Some news

Sorry about being gone for so long. This is supposed to be a definite no-no for bloggers who are trying to build a following. All I can say is that I needed this time off to enjoy the holidays with my family, concentrate on finish editing my new book, and take care of a sick dog. We enjoyed the holidays, my book is finished, and the dog is still languishing with lung cancer. We're doing the best we can to make him comfortable.

After I finished my book, I started querying last week, and I've got some good news. An agent has requested my full manuscript. So, since last week, I've been busy getting that package ready. What she requested are a synopsis and the full manuscript. Now, my manuscript is ready to go, but my synopsis isn't.

I hate writing a synopsis. I hate it so much that in 2004, I've only queried the agents who didn't list synopsis as a part of the submission requirement. I thought I was doing that again this year when an agent who requested the full manuscript asked for a synopsis when it hadn't been listed on her website. Yikes!

Well, I've moaned and groaned but got down to writing a synopsis. My first one sucked. After my husband read it, and frame my effort to write the synopsis with what's at stake, I've thrown away the 1st effort and then started anew. My second one was much better, and I'm currently working on my 3rd effort. I'm hoping to make this one a keeper.

I'm not alone in hating synopsis'. I mean think about it. Trying to squeeze the "essence" of the book (my happens to be 460+ pages) on 1, 3, or 5 page synopsis seems like an awesome task, but I've done it in 7, trying to cut it down to 5.

In my desperation to do a better job after my 1st attempt missed the mark so spectacularly, I went online to check out some examples out there. The best advice I got was the one that said to write a synopsis IMMEDIATELY after finishing a book and BEFORE querying agents. Also, incorporate some of your material from the novel in the body of the synopsis. I wish I had read this article before I queried this time around, too. The only consolation I have is that the agent who asked for the full manuscript is probably too busy to keep tabs on how long it's taking me to send it to her.

So, please, write you synopsis before rather than later.

About querying agents, I like to shoot for the stars. If I fail, I'll fail spectacularly, but if I succeed, I'll succeed beyond my wildest dreams. So, I chose the best of what I could find for my genre. Do the same for yours. Why not?

I was initially going to write about lessons learned about agents this year, but I think I'm going to blog about my real time experience of trying to find an agent for my new book. In the next blog, I'll start with writing a query.