HELP WITH SYNOSPIS PLEASE

karynp

Hi all
I am in the middle of writing a fantasy fiction novel. i have picked a publisher i would like to approach. has anyone here sent off a synospis for a novel before? its my 1st one and im very proud of it so far but am unsure whether to send the 1st 30 pages or pick samples from chapters. they request 30 pages, not stating if they are to be mixed or not. this is my life dream and so important to me, dont wanna mess it up. should i have a literary agent or just chance it and sent it away?
any advice is greatly accepted.
thanks in advance
karen:D

EileenG

First finish your novel. No publisher is going to publish an unknown author on a synopsis and a couple of chapters. There is a huge number of unfinished novels out there, and if you don't have a track record, there is no guarantee you will finish yours.

Any publisher who shows interest in an unfinished novel from an unknown writer is going to ask you for money before you are through.

Once you have finished your novel, go back and edit and rewrite and polish it. Make it as perfect as you can. THEN start approaching publishers. It can vary slightly but the normal thing is to send in a cover letter, a synopsis and the first three chapters. If the publisher doesn't ask for the first three, then feel free to end in three from different parts of the book.

Send them in on paper (not e-mail), double spaced with big margins at top, bottom and sides, 12 point, and a standard font. Number your pages from 1 up, don't start again at the beginning of new chapters. Don't staple or bind your pages.

karynp

thanks Eileen, i was humming and hawing over whether to send it off yet as they say up to 3 months waiting time. its a company in scotland called black and white publishing and they only take email,they ask not to send paper. i looked up some irish authors to see who published them and felt a pull towards that particular one.I will heed your advice and complete it first. its really confusing when you start trawling the net for info on the wheres and whys. would you suggest a literary agent or try it myself?
thanks
karen

EileenG

Seriously, finish your book first, let it rest, do your re-writes and then go looking for a publisher. If you find a publisher who is interested, then you'll get an agent very easily who will help you get a good deal.

Before you approach any publisher, check their entry in the Writer and Artist's Yearbook to make sure they are legit, and also look to see if their books are available on sites like Amazon or Bookdepository.

Many writers hit a phase about two thirds of the way through their book, where they run out of ideas, everything they write seems like rubbish and they can't see any point in going on. A huge number of writers stop here, don't finish their novel, and promise themselves that at some vague point in the future, they'll come back to it, or write a different novel. If you can grit your teeth, keep going and finish your novel, then you have a chance of getting it published.

That's why I think you need to finish your novel before you approach anyone with it. Apart from anything else, your characters may have their own ideas about how the book should end....

dcmu

I'd agree with Eileen here. There isn't much point in sending off something when you haven't finished it. For a start you're just putting unwanted pressure on yourself. The luxury of a first novel is that you have all the time in the world to get it perfect. Don't deprive yourself of that. Get it perfect, to the letter, then send it off. You'll feel better about it.

Secondly, and I'm not trying to nitpick, but this is important: it's called a synopsis. You've repeated the incorrect spelling a few times, so just watch for it. It's a good argument for not rushing this though. There will always be mistakes, and if you rush, you simply won't catch them all.

A potential publisher won't necessarily throw your synopsis in the bin over it, but you're not going to have him at hello, so to speak. People pass judgement over the slightest thing, and if s/he gets it into his head you're amateurish, you've stacked the odds against yourself.

karynp

Thank you Eileen. Yes, agreed,my characters are changing my story as we speak,so yes,sending it off early would be silly. i look forward to writing it every day and am finding myself slipping into each character as time gies by and feeling their passion too,lol. ive even been dreaming it, sounds silly huh? i hope i dont hit the point when i get fed up,if i do, i will go on though.
DCMU, thank you also. my spelling mistake was a slip of the finger,granted,more than once,lol but i dont feel thats important. i dont rush my writing, its been something ive always done, have written many things but never felt confident enough to go further with them. i am very careful with this novel to correct spellings and grammer, especially when intending to send it away.i find,as im sure many do, that when i write, my world changes.I really enjoy doing it. funny, for the few years i have been a member here i never noticed this section. glad i have now.

would love to speak with more boardsies from here.
Karen

EileenG

Not silly at all. When I'm writing, I spend more time in my fictional universe than I do at home. My children banned me from doing any writing while on holiday, so they could get some attention for a change. Hey, it make standing at bus stops more interesting.