Get a Literary Agent: The Complete Guide to Securing Representation for Your Work (17 page)
Read Get a Literary Agent: The Complete Guide to Securing Representation for Your Work Online
Authors: Chuck Sambuchino
When writers list all the details, descriptions, and backstory at the beginning of a novel in an information dump, they aim to help the reader, but in fact they’re
hurting
the reader’s experience—and their own chances of getting the book in front of readers in the first place.
CHAPTER ONE PROBLEMS AND FALSE STARTS
FALSE BEGINNINGS
“I don’t like it when the main character dies at the end of chapter one. Why did I just spend all this time with this character? I feel cheated.”
—Cricket Freeman (The August Agency)
“I dislike opening scenes that you think are real; then the protagonist wakes up. It makes me feel cheated.”
—Laurie McLean (Fuse Literary)
“I’m not a fan of prologues, preferring to find myself in the midst of a moving plot on page 1 rather than being kept outside of it or eased into it.”
—Michelle Andelman (Regal Literary)
“Most agents hate prologues. Just make the first chapter relevant and well written.”
—Andrea Brown (Andrea Brown Literary Agency)
“Prologues are usually a lazy way to give backstory chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story. Damn the prologue; full speed ahead!”
—Laurie McLean (Fuse Literary)
“I’m not a big fan of prologues; I’d rather be immersed in the book’s action right from the beginning.”
—Jennifer De Chiara (Jennifer De Chiara Literary)
“Perhaps my biggest pet peeve with an opening chapter is when an author features too much exposition—when they go beyond what is necessary for simply ‘setting the scene.’ I want to feel as if I’m in the hands of a master storyteller, and starting a story with long, flowery, overly descriptive sentences (kind of like this one) makes the writer seem amateurish and the story contrived. Of course, an equally jarring beginning can be nearly as off-putting, and I hesitate to read on if I’m feeling disoriented by the fifth page. I enjoy when writers can find a good balance between exposition and mystery. Too much accounting always ruins the mystery of a novel, and the unknown is what propels us to read further.”
—Peter Miller (Global Lion Intellectual Property Management)
“The [adjective] [adjective] sun rose in the [adjective] [adjective] sky, shedding its [adjective] light across the [adjective] [adjective] [adjective] land.”
—Chip MacGregor (MacGregor Literary)
“I dislike endless ‘laundry list’ character descriptions. For example: ‘She had eyes the color of a summer sky and long blonde hair that fell in ringlets past her shoulders. Her petite nose was the perfect size for her heart-shaped face. Her azure dress—with the empire waist and long, tight sleeves—sported tiny pearl buttons down the bodice. Ivory lace peeked out of the hem in front.’ Blah, blah. Who cares? Work it into the story.”
—Laurie McLean (Fuse Literary)
“I don’t like descriptions of the characters where writers make them too perfect. Heroines (and heroes) who are described physically as being virtually unflawed come across as unrelatable and boring. No ‘flowing, windswept golden locks,’ no ‘eyes as blue as the sky,’ no ‘willowy, perfect figures.’”
—Laura Bradford (Bradford Literary Agency)
“Many writers express the character’s backstory before they get to the plot. Good writers will go back and cut that stuff out and get right to the plot. The character’s backstory stays with them—it’s in their DNA.”
—Adam Chromy (Movable Type Management)
“I’m turned off when a writer feels the need to fill in all the backstory before starting the story; a story that opens on the protagonist’s mental reflection of their situation is a red flag.”
—Stephany Evans (FinePrint Literary Management)
“One of the biggest problems is the ‘information dump’ in the first few pages, where the author is trying to tell us everything we supposedly need to know to understand the story. Getting to know characters in a story is like getting to know people in real life. You find out their personality and details of their life over time.”
—Rachelle Gardner (Books and Such Literary)
“I know this may sound obvious, but too much ‘telling’ versus ‘showing’ in the first chapter is a definite warning sign for me. The first chapter should present a compelling scene, not a road map for the rest of the book. The goal is to make the reader curious about your characters, to fill their heads with questions that must be answered, not to fill them in on exactly where, when, who, and how.”
