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    I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore: A Step by Step Guide To Creating an Eye Catching Synopsis and Cover Letter
    I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore: A Step by Step Guide To Creating an Eye Catching Synopsis and Cover Letter
    I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore: A Step by Step Guide To Creating an Eye Catching Synopsis and Cover Letter
    Ebook59 pages51 minutes

    I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore: A Step by Step Guide To Creating an Eye Catching Synopsis and Cover Letter

    By Susan Palmquist

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    About this ebook

    Would you rather do anything besides write a synopsis for your book? This easy guide shows you how you can begin enjoying the process and offers you a step by step guiding on putting together a synopsis that will showcase your story and make it stand out from the crowd. You'll learn what makes a perfect synopsis. What to leave in and what to leave out. Each chapter offers you an assignment to test your newly learned skills. There's also a chapter on writing a cover letter and putting together a submission package for targeting agents and editors.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateApr 12, 2014
    ISBN9781630686888
    I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore: A Step by Step Guide To Creating an Eye Catching Synopsis and Cover Letter
    Author

    Susan Palmquist

    An Adams Media author.

    Read more from Susan Palmquist

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      Book preview

      I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis...but Not Anymore - Susan Palmquist

      Ten-Resources

      Introduction

      Does this sound like you?

      You’d opt to vacuum your house three times or even do laundry for seven days in a row rather than sit yourself down and write a synopsis?

      If you said, yes, that’s me; this book was written just for you.

      Before we get started I’ll make a confession… I love writing a synopsis. Before I was a freelance writer, I used to work in public relations so I think having to put together copy day in and day out, sometimes at short notice, did help me with my future synopsis writing skills. So in this book I’ll be passing along some tricks I learned along the way, ones that can easily be applied to synopsis writing too.

      I know my enjoyment of synopsis writing puts me in a small minority. Ask most writers what they dread the most…besides a rejection, and usually their response is working on a synopsis for their story.

      About four years ago, (and with this in mind), I decided to put together a workshop that addressed synopsis writing. It’s been offered through various chapters of the Romance Writers of America, and to this day remains the most popular workshop I teach.

      I named it I Used to Hate Writing a Synopsis…but not anymore because that’s exactly what I wanted participants to say after they were done with the class. Many former students have told me the workshop has not only produced a synopsis they can be proud of, but also given them confidence in tackling future ones too.

      I thought why not try and reach out to more writers who sometimes don’t have the budget or time to take the workshop, and put everything together in an e-book. Like the workshop it’s based upon, you’ll not only find instruction on how to write a synopsis, but exercises for you to tackle as well.  The only difference between the workshop and this book is you won’t receive feedback on your synopsis. However, I hope after reading this book you’ll feel confident that your synopsis is near perfect and ready to submit.

      I’ve included my synopsis template too. Feel free to copy and paste it and keep it stored on your computer, like I do, and return to it again and again when you sit down to compose a synopsis.

      Just like the workshop, this e-book isn’t only about crafting a synopsis. These days there’s more work involved in trying to convince an editor or agent to look at your work so I’ve included a section on writing taglines, blurbs, and both query and cover letters as well.

      If you try all the exercises in this book, and by the time you’re done reading it, you’ll have both a long and short synopsis ready to submit to either an editor or agent.

      Here’s a brief overview of things you’ll learn from reading this e-book-

      What makes a good synopsis?

      What should be included in one?

      What tense should the synopsis be written in?

      Working from an outline

      Okay, let’s get started on that synopsis…

      Chapter One – What’s Special about the Synopsis?

      I’ll start this first chapter by saying that in today’s publishing environment, writing a great synopsis isn’t just about catching an editor’s eye. In fact, there are a couple more reasons to invest in honing this skill and they are-

      The Dawn of the New Publishing World

      These days it’s more important than ever to know how to write not just a so-so synopsis, but a great one. Due to budget cuts, mergers,

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