Tag Archives: get published

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: THE DREADED S WORD

Posted on by

Jane Cable tries to pick out the positives of writing a synopsis

Having completed the edits on one manuscript and having rescued my rights for Another You from Endeavour Press, this month has been all about considering submissions – which in most cases involves the bane of my writing life – the synopsis.

I’m not talking about the sort of synopsis you use as you create your novel, or to check structure and record plot points as you go along; I’m talking about that big, scary, one-and-only-chance-to-get-it-right document which accompanies your submission to agents and publishing houses. The synopsis as sales tool – in particular the short version – fills me with dread in a way no other blank page can.

This time, I thought I’d cracked it. Fellow RNA member and Choc Lit author Lynda Stacey very kindly sent me her template and using it made perfect sense. Like me, Lynda writes romantic suspense and has to shoehorn complex plots into a single page. I was happy with what I’d written, but when I showed it to Claire Dyer (an editor as well as an author) she drove a coach and horses through it. Clearly I need to improve.

So, what have I learnt from this sorry state of affairs.

A template to follow is really, really useful

When you are staring at a blank piece of paper there is nothing more helpful than something which lists the paragraphs you need and gives you some guidance about what to put in each. It helps you to have a method. For my short synopsis I set out the beginning of the book, then the end of the book, and filled in the middle last. It was also brilliant for pulling out the main plot strands and that focussed me through my final edits.

You’re going to need more than one carefully tailored synopsis

I’m concentrating on the direct submissions route for my novels and am hand picking the publishers I think would be right for them and who I’m really keen to work with. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I’m quite comfortable being an indie author if I can’t land that special deal. But what struck me when I was making my shortlist was that they all want something different; everything from a 3,000 word essay to a two paragraph blurb. It’s so important to tailor what you send to their requirements and to show you understand where your book would sit in their portfolio.

A synopsis is not a blurb It may be a selling document, but it’s not a blurb.

I was delighted when my first choice publisher asked for a blurb as I find them so much easier to write. Of course there are similarities – both have to grab the person reading it – but in different ways. A blurb entices, teases, reveals just enough. A synopsis tells the whole story. No surprises. The most important thing to bear in mind is that a publisher or agent will be thinking about how they can sell the story – a reader will be using the blurb to decide if they want to buy it.

Not everyone you submit to will need a synopsis

Yes. Really. But don’t use it as a cop out or to select who you submit to. Most agents require a synopsis, but the length varies. So will most publishers, but some have other priorities, such as finding out about your author brand – they will rely on your manuscript to see whether your book is worth taking on. You will need to become expert in selling your novel in all sorts of ways but one thing is certain: the better you become at all of them the more chance you have of landing a deal.

 

Gillian Holmes, (aka The Editor) Responded to Frost’s Request for Help Writing a Synopsis

Posted on by

Synopsis: A brief summary of the plot of a novel, motion picture, play etc. by Gillian Holmes

Meet Gillian Holmes – literary editor By Margaret Graham1

 

A very talented friend of mine sent me the synopsis of the novel she was writing for her Creative Writing MA. Her tutor had sent her away with a flea in her ear, and she came to me with no real idea of what she’d done wrong.
As a veteran of synopses of nearly twenty years standing, I saw immediately that she had made a very common error. Namely, she’d forgotten what a synopsis is. She thought she needed to show her thinking behind the book, and give the reader a flavour of what was to come. Consequently, she had managed to give far too much information, while also giving too little.

How is that possible?

 

  1. She wrote a lot about her main character, while neglecting the plot.
  2. She had included lines from the book, but with no context, they were irrelevant.
  3. She had tried to illustrated the themes in the book, but neglected the plot.
  4. She had tried to illustrate the humour in the book by describing the occasional amusing scene. But she’d neglected the plot…

 

Do you see where I’m going here? So when you sit down to write your synopsis, always remember that  this is not a creative work, so don’t try to be too clever. Clarity is everything.

 

So what do agents and editors want from a synopsis?

 

  1. They want 1500 words or fewer.
  2. They want an elevator pitch – a couple of lines that outlines the concept. The concept is a very strong consideration for all agents and editors, so make it snappy and memorable. For example, let’s take a recent bestseller – The Husband’s Secret. A happily married woman with three children discovers that her husband murdered a young girl when he was a teenager.
  3. A brief summary of the plot, key moments, key events, and main characters so they can see the arc of the story and judge whether the structure seems sound – leave out complicated sub plots, it will only bog you down in unnecessary detail.
  4. The end – and that means the end. Don’t hold anything back, this is not a cover blurb.

