Jul 26, 2009

Calling All Synopses

The vote results are in. Actually, they've been in for several days now but I've been really busy, so I'm just now getting to them.

53% of the voters have a fever, and the only cure is more cowbell. I mean critiques. More critiques.

23% are voting-class lurkers, and they read everything on this site regardless. These are the people that also read every word on each cereal box. Every morning.

13% will decide when they see the title pop up in Google Reader. If is says "Query" in it, it's a sure thing, otherwise, (shakes Magic 8-Ball): Future Uncertain.

10% would sooner leave the blogosphere forever than read one synopsis, let alone a flood of them. Luckily they also can screen the titles in Google Reader and Mark As Read any posts categorized under the S-word.

So the writing on the wall is clear, which I absolutely expect from this crowd. Send your Synopses, I will post them, and they will be critiqued.

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5 comments:

J.B. Chicoine said...

Rick,
It’s my understanding that the requested length of a synopsis varies from agent to agent. I have a 250 word, a 500 word, a 1000 word, and even longer ones… What might be the average word/page length you’d suggest for the sake of submitting here?

Just for the record, I’m not sure if I’ll post mine or not—I’m afraid it might trigger a whole string of relentless and obsessive rewrites.

Rick Daley said...

Hmmm. Interesting point. My suggestion would be 1,000 word limit.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Regan Kirk said...

I think you should go with whatever length works for the agent(s) you're submitting to. From what I've read, the typical length of a synopsis is 5 pages, but many agents specify that they want a synopsis that's just one or two pages. My recommendation (based only on my obsessive perusal of agent blogs :P) is to have a default 4-5 page synopsis but be prepared to cut it to 1-2 pages for certain agents.

Thanks for opening the Slushpile to synopses, Rick! I expect to have one to post sooner or later.

storyqueen said...

whatever you say....you had me at "more cowbell."

Shelley

Word verification: Obinklze
(Means "I couldn't think of a title so I got stuck with this one."

Rick Daley said...

Shelley,

That wasn't me, that was the reaper :-)