Long synopses - any examples/advice please

Montero

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I'm used to writing a one page or shorter synopsis of a book.

I just looked at Tor's submission guidelines and they talk about a 10 to 12 page synopsis, which is a clearly different beast.

Are they expecting a synopsis done per chapter?
Or is it a much expanded version of the short synopsis, without reference to chapter contents?
 
My take is that once you're up to that length, chapter breakdown is probably the way to go, although there does seem to be more common sense and less rigidity in submissions for genre work; as long as what you submit makes the plot clear and comprehensible, I don't think it will be chucked for being in/not in chapter format.

Also depends on how long your book is. For mine I'd be tempted to go the Chapter 1-4: character, plot thread, Chapter 5-9: new character, new plot thread, etc... just to keep it tidier.
 
10 to 12 pages I think suggests doing say a couple of paragraphs per chapter.

Another thought is to use a Character Synopsis - or at least include it. Seen that at least one published author does this. Fiction is all about characters - their motivations, virtues and flaws. That is what should drive the plot. Thus a listing of each character and THEIR story could be worth a thought.
 
I think at that length, a paragraph per chapter (approximately) is a good starting place. You probably want to dedicate more space to the opening and character setup, and then adjust the order of the rest to make sure you tell the story clearly. I know that in my two-page synopsis I shuffled some of the events around so as to create a more coherent narrative.

My feeling is that you should never be afraid of ruthlessly simplifying the story to make a better pitch/synopsis. As long as the simple version doesn't betray the spirit of the story, it's better to provide a clear summary of the main plot points than faff about trying to be completely accurate to every nuance of the full manuscript.
 
When I was searching for a publisher, I did a chapter by chapter summary and edited it down to 10 pages. My current publisher wanted it, agents have asked for it, and when I sent the second book in my series to my publisher, they asked for the 10 page synopsis for that one too. Go chapter by chapter, don't worry about the pages, then edit it down to 10 when you are done.
 

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