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MonaVie

Drink It ~ Feel It ~ Share It

This is the killer subject. How to create a salable romantic plot, and write a salable synopsis is the single, most difficult blockade encountered on the way to becoming published. How do I know this? Because I experienced it myself, and observe it as a stumbling block in the path of almost every aspiring author.

Writing a salable synopsis is not easy. It is very hard. It still takes me as long to outline and write a synopsis as it does to write an entire chapter, and we’re talking a minimum of two or three weeks. But the payoff is there. If you can write a salable synopsis you’ll not only have sold a book, but you’ll have a plot, characters, motivation and resolution.

The components of a synopsis in order of importance, and therefore, in the order in which they should be presented are:

Each of these components should be presented individually, and if well written, each section will flow into the next, building upon and enhancing the information already provided.

Writing a synopsis is not telling a story. It is a presentation of your work of fiction in its barest, most concise form. It is a sales tool, and must be logical, terse, and easy to read.

Very few editors can acquire a ms. on their own. As you know, publishers have regular sales meetings, presided over by senior editors, at which editors present manuscripts in which they have an interest. Usually the only editor to read your proposal in full is the editor to whom you submitted, and he/she must sell your ms. to the others. Your synopsis may be circulated around the table, and it should be written in a way that cursory glance is informative, not confusing.

There must be nothing about the information in your synopsis or the manner in which it is conveyed to make a reader pause and wonder, or reread to clarify. There must be nothing to make anyone at that sales meeting challenge the editor who likes your manuscript.

Editors know that it is harder to write a short information paragraph on plot than it is to write an evocative paragraph on spring coming to the Highlands. You will impress an editor with a good synopsis.

Begin with a three or four (maximum) paragraph description of your heroine. This does not mean what she looks like. Essential background information would be age, where she lives, both time and place, who she is as defined by society, and who she is emotionally. This means what is there about her beliefs, her thoughts, her dreams or aspirations, her experiences, her childhood, her immediate past, her fears or joys, likes or dislikes that makes her the person she is when the books opens. Her emotion persona is the foundation of the romantic plot. If your heroine has a fear or aspiration, an obsession or hatred that is crucial to the plot, and should be conveyed at this time.

Note: Please make certain you create and portray a woman who represents her unique time and place, and whose internal conflict is appropriate in your historical context.

Step Number Two Plot depends on character. Your heroine’s character places her in juxtaposition to the hero and his character; that placement creates conflict which is synonymous with plot.

Plot is the problem that prevents the hero and heroine from meeting and getting married in chapter one. Plot must be developed and resolved in order for your hero and heroine to come together. The telling of a story is the development of plot and its resolution.

Thus (step number two), is your concluding sentence on your heroine. A well done description of a heroine should conclude with a statement of fact that presents an obvious plot juxtaposition to the hero.

Step Number Three Present several informational/background paragraphs on the hero in same style as your character sketch of the heroine.

Step Number Four Statement of plot. Remember plot is not storyline. Plot is not a blow-by-blow detailing of the chapters or linear action.

A romantic plot is the conflict between the hero and heroine that must be developed over time; the conflict(s) within the hero and heroine must be resolved in order to a story to conclude, which in a romance is in order for the hero and heroine to marry.

For example, "Gabriella can’t allow herself to fall in love with a man who is a mercenary; she does not want to be abandoned as her mother was; she will only marry a man who is dependable. Hans must find a way to support himself outside of military life, and he must convince Gabriella that he is capable of settling down in one place and being a gentle, loving and dependable husband."

That is a plot. It defines the conflict by telling a reader what keeps the hero and heroine apart; and it tells what must happen in order for the conflict/plot to be resolved.

If you can’t state your plot in two or three sentences, the chances are you don’t have one, or perhaps there is one hidden somewhere inside your story, but you need to nourish it. Lacking a character-driven plot, you will not sell a romance; you must revise your story premise and characters to create one, or start fresh with new characters.

Step Number Five Now it’s time to present your story. Begin by deleting 90% of the information you’ve included. The most painless way to do this is delete all adverbs; delete all internal monologue; delete 99% of dialogue, scene and character description; delete all clichés; delete all cliched references to love scenes and happy endings.

LESS IS BETTER THAN MORE. If you’ve already described compelling characters and a succinct plot, DO NOT MUDDY UP YOUR SYNOPSIS with a blow-by-blow recitation of what happens. That is not necessary. What is necessary is that the editor have a readable sketch of the beginning, the middle and the ending of your story.

For example, "After meeting in the Australian goldfields, Callie and Sean agree to co-prospect the same claim until Callie’s uncle returns with the legal documents to prove who really has a right to the land."

This single sentence represents about five chapters. In a synopsis an editor does not need to be told how the hero and heroine meet, or about all the secondary characters, plots and storylines. You are pitching a romance. Stick to that.

Imagine having three minutes to sell an idea to Steven Spielburg. Would you bog down in details and dialogue, or stick with, "It’s a Medieval romance set at the time of the Battle of Bannockburn. The hero is a Highlander, the heroine is English. The hero kidnaps the heroine to get revenge on the English, but when they won’t pay the ransom he is stuck with her, and together they join forces to fight their common enemy."

For example, "Callie wants a man who will love her more than material wealth, so she decides to leave Australia. Sean must make a choice. Does he want Callie or gold? And why did he come to Australia in the first place? Was it for gold or a new life? If he goes after her, claim jumpers will get his land, but without Callie the land and his life mean nothing. Sean chooses to go after Callie, thereby proving to her that she is more important than wealth. He came to Australia to start a new life, and he can only have that life with her by his side."

How do I know this technique is right, and that it works? Because I’ve never written a book without a signed contract. Because I sold my first book without an agent using a synopsis in this format; because I’ve shared this advice with other entrants who’ve gone on to sell and say this advice was a factor in their success.

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