Authors write novels using thousands of words to tell the story, but the daunting task they face after the writing is condensing those 50000 words into a paragraph about the book. All the publishers require one so they can quickly know about the story and the author's voice. There is no avoiding the writing of a pitch synopsis if you want to interest a publisher, editor, or agent.
Please read on for helpful advice on writing a synopsis.
Thank you, Joanne!
Perfecting
the Pitch Synopsis Toolkit
© by
Joanne Brothwell, 2011
author
of Stealing Breath
http://www.joannebrothwell.com/
A pitch
synopsis is like an audition or a job interview; it
gives a potential agent/editor a taste of what they will get from your novel. Whether
it’s a query letter, an in-person pitch, or an informal chat with your
next-door neighbour, the pitch synopsis has the potential to sell your story.
It’s your opportunity to show why your novel is special, unique and to give
them a hint of the perfectly distilled, profitable elements from your story.
Give an agent/editor a reason to want read more!
The Pitch Synopsis
“Grab
them by the throat in the beginning, lift them off their feet in the middle,
and leave your fingerprints on their necks at the end.”
-Joanne Brothwell
The
pitch is a quick, highly-distilled synopsis of the unique and profitable
elements of your book.
-Katherine Sands, Sarah Freyman Agency
Show them How Your Story is Unique, Fresh and
Authentic
What is it about your writing that is different from every other writer in the slush
pile? Figure out what it is about your work that’s more quirky, mesmerizing,
charming, edgy or provocative than everyone else, and then make sure you
highlight those qualities in your pitch.
The Hook
Agents and publishers want to be impressed.
They’re looking for something that will stand out, something distinctive, fresh
– something that piques their interest – the
hook.
A pitch synopsis should read like the back “blurb”
of a novel. It should set the mood, and be an enticing hint at the story to
come, a hint that highlights an exciting incident or crisis that causes a series
of obstacles for the character to overcome.
So,
what Makes an Effective Hook?
Let’s break it down:
Character.
Right off the bat, agents/editors wants to
know who the main protagonist is. Most
pitches start with answering that very question, often in the very first
sentence.
Setting.
Where does your story take place? This is vitally important to agents, as
they need to know if it is small town USA, an alien planet or Victorian
England. Sometimes the setting alone will create obstacles for the character to
overcome, and that information should be available immediately.
The Goal
What does the
character want? What do they want to accomplish? Is it to find ever-lasting
love, to achieve independence, or to kick an addiction? Decide what your
character wants and make sure it is clear in your pitch.
The Motivation
For what purpose
does the character want to achieve their goal? What is the driving force, pushing
them forward, against the odds? Why does Harry fight Voldemort? To win the
girl? To fight for freedom from oppression?
The Obstacle
What is stopping them
from achieving their goal? Is there a monster trying to kill them? An
ex-boyfriend who won’t let them go? Is the protagonist in the middle of a harsh
desert, with no water supply and no way out? Show the barriers the character
faces.
The Conflict.
What is the problem the main character faces, both
internal and external? As people, we love to hear about the problems other people
face. Just look at the sheer volume of reality shows there are, and it’s
obvious we love conflict!
The Stakes.
Make sure you clearly
show what is at risk should the
character fail. Is there a possibility of danger, loss, failure? The loss of a
lover? Loss of self-sufficiency? Death? World domination?
Make sure you ratchet
up the tension. At the beginning, the blurb should hint at the conflict. But by
the end, the tension should have mounted to the point where the threat is
imminent.
Formula
for Success
What I’m interested in for this workshop,
however, is the pitch portion of the
query:
Pitch
Formula:
[protagonist name] is a [description of
protagonist] living in [setting]. But when [complicating incident],
[protagonist name] must [protagonist's quest] and [verb] [villain] in order to
[protagonist's goal].
Nathan Bransford also recommends three
separate pitches depending on the situation they will be used: the one-sentence,
one-paragraph, and two paragraph pitches.
Fantastic
Writing
Watch your adverbs and adjectives. Purple
prose is a definite no-no in any writing. Use action verbs and words that pack
the most punch. Check spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Find something that resonates
First, do your homework
on the agents you choose to pitch to. Don’t pitch to agents who don’t represent
your genre, otherwise you are wasting valuable time and energy. Do pitch to those agents who have an
interest in your genre, but make sure you thoroughly creep them online
beforehand. Check personal blogs, twitter, wordpress and websites for
information.
Borrowing Tricks from Media Relations and
Business
Check out Blurbs
or Plot Synopsis from your favourite book or movie. What appealed to you about them?
Consider what works for movie/television pitches:
Think controversial. Think outrageous. What will cause
people to talk about a show at work the next day? For features, romantic
comedies are always in demand. Think about how ideas can be adapted. For
example, CBS Features just greenlighted a version of Beauty and the Beast set
in high school.Put on your thinking caps.
