Comments on: How to Write a Novel Synopsis

By: Esraa Khalouf

Esraa Khalouf — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:41:37 +0000

Thanks a lot. I found this really helpful, yet, I want to know how to get this jittery feeling away before I start writing a synopsis.

Thanks again

By: David

David — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:14:54 +0000

Ok, then. Fair enough.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:18:01 +0000

I wouldn’t worry too much about your novel’s synopsis yet, David. I recommend doing the synopsis after the manuscript is completed because you’ll have a better idea of what to emphasize.

By: David

David — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:27:40 +0000

I’ve got a partially done synopsis here. How’s this?

This story is a about a young Banshee princess named Cara. At the beginning of her story, her main goal is to stop her father from drinking. We find out she blames this on her mother’s death. This changes when her father’s Kingdom is attacked; she is shown the Banshee book of ultimate magic and the knight’s heart. Cara, her Guardian Mist, and her pet Ra are transported to a Forest.

Making their way out of the forest, they meet Michelle, an unrisen angel. Cara hates angels, as it was an angel that killed her mother as well as her father’s drunkenness. But now she is torn in her feelings because Michelle saved her. Later, they meet a banshee soothsayer who reveals the attacker was her uncle. Her uncle is by all accounts the true King but was rejected by the book and disowned by his father because of the darkness in his heart. Cara is shocked at this revelation but nonetheless travels onwards, stopping at Dead Port to get a ship. After training with her other uncle in magic, she and her friends sail to the land of the dead. There they meet the king, Donn, and beg for his help. He says that what happens with the banshees is no concern of his.

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:56:20 +0000

The comic is inspired by the novel chapters we wrote a year or two ago, but the plot has changed considerably in the interim. For one, Agent Black and Agent Orange are the main characters rather than Lash. (Lash will probably show up in issue 3 or 4, but in a very different role than he plays in the novel chapters).

By: Stefan the Exploding Man

Stefan the Exploding Man — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:15:28 +0000

Ah, I’ve been wondering a little about the plot of Superhero Nation. Are the chapters that you’ve already written going to be part of the comic?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:38:36 +0000

Most of it is transferable to comic book synopses. The length is still 2-5 pages (for a multi-issue series), but you can do a single page for a standalone one-shot.

A comic book synopsis is still extremely important, in some ways more important than the script itself. It gives the editor the big picture of your story. In contrast, when an editor starts to read the script, he sees only a few panels at a time. The synopsis is essential to help him understand what you’re trying to show him. Also, the synopsis is usually easier to read.

The main difference is that a comic book synopsis has to recount less material. Most novel manuscripts are at least 60,000 words long, but a 5-issue series is probably just half as long. That means that you have slightly more space for details like the “how” of the story. You still have to be judicious, but if a detail affects the tone and style a lot, it’s probably worth mentioning briefly. For example, is the hero’s origin story scientific, fantastical/magical, caused by Batman-esque training, or something else entirely? This is relevant because it will affect the series’ tone and target audience.

Another difference is that comic book series are written, sold and read by the issue. If you want to pitch a series, I would recommend organizing your synopsis by what happens in each issue. That will show that you have a good eye for pacing and cliffhangers. Organizing it by the issue will help you prove to the editor that your story is interesting from issue one onwards.

For example, if I were to do an issue-by-issue synopsis of Superhero Nation, I’d probably do it something like this. (Well, this is the abridged version; the real version would be several pages long and would have more details about the characters, goals, conflicts, etc).

Issue 1:
The story begins with a young accountant, GARY SMITH, narrowly surviving a car-bomb. Suspecting an inside job, the US Marshals bar Gary from returning to work until the crime is solved. His attempts to find a new job are unsuccessful because no one wants to hire and retrain him if he’ll leave a year later. Cut off from his friends and work, he gets lonely and depressed. Driven to desperate measures, he decides to apply to the Office of Special Investigations, a federal agency that handles supervillains and other supernatural strangeness. This agency is a farcical version of the BPRD or SHIELD.

Gary gets an interview for an OSI accounting position but he is rejected because he botches a conversation with the Human Resources director, AGENT ORANGE. Agent Orange is a mutant alligator that is highly eccentric and does not get along well with Gary, who is thoroughly normal. The OSI Director, MARTY STULL, notices how poorly they get along and hires Gary to be Agent Orange’s partner. Marty assumes that this will convince Agent Orange to finally leave the agency, or at least will provide evidence that Marty can use to fire Agent Orange. The issue ends with the beginning of Gary’s training. At the end of the first issue, the cliffhanger is that the reader learns that Marty plans to get Gary killed if that is what it will take to get rid of Agent Orange.

By: Ragged Boy

Ragged Boy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:31:31 +0000

About how much of this transfers over to a comic book synopsis?

By: B. Mac

B. Mac — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:57:48 +0000

Good thinking on #12.

Yeah, it’s customary to send a few chapters. Make sure that you cover those chapters in the synopsis anyway! If the publisher is interested, they will ask you to send the rest.

I know it’s not easy to sympathize with the publishers that are looking for any reason to throw away manuscripts. However, they are under an extraordinary amount of economic pressure to come up with the next bestseller. I recommend not taking any rejections personally.

By: C.R.

C.R. — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:25:59 +0000

Solid, professional advice you got here, B.Mac.

12. Visit the publisher’s website and get particulars there.

Usually you send a couple, three chapters along w/ your package, right?I would say that if they toss it after they spent 5 minutes reading the synopsis and thought it ‘bad’, then I don’t know if I’d want to deal with them anyway.