—Emily Sylvan Kim (Prospect Agency)
“I hate reading purple prose—describing something so beautifully that has nothing to do with the actual story.”
—Cherry Weiner (Cherry Weiner Literary)
“Grammatical errors are an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many do get through.”
—Elisabeth Weed (Weed Literary)
“A cheesy hook drives me nuts. They say ‘Open with a hook!’ to grab the reader. That’s true, but there’s a fine line between an intriguing hook and one that’s just silly. An example of a silly hook would be opening with a line of overtly sexual dialogue.”
—Daniel Lazar (Writers House)
“I don’t like an opening line that’s ‘My name is …’ introducing the narrator to the reader so blatantly. There are far better ways in chapter one to establish an instant connection between narrator and reader.”
—Michelle Andelman (Regal Literary)
“Sometimes a reasonably good writer will create an interesting character and describe him in a compelling way, but then he’ll turn out to be some unimportant bit player.”
—Ellen Pepus (Signature Literary Agency)
“[I dislike] characters that are moving around doing little things, but essentially nothing: washing dishes and thinking, staring out the window and thinking, tying shoes, thinking.”
—Daniel Lazar (Writers House)
“I don’t really like ‘first day of school’ beginnings, ‘from the beginning of time,’ or ‘once upon a time.’ Specifically, I dislike a chapter one in which nothing happens.”
—Jessica Regel (Foundry Literary + Media)
“I can’t stand this scenario: A woman is awakened to find a strange man in her bedroom—and then automatically finds him attractive. I’m sorry, but if I awoke to a strange man in my bedroom, I’d be reaching for a weapon—not admiring the view.”
—Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary Agency)
“[I dislike] a science fiction novel that spends the first two pages describing the strange landscape.”
—Chip MacGregor (MacGregor Literary)
“Science fiction is a fantastic genre for showcasing complex, rich world building. But that doesn’t mean first pages should come at the expense of character development. Forgetting those characters means readers lose their lifeline for appreciating the world they inhabit, and there will be little to propel the story forward. Also, some science fiction might include a unique lexicon, but it’s not engaging or productive to begin first pages with a vocab lesson.”
—Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary)
“Someone squinting into the sunlight with a hangover in a crime novel: good grief—been done a million times.”
—Chip MacGregor (MacGregor Literary)
“Cliché openings in fantasy can include an opening scene set in a battle (and my peeve is that I don’t know any of the characters yet so why should I care about this battle?) or [in] a pastoral scene where the protagonist is gathering herbs (I didn’t realize how common this is).”
—Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary Agency)
WRITING THE SYNOPSIS
I’ve never met a single person who liked writing a synopsis. Seriously—not one. But synopses are a necessary part of the submission process, with many agents either requesting the synopsis up front with your initial submission or when they follow up on your query and ask for more material. The purpose of a synopsis request is for the agent or editor to evaluate what happens throughout your whole story and decide if the characters, plot, and conflict warrant a complete read of your manuscript.
A synopsis is a
summary
of your book, and literary agents and editors may ask to see one if you’re writing an adult novel, a memoir, or a kids novel (young adult, middle-grade). Every agent has a different opinion of the synopsis. Some agents openly state in interviews that they’re well aware of how difficult a synopsis is to write, and they put little consideration into them. But we must presume that most or all of the agents who do not openly speak out against synopses put some weight into them, and that’s why it’s important for you to treat this step with care.
And if you haven’t guessed yet, these summaries are pretty tough to write. A poor synopsis will confuse the reader, and during the pitching process, confusion equals death. A poor synopsis will also reveal big problems in your story, such as strange plot points, how ridiculous acts of God get the main character out of tight situations, or how your romance actually ends in a divorce (a major category no-no). In this chapter, we’ll explore how to make your synopsis successful—which means that it gets the agent to ask for your full manuscript.
Here are some guidelines that will help you understand the basics of synopsis writing, no matter what your novel or memoir is about.