 

And that’s it. Easy peasy.
If you’re wondering about my friend, I sent her back to rewrite her synopsis several times. But it was worth it. She got an A for it in the end.

Gillian has been an editor for mainstream publishers for twenty years. Now she runs her own editorial agency.
To contact Gillian:  gilliansholmes@hotmail.com

 

 

Early Chapters by Gillian Holmes of The Editor | Get Published

Posted on by

Meet Gillian Holmes – literary editor By Margaret Graham1

Frost is delighted to have an editor of Gillian’s calibre to help aspiring authors. It’s particularly apt, because the fundraising Independent Author Book Award, run by www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk is open for entries until 6th March 2016.

 

Last year’s winner, Jane Cable, is now represented by the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency as a direct result of the competition. Felicity Trew of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency is judging this year’s Award.

 

So over to Gillian:

 

Early Chapters

 

It’s tough being a writer, and we editors appreciate that. I have never written a book – if you don’t count the half-written romance with a Daniel-Craig-as-Bond-type hero, but the least said about that the better. So all writers who have the tenacity and commitment to complete a novel have already earned my full admiration.

 

However, on the other side of the coin, having worked as an acquiring editor, a reader for literary agents, and a reader for competitions, you can appreciate, I’ve probably read more than my fair share of opening chapters and synopses. And sometimes I stop within half a page. It sounds brutal, but when you have a lot of manuscripts to read, you simply don’t have the time or the inclination to read on to see if it improves.

 

So here are ten tips to help you catch the eye of the judges.

 

First the Don’ts:

 

  1. Please do not, and really I mean this, open with a dream. Ask any editor/agent/reader. There is nothing more irritating than to be pulled into some action, only to find it’s not real. Can I add here, do not ever use dreams as a way to move the plot forward. Please.
  2. Do not open your book with backstory… if we don’t know the characters, how can we be interested in their backstory?
  3. Do not start the book with a minor character. No matter how good the writing, as soon as the reader realises that the character they have been reading about disappears by chapter 2, they will give up.
  4. Do not open with your character doing mundane stuff – getting ready for work, having breakfast, unstacking the dishwasher, going out the door – because although you may think it’s a great contrast with the explosive action that comes later, the reader may never know that. They’ll have given up just as your character is locking their front door.
  5. Do not mince your words. Starting any book with exposition and/or long descriptions of the character or location can be mind-numbing for the reader. Dive in, all will reveal itself as the book unfolds. Speaking of long descriptions: watch out for flowery language and too many adjectives. Having to wade through paragraphs of wordy prose before you even get to the story is frustrating and time-wasting.

 

Now the Dos

 

  1. Give the reader a snappy opening line that immediately intrigues.
  2. The submitted chapters should be the very best they can be, so I would suggest you hire an editor/copy editor. It can be an expensive business, but do it for just these three chapters in the first instance. It makes a huge difference to the reader, and could give you some useful advice for the rest of the book.
  3. Keep the pace moving and don’t get bogged down in irrelevant detail.
  4. Introduce us to your characters – the reader needs to be invested in them from the start.
  5. If you’re sending a prologue as part of your first three chapters, make sure it’s relevant and interesting, not just a convenient way to give backstory.

Soon I will be giving you some hints on writing the synopsis.

 

 

gilliansholmes@hotmail.com

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk
http://www.carolinesheldon.co.uk

 

 

Frost Interview | Novelist Hannah Fielding

Posted on by

We were very excited to interview The Echoes of Love: A Story of Secrets, Tragedy and Haunting Love in Venice
author Hannah Fielding. Hannah is a great writer and is very well travelled. Read on for her thoughts on her novel, getting published, her writing routine and her favourite places. Portrait of Hannah Fielding and photos of where she writes.

Tell us about your novel

Seduction, passion and the chance for new love is at the heart of The Echoes of Love.

Set in the romantic and mysterious city of Venice, the beautiful landscape of Tuscany and the wild maquis of Sardinia, The Echoes of Love is a touching love story that unfolds at the turn of the new millennium.

What is your writing routine?

I have a very rigid routine which has served me well. Having researched my facts thoroughly, I plan my novel down to the smallest detail. Planning ahead, I have found, makes the writing so much easier and therefore so much more enjoyable. Then, when I am ready to begin writing, I settle into a regular routine – writing each morning andediting the previous day’s work, taking a break for lunch, writing a little more and then going for a walk somewhere inspirational, like the woods or the beach.

How hard was it to get published?

This only gets more difficult. As readers move from paperback to ebooks, publishers are developing new business models and nothing stays the same. My new publisher resulted from the very positive reception of my first book, Burning Embers, which was published by Omnific in the USA. Working with a London publisher and a younger team is very different, but just as enjoyable.

