There are plenty of great things about writing and publishing novels. But today, I’m not here to discuss any of them.
No, today it’s time to talk about three of the necessary evils a novelist deals with along the way. While these aren’t the only three tough tasks we have to tackle, they’re the ones I’ve heard writers decry most often as they work on their journey toward publication.
You need to write a query letter (ugh). You need to write a synopsis (ouch). And you need to be able to sum up your entire novel in one simple sentence (how?!).
So since each of these is a necessary evil, I thought I’d address a) just how necessary and b) just how evil each one is for the average writer. Let’s begin!
The Query Letter. How necessary? 9 out of 10 if you’re seeking traditional publishing; if you’re going the indie route, make that a 0 of 10. How evil? Mmm, let’s say 7 or 8 out of 10 for most of us.
Look, query letters are tough. But the job of the query letter isn’t to describe your entire novel. It’s just to whet the appetite of the agent to ask for more. If you can frame out what makes your novel especially intriguing, include any special credentials that show why you’re the right person to write it, and leave the agent wanting more, you’ve pretty much got it covered. Easier said than done? Absolutely. A necessary part of the process for hooking an agent? Pretty much totally, unless you happen to hook someone in a pitch session at a conference, and even then, you’ll probably want some kind of query/cover letter to re-introduce yourself when you send your materials along.
The Synopsis. How necessary? Maybe 7 out of 10. How evil? Yeah, that’s a 10. It’s the most.
The only time I’ve kind of enjoyed writing a synopsis was when I did it before writing the book, and even then, it was a long way from fun. It can be brutal to fit 400 pages of novel into 10 pages, 5 pages, or even one page of highlights and make it make any kind of sense. But it falls into the necessary category for those of us lucky enough to sell not-yet-complete novels to our publishers. It doesn’t rate higher on the “necessary” scale because there are plenty of people who have written, sold and published novels without getting anywhere near a synopsis. But some agents require them along with query letters. Some agents and publishers use them in the sale of foreign rights. And as I noted, if you’re selling on proposal, a synopsis is almost always part of that proposal; the publisher wants to know where the novel is headed.
One Sentence That Sums Up Your Novel. How necessary? 10 out of 10, no matter what route to publishing you plan to take. How evil? Could be a 5, could be a 10, depends on you and your book and your attitude.
I know writers push back hard on the idea that a single sentence can sum up an entire book, and yes! It’s impossible. But like the query, the sentence isn’t meant to describe or capture the novel in its entirety — it’s meant to give the listener enough information to figure out if they want more. And at the beginning, that listener could be an agent, but you need this sentence for a thousand other purposes along the way: for an agent to use with editors, for publishers to use with their sales force, and above all, for websites/marketing materials/bookstores/libraries/all-and-sundry to use with readers. At a party, you might be able to answer “What’s your book about?” with a 10-minute diatribe that includes all the major character names, themes you want the reader to take away, the challenges you encountered in research, etc etc — but once your book’s in a bookstore (God willing and the creek don’t rise), you can’t be there in person anymore. A great sentence can be there to represent you instead.
Q: How have you handled the necessary evils of becoming a published novelist?
About Jael McHenry
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
Jael, I’m wandering through the forest of evils as I write this, having worked on a pitch package for over a year. I’m putting it out there now, fumbling, tweaking, making stupid mistakes. But I’m doing it, which makes all the scary stuff just…scary yet necessary stuff. I found your post today encouraging. Thank you!
Glad it resonated with you! Moving forward is fabulous, no matter how rocky the road gets along the way. Cheering you on, Susan!
After three times traditionally published, I’ve written my last query letter, book proposal, and synopsis. The time it takes from query to publication is painful. Then splitting your royalties, you’re lucky to make a buck a book. You better be ready with that overused line, “to not write would take the air from my lungs …” The options for writers, fortunately, have broken down the confinements of agents, editors, and publishers. Remember that when the agent you’ve queried writes a grammatically incorrect and unapologetic email back to you two years after you labored like hell over your perfect query and synopsis.
Excellent description: EVIL. NECESSARY evil.
The third evil, that’s the one I desperately need to overcome, possibly with different answers depending on the audience at hand.
And I’m running up against the hard reality that you can’t summarize 167k words (the remaining books in the mainstream trilogy will be about as long) in twenty or thirty or fifty words, but I have to find a way – because I keep making idiotic noises when people ask.
I must have done something right in that babbling, because maybe 35 people in our new retirement community have read it, but they should have received a polished, planned explanation, not a fish-out-of-water one.
One even has five members of her book club reading, and I’d dearly love to be asked to talk about it at a meeting.
The examples I’ve seen that work for mainstream novels are also ones which seem to assume the potential reader has heard of the book before. I won’t ever have that recognition factor if I don’t get that evil under control.
Hi Jael. Thanks for a useful, real-world post. What writers need to remember is that all three items–queries, summaries, and one-sentence descriptions–are marketing tools. As you wisely say, intriguing the agent/editor is the goal. And those who show they can produce these three tools effectively also help to sell the agent/editor on the writer’s seriousness of purpose and professionalism.
Thanks again.
Urgh. I’m working on blurbs, log-lines and the like at the moment.
I think the frustration comes from the feeling that the perfect sentence, the perfect paragraph, is just beyond my reach, and if I could reach it suddenly All Would Become Clear and I’d finally know what I’m doing with the book.
Somehow it can still be fun if you don’t let yourself think about how you’re not quite getting there.