to real publishers. No one representing himself as an agent should also claim to be a book doctor, an editor-for-hire, a book ‘consultant’ of any kind. They shouldn’t charge any type of ‘upfront’ reading fee, marketing fee, evaluation fee or any other fee apart from a commission on work sold.
“With the possible exception of certain MINIMAL office expenses, legitimate agents NEVER handle [the expenses connected with submitting manuscripts] as an upfront cost. Only as a billable expense after being shown to have been incurred.
“Remember, real agents live off the commissions they make from selling their clients’ projects. Scammers live off up-front fees for unnecessary, inadequate, or non-existent services.”
This is excellent advice. Anyone can call himself an agent, get himself listed somewhere, and tell every author who sends him a manuscript “This is excellent. Send me some money and I’ll sell it.” Then he can pocket the author’s money and do absolutely nothing.
Agents work for a percentage of your sales. It’s usually 10%-20%. An agent’s source of income must be the books he sells. If the author pays him before he closes a sale, where is his incentive to close the sale?
Insist that your agent send you copies of all rejection letters. A great agent should offer this without you asking, and those rejection letters shouldn’t all be undated “Dear author” or “Dear agent” letters that don’t mention you or your agent or your manuscript by name.
Your agent should also involve you in the selection process without you asking, even if that just means telling you “I’m sending to this, that, and the other place.” Don’t let him/her send your gothic romance to a children’s publisher, etc.
If your agent is sending your stuff to the right places and it’s still getting rejected, you’ve done all you can do, except write better.
My Literary Agents webpage contains my list of resources for finding an agent in the US or the UK. If you’ve been reading my other advice, you’re already talking to other authors. If you know one who’s made it into print, especially one who writes in your genre, ask which agent (and which publisher and editor) he or she used.
Warnings
Once you have narrowed down your list of prospects, visit the following sites to learn about the latest scams and such:
- Bewares Board
- Editor Report
- National Writers Union - Be sure to look at “Writer Alerts”
- Preditors and Editors
- Writer Beware
Michael LaRocca’s website was chosen by Writers Digest as one of The 101 Best Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. He published two novels in 2002 and has two more scheduled for publication in 2004. He also works as an editor for an e-publisher. He teaches English at a university in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, and publishes the free weekly newsletter Mad About Books.
SOURCE: Wordpreneur.com — How to Make Money Writing!
