Genre, Synopsis and More (Oh My!)

By Dennis Lantz

The process of writing a story seems speedy compared to what comes after. A first time novelist, which is what I am, must answer some basic, but important questions and resolve specific details in order to be properly prepared. Obviously the most significant factor is that the manuscript needs to be complete and in a state as close to publishable as possible. When I started My Handprint, I believed my mutation story was ready. I was wrong. It was a lengthy 171,000 words which would probably dissuade an agent or publisher from taking a closer look. Now it is revised, refined and still a robust 145,700 words. But it is so much better for the loss.

Self-publishing or finding an agent and publisher?

I am not averse to self-publishing in general. As I said before, I may take that road for Zander’s Tale. But I want to establish myself as a writer and the best way to do that, I believe, is to find an agent who can sell my work to a publisher. The process is not complex, but there are ways that are more apt to succeed. At this point in time I do not wish to join a writer’s conference or attend multiple functions to network with members of the literary world. I am not a social creature. However, if a prospective agent is reading this: I am willing to research and put in hours of preparation to improve my road to success. When the time comes to promote my work, I will not hesitate to leap into social media and attend seminars or forums that will help in those efforts. But I am not there yet.

Writer’s Digest’s Guide to Literary Agents has been invaluable. The most important part, in addition to listing the various agents and agencies, is the website information. I have gone to every website whose agents seek the type of writing I produce. Over the next few weeks I will become even more meticulous because I intend to start querying several of them.

Here are some of the interesting details I have come across thus far. Just for the initial query, most agents want three items. A query letter, a synopsis and a sample of the manuscript are usually required. Some ask for the first five pages or the first chapter; others want more.  After they have looked over this they will ask for more or reject the offer. I don’t particularly like rejection, but I recognize that certain agents specialize in particular genres and are interested in specific styles. This is why it is important to research before submitting even a query.

Genre

There are more fiction genres than I thought possible. Literary, new adult, romance, women’s, science fiction, commercial, action/adventure, gay/lesbian, feminist, mystery, mainstream, suspense, sports, thriller, juvenile, middle-grade, young adult, picture book, religious, western and probably dozens of others. The agents will tell you specifically what they wish to represent.

I am submitting my mutation story as an action/adventure novel. It could be classified as science fiction because it has elements of science. But it isn’t Isaac Asimov or Ben Bova or even my favorite, Orson Scott Card. It could be young adult because the protagonist is a boy nearing his teen years. I hope young adults read the story, but I didn’t write it for that market group. Elements of mystery, thrillers, suspense and science make it difficult for me to pigeonhole. I happen to think it is a good story that doesn’t need to be labeled, but I understand that labels are extremely important in the industry. Is Huckleberry Finn a young adult novel because of a teenage protagonist?

I wrote my query letter as if it was a science fiction adventure, because, in essence, that is what it is. 

My next stories may be more literary thrillers.

Some articles on writing query letters say to tell how your work is similar to other published writers. For me, this is more difficult than it should be. I don’t write like the authors I read. Certainly there are elements that are similar. I could say that my mutation story is similar to J.K. Rowling because there are odd beasts. There is also an orphaned young protagonist who must deal with difficult situations and maintain his sense of goodness. But my story isn’t a fantasy. There is no magic or swords. I might say that my story is similar to those of Suzanne Collins or Veronica Roth because there is an element of dystopia and action, but the government in my story isn’t as harsh as The Hunger Games nor is society as segregated as in the Divergent series. In fact, I call it semi-dystopian even though it isn’t any more authoritarian than today’s reality in the United States.

Sure there are clones and extreme government regulations, but that is backstory. The terror and communication devices aren’t much different than we have today.

I went to the bookstore the other day to see if I could find anything that was similar. I browsed through hundreds, possibly thousands of books and found nothing. I went through the entire science fiction section and came away with the realization that I am not a science fiction writer. I did not find any story written like mine. That isn’t to say there isn’t any; I simply didn’t come across any. I did discover that there are a lot of books that I want to read and just as many that I don’t care to see again.

Synopsis

Writing a synopsis for a novel is not as simple as it sounds. Most articles say to write one or two pages of single-line text. Plot is a factor, but not the most important part. You don’t simply write that MC (main character) did this and then did that. My synopsis started out that way and it quickly grew to five pages. More important is to show where the MC starts and the changes in his outlook or feelings as the story progresses. Also it must reveal the ending. I read two or three articles on synopsis writing and none of them were incredibly instructive.

One cannot simply fit 145,000 words into 600 without leaving out very important details. My synopsis currently comes in at 950 words. It reads well and clarifies my MC’s progress, but doesn’t give much of the plot.

One article explained that most agents ask for a synopsis, but are more interested in the sample chapter or chapters. That makes sense to me.   

More

Today I am taking a closer look at literary agencies and their websites. Some of them have specific details that you should work into a query letter and others give only general information. If an agent lists their favorite books or tells you that they are looking for something in the same vein as a particular writer, then it is best to investigate. Such information can improve chances of success (or at least mitigate rejection.) If an agent likes vampires and stories with strong female characters, it would be silly for me to send a query for my mutation story which has neither.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about what I want to write now. I jotted notes on a dystopian murder story and thought much about a couple of projects I already have going. I don’t yet know what is next, but will soon feel the tug to get going again. I am not good at multi-tasking. Once I send off a few queries I will make a decision. I have a thought that I may show a few different first chapters on this blog and get some feedback. I can’t promise this will happen, but the idea intrigues me.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live