- REVEAL EVERYTHING MAJOR THAT HAPPENS IN YOUR BOOK, INCLUDING THE ENDING.
Heck, revealing the story’s ending is a synopsis’s defining characteristic. You shouldn’t reveal a story’s ending in a query or an in-person pitch, but it does leak out in a synopsis. A synopsis is designed to explain
everything major
that happens, not to tease. So avoid language such as “Krista walks around a corner and into a big surprise.” Don’t say “surprise”—just tell us what happens. This touches on a bigger point: The worst mistake a synopsis can make is to confuse the reader. Make sure that no language in your page is vague and undefined and could lead to multiple interpretations. One of the fundamental purposes of a synopsis is to show your book’s narrative arc. Within that arc, the agent must see that the story possesses staple elements, such as rising action, the three-act structure, and a satisfying ending. - MAKE YOUR SYNOPSIS ONE PAGE, SINGLE-SPACED.
There is always some disagreement on length. Synopses used to trend longer (four, six, or even eight pages!), but over the last five years, agents have requested shorter and shorter synopses. Most agents have finally settled on one to two pages total. If you write yours as one single-spaced page, it’s the same length as two double-spaced pages, and either are acceptable. There will be the occasional agent who requests something strange, such as a “five-page synopsis on beige paper that smells of cinnamon.” But trust me, if you turn in a solid one-page work, you’ll be just fine across the board. In my opinion, it’s the gold standard. - TAKE MORE CARE AND TIME IF YOU’RE WRITING GENRE FICTION.
Synopses are especially difficult to compose if you’re writing character-driven (i.e., literary) fiction, because there may not be a whole lot of plot in the book. Agents and editors understand this and put little (or no) weight into a synopsis for literary or character-driven stories. However, if you’re writing genre fiction—specifically categories like romance, fantasy, thriller, mystery, horror, or science fiction—agents will want to make sure your book has a clear beginning, middle, and end, as well as some unique aspects of plot and character they haven’t seen before in a story. So if you’re getting ready to submit a genre story, don’t blow through your synopsis; it’s important. - FEEL FREE TO BE DRY, BUT DON’T STEP OUT OF THE NARRATIVE.
When you write your story (and even the pitch in your query letter), style and voice are critical to the writing. A synopsis, thankfully, not only can be dry but probably
should
be dry. The synopsis has to explain everything that happens in a very small amount of space. So if you find yourself using short sentences like “John shoots Bill and then sits down to contemplate suicide,” don’t worry. This is normal. Lean, clean language is great. Use active verbs and always strive for clarity. And lastly, do not step out of the narrative—you’re telling the story, not talking about the story. Agents do not want to read things such as “And at the climax of the story,” “In a rousing scene,” or “In a flashback.” - TYPE CHARACTER NAMES IN ALL CAPS WHEN CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED.
Whenever a new character is introduced, CAPITALIZE the name in the first mention and then use normal text throughout. This helps a literary agent immediately recognize each important name. Avoid naming too many characters, though—try to set a limit of five or six. I know this may sound tough, but it’s doable. It forces you to excise smaller characters and subplots from your summary—and doing so actually strengthens your novel synopsis along the way. Sometimes writers fall in love with a minor character (or joke or setting) and insist on mentioning him in the synopsis even though he is not a piece of the larger plot. These mistakes will water down your summary and keep it from showing agents that you have a sense of what’s important in the story. - USE THIRD-PERSON PRESENT TENSE.
The exception to this is memoir. While you can write your memoir synopsis in third person, it’s probably a better idea to write it in first person. “Feeling stifled, I enlist in the Army that very day.”
As I did with queries, I want to lay out some successful examples here—this time with synopses—so you can get a feel for what an excellent summary looks like on the page. For this exercise, I’ll be using mainstream movies rather than books, but it’s all the same process. The third example,
Traffic
, is an excellent example if you’re having a difficult time boiling down many characters and plotlines into just one page—I’ve provided insights along the way in that example.