In my last post I mentioned creating a powerful pitch/query/synopsis for your novel. You can read that post, or not. I also wrote a post awhile back on short story writing for novelists, you should read that. But we are here to talk pitches and queries.
Most novelists cringe at the thought of crushing their manuscript into a single page or even a four or five page synopsis. I feel your fear. But it isn't that hard. All literature comes down to plot. Your novel has one, or should. Some writers spend a lot of time on plot, others let the story write itself, but either way you know your plot.
But plot isn't as complex as you think. All romance novels can be reduced to boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. You can play with the genders involved, even make one a space alien, but the plot stands. Simple, one line plot. All genre fiction have basic plots. You may have sub-plots, dead ends, red herrings, but those aren't your true, basic plot.
Look at Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. This novel was originally five books in one huge volume. The American publisher divided it into a trilogy because it was too long to market. How about its one line plot? Unlikely hero overcomes insurmountable difficulties and saves the world. Less than ten words. And that is the plot of most adventure novels. Simple, succinct.
So we have our plot, now to query our epic we first tell a little about Frodo and why he is an unlikely hero. Next we elaborate on those insurmountable difficulties. Last we give the resolution. We don't need to get into Boromir's betrayal, or the unlikely friendship between Gimli and Legolas. We are tempted to drag in the entire Silmarillion as backstory, but this is a pitch. Short and sweet.
If we keep the pitch succinct then we'll have room to explain any pertinent themes we develop or issues we address that give our story market appeal; love, honor, loyalty, diversity, strong female characters; just pick a few. Then we still have room for the author's awesomeness. So here's a sample.
Frodo Baggins is a hobbit, and adventure to a hobbit is cutting through the wood on the way to a friend's house for tea. But dark and powerful magic is rising and Frodo holds the one object that can destroy it. He is soon embroiled in world changing affairs and dangers beyond his imagination. With the help of friends he passes through terrors which would overcome the bravest of men and succeeds where others would fail.
Lord of the Rings is an epic tale filled with mythical monsters, legendary heroes, and powerful men and women engaged in a battle against ultimate evil. Loyalties and honor are tested as some rise to become heroes and others fall to greed and a thirst for power. Friendships are forged, kingdoms rise and fall, and with the destruction of evil a new king ascends the thrown.
J.R.R. Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature there from 1945 to 1959 and has researched and written extensively on literature and mythology.
There, three paragraphs, and it gives the necessary detail for an agent to want more. The agent will read through the long "party" scenes knowing epic adventure will ensue soon enough. We don't need to move Bilbo's disappearance or the first terrifying appearance of a Ring Wraith to page one as an attention grabber (which I ranted about in my last post). The agent knows she is reading epic literature.
Now, look at your manuscript, find the basic plot which you should be able to state in one sentence, then craft your query. Lead with the hero, or protag, and why they are in this plot line. Then expand a little on plot and themes. Next wow them with your credits or why you wrote this. If you are unpublished you still have an anecdote that led you to write this novel; not why you write, why you wrote this novel.
Now you're done. Edit, edit, edit, and get someone else to read it. Edit and revise some more. The example above is a first draft, it could be polished. Polish you're query until it jumps off the page. This one page is your chance to be published. It should make anyone who reads it want to read your manuscript. That, after all, is the point.
Your synopsis, if the agent wants one, will allow you to offer more; to expand the themes you mention in the query. Tell the story, but stick with the hero/protag. That's who we fall in love with, or who piques our interest. When we read, characters spice the narrative just like setting and mood, but the main character is why we care. I may love Eowyn, but I read LotR because of Frodo.
Okay, you are prepared to impress. Sit down, write a query, and get your manuscript ready for the agent or publisher who will fall in love with your protag. She's out there, waiting for your story. Don't disappoint her. Keep it short, sweet, and succinct. Stay on task and forget the cliché gimmicks.
Good luck,
max
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