Sound Bites
TV and film media love
sound bites. The reason for this is because of basic human psychology. As Mark
Twain put it: “a minimum of sound to a
maximum of sense.”
These key words are
charged with standing out more in the memory, becoming the “opening notes” that
most succinctly represent the “symphony” of the overall book.
Put careful though into
crafting impactful sentences that will resonate for far longer than the time it
took to say (or read) them.
Cognitively, we only
retain a portion of what we see or hear. Sound bites maximize the punch that
the intended message delivers to its recipient. This is where you use all of
those killer words that immediately bring up something thrilling or provocative
to the imagination: terrible secret,
gruesome murder; or my personal favourite, Beware.
Turn of Phrase
Be the person who
thinks up a deadly turn of phrase, the kind of phrase that is clever, witty and
fresh. Coming up with fantastic turns of phrase will highlight your skill as a
writer, and cement that fact in the mind of your listener/reader.
To come up with a great
new turn of phrase, you may want to turn to
-metaphors (a figure of
speech that attributers a characteristic of one object to another),
-inversion (inverting
the subject and predicate of a sentence),
-parallelism (the use
for rhythmic effect, of similar constructions in adjacent syntactic units,
often giving an equivalent, complementary or antithetic sense) and
-chlasmus (the
repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order).
Rather than get into each of these tools, you may want to check out this full
article:
The Rule of Three
The Rule of Three is a
principle in writing (I have no idea who founded it, by the way), that suggests
anything presented in groups of three tends to be more effective and have more
impact on the intended audience.
Amplify Words by Drawing Contrasts
Borrowing a technique
from speechwriting, sometimes the best way to highlight or magnify a concept is
by providing contrast.
More is not always more. Remember
the KISS rule: Keep it Simple Sweetie. If we cram too much information into a
pitch, we effectively weaken the impact.
Watch transitions. Be
careful how you segue way from one idea to another, from one sentence to the
next, and from one paragraph to the other.
The First and Last Words is The Most Important. Most people remember the first and final words of a lecture, particularly if it
is describing a new concept. These are moments of elevated awareness to hone in on.
The Psychology of Words
We writers are
already familiar with the emotional impact of words on our readers. Emotion is
the heart and soul of pitching. We want our words to stimulate the audience,
compelling them from disinterest to excitement
Sex Sells. Sexy
words don’t have to be explicit, like naked; they can be more subtle in the
hint of sensuality they suggest, like supple,
nape or dewy.
Punchy verbs.
Consider the power behind a carefully chosen strong verb. Choose verbs that croon, intoxicate and schmoose.
Power words can
be extremely persuasive, so choose them wisely! For a great book on emotional
words, check out Words that Sell, by Richard Byan.
Play Up What You
can do for Them
Know your
audience before you pitch. Are they potential readers who are interested in
becoming informed, amused or distracted? Are they agents, hoping to build their
careers and become more financially secure? Or are they publishers, with the
goal of profiting from your book?
Ultimately, we
must be able to peer into our audience’s mind and show them what our book will do for them.
The In-Person Pitch
There may be a time in
your writing career where you will have to pitch live to another person. This
may be at a conference, a writer’s group, a convention or other writing
festival. While this is undoubtedly one of the most difficult things to
actually do without swallowing your own tongue, it is possible.
Sell Yourself
Rehearse.
Use a Dramatic Pause.
Conquer Anxiety
Be Ready for Criticism
Remember, They're Just
People, Too
Watch Your Negative
Self-Talk
Mistakes to avoid
Bragging.
Poor Writing. Grammar, punctuation,
spelling.
Misaddressing your audience.
Clichés.,”
Perfecting the Pitch Synopsis Checklist
© by
Joanne Brothwell, 2011
author
of Stealing Breath
-
You’ve introduced the Hook:
character, setting, goal, motivation, obstacles, conflict, the stakes.
-
You’ve considered sound bites,
turns of phrase, the rule of three, and drawing contrasts
-
You’ve made your first and last
words the most powerful.
-
You have checked for errors in
punctuation, spelling and grammar.
-
You
have the proper spelling (or pronunciation) of the target person’s name, and
the correct address.
-
Your pitch is geared to the
proper audience.
-
Words are chosen for maximum
impact.
-
Your pitch is clear, potent and
succinct.
-
The unique, fresh and highly
distilled selling points are persuasively highlighted throughout the pitch.
-
Superfluous words have been
eliminated. Brevity is paramount.
-
If spoken aloud, you have
rehearsed and are familiar with what will be said.
-
You have styled your
one-sentence, one-paragraph and two-paragraph pitches similarly to maintain
consistency.
-
Your pitch appeals to the
audience’s needs or desires and clearly shows what your novel can do for
them.
-
Every word seduces enough to
keep the reader/listener interested.
-
You conquer fears but remain
humble and courteous.