Why did you choose Venice as a setting for your novel?

I first visited Venice as a young child. Then, as now, I was wide-eyed and enchanted by the beauty of the city. I distinctly remember standing in the main square, the Piazza St Marco, gazing up at the stunning architecture of Saint Mark’s Basilica, and feeling I had somehow entered another world – a fairytale world. Then I looked down, at the square itself, which was overrun by hordes of pigeons. There was nothing beautiful about those birds. They were quite spoiling the place. And it struck me then that Venice is a city of two faces: that which the tourists flock to admire, that makes the city the capital of romance, that breathes new life into the imagination and leaves a permanent, inspirational impression. And the other side, the darker side, that which is concealed in what Erica Jong called ‘the city of mirrors, the city of mirages’.

When I returned to the city as an adult, I became quite fascinated by the concept of Venice – what it means to be Venetian; what the city really is beneath the layers of history and grandeur and legend. Frida Giannini wrote, ‘Venice never quite seemsreal, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water.’ I understand this quote – there is something fairytale about the place, and with that comes some reluctance, perhaps, to see the realism beyond.

Venice so captured my imagination that I knew some day I would write a romance novel set in this most elegant and fascinating of cities. But it had to be the right story to fit the place. For me, that meant a story that reflected the two faces of Venice – the mask she wears, and the true form beneath.

Tell us about your characters

Venetia Aston-Montagu is a young architect in her mid-twenties who has already suffered heartbreak and loss. Brought up by a despotic father and a weak mother who always deferred to her husband, she can’t wait to leave home and work in Venicein her Italian godmother’s architectural practice. Her past experience has left her reserved and wary of men, but deep down she is a romantic who dreams of meeting the man of her dreams.

Paolo Barone is a millionaire Italian entrepreneur in his mid-thirties who has also had his share of suffering, which makes him at times taciturn. The affinity he feels for Venetia is instant. To start off with, like Venetia, he is afraid of the power of the emotions. Still, Paolo’s past and present are filled with secrets that he jealously keeps locked up in his heart, even from Venetia.

Is Venice the most romantic city?

Italy, for me, is the most romantic country in the world, and Venice is the best of its many ancient and beautiful cities. That is why time and again it tops the polls as the most romantic city in the world.

There are so many reasons I can give for this: the stunning architecture, the sense of history all around, the romantic music, the sublime cuisine, the colours of the buildings and their reflections in the water, the Casanova connection, the passionate

Venetians and their beautiful language, the dreamy drift of the lagoon, the blend of hubbub and calming serenity, the exciting Carnival, the gondolas that bear you around the city in such a timeless, gliding fashion…

You were born in Egypt and have travelled a lot. Where are your favourite

places?

1. Aswan, Egypt

One my favourite places in the world is the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan in southern

Egypt. Built on a granite promontory in the Nubian Desert on the banks of the Nile,

the dark pink edifice, in the style of Belle Époque villas of the 19th century, has

retained all the beauty and splendour of yester-years.

 

2. The Rift Valley, Kenya

I set my debut novel, Burning Embers, in Kenya because after visiting the country

as a young woman I was captivated by the scenery and the people. The Rift Valley,

in particular, took my breath away, and I could not resist writing a balloon ride into

Burning Embers to allow my heroine, Coral, to take in the magnificent landscape.

 

3. St Paul de Vence

A beautiful hilltop village in Provence, and one of the oldest – founded in the ninth

century. It is known as Le Bijou de la Côte d’Azur (The Jewel of the Côte d’Azur).

The French painter Marc Chagaechoesoflovehannahfieldingll made the village his home for 20 years, and here he

painted wonderfully warm pictures that pay homage to love, some of which can be

viewed at La Fondation Maeght , 623 Chemin des Gardettes.

Your first novel was published last year. Was this one harder to write?

Yes. Because Burning Embers had such a good response, I found The Echoes of

Love a much more challenging experience because I wanted to live up to my readers’ expectations.

 

What next?

I have written a trilogy set in Andalucía, Spain, spanning three generations of a

Spanish/English family, from 1950 to the present day.

Greece is also on the map for a new Hannah Fielding romance novel. I am now in the process of researching and planning a very dramatic love story that takes place on one of the many Greek Islands. I chose Greece because I know that captivating country and its people well – I have good Greek friends. I bought my wedding dress in Athens and my husband and I honeymooned on Rhodes Island. Greek mythology was part of the literature course I read at university and Greece is not far from Alexandria, where I grew up.