This is a short and simple “How To”
guide which aims to provide some basic
pointers for composing a functional
synopsis and a cover letter in a most
widely acceptable fashion in the
industry.
Copyrighted material.
No part of this publication can be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise) without the prior written
permission.
SYNOPSIS
Your synopsis is your “movie trailer.”
It’s where you raise enough interest for
your work… or not.
You must pay attention that your
synopsis should not be more than one A4
page. As you would not like to read
statements that are so long that you
forget how it started halfway down, you
must be careful not to lose the
attention of the Editor who is reading
your synopsis. Keeping it short also
pays to show that the author is capable
of defining big things in small words,
like critics manage to do; it counts.
This is a crucial factor.
Another pointer: stick to the subject of
your book only. A synopsis is not the
breakdown of the chapters in a book.
Sending a chapter breakdown instead of a
properly formulated synopsis would
probably cause your submission not to be
considered from that point onward.
Think of your synopsis as a slightly
extended version of a book-blurb.
Remember the way you judge a book in a
bookstore, looking at the book-blub and
trying to have a working idea about it
in order to decide if it is interesting
enough to warrant your further
consideration. If the initial impression
were to be an unenthusiastic one, then
this negative weight would undoubtedly
make itself known even if you turn the
cover and glance at the first page.
For “configuring” a well-founded and
functional synopsis, all you need to do
is to have a journalistic approach… and
fulfil that crucial “5-questions-rule.”
They are: “Who, When, What, How, and
Why.” It may not be in this exact order,
but your synopsis must answer all of
these questions in a newsworthy style,
concisely put in a limited available
space.
It’s not difficult. You know your book,
you wrote it. So, you can answer each of
these questions easily; but answer them
as they are being asked to you by a TV
reporter and that you have only 20
seconds for each answer. Now you should
be able to answer them in just one or in
a few short sentences only… not more.
You can definitely do that. Then the
whole page will look even too big to
fill.
Finally, a last but a very important
note: Just like how all successful works
have “their very own thing” that makes
them uniquely different than many other
seemingly similar works, your work also
needs to have its own one, too; and,
this “thing” must be “that element” that
would make your work stand out in the
crowd and attract the necessary
attention. And if you are able to
attract the attention of someone who has
seen it all, then it will offer an
indication that your work can possibly
grasp the interest of other readers,
too… of those you intend to sell your
book.
Congratulations, you’ve done it!
COVER LETTER
A cover letter is the first thing an
editor will see something “about you,”
not only “from you.” From its syntax to
its presentation, it will speak volumes.
What you are essentially doing here is a
crucial move in promoting your work
within the confines of few sentences.
Starting from the very first line, you
will introduce yourself, your work and
make a case for its anticipated success.
Suppose that the letter was actually
written to you. Would you be interested
in the work that the letter was trying
to promote? Why? What kind of element
you would like to see in it that would
make you suspect that this particular
work could just be different from other
similar examples around? There needs to
be such an element and you must
emphasize it well in your cover letter,
as it is one of the pillars of your
case.
The technical ingredients of a cover
letter cannot be simpler; the letter
should address the obvious questions of
the title, genre, subject, length and
the target audience. You will also,
surely, say a couple of words about
yourself, without going into too much
detail. Your brief profile and your
credits in publishing, if it is
applicable, will quite suffice for this
initial submission stage.
There is another important point that
needs to be remembered. A cover letter
to a literary agent or a publisher is
essentially a business letter.
Therefore, when you are approaching a
literary agent or a publisher, it is
important to keep the format of your
cover letter, in terms of its
formulation and syntax, strictly in a
business letter format only. It must be
emphasized that you should never choose
to walk down the path of unwelcomed
informality, as it would not prove to be
helpful to your case. What is being
dealt here is the culture itself; and a
man of culture is first expected to know
how to address persons, entities and
situations, and be able to respond to
those accordingly in this complex
universe of interwoven relations.
The final point to note is that golden
rule: the shorter the better.
Very best of luck
