Synopsis and throughline questions about how and where to place in each?

(LOS ANGELES, CA)

Question: Thank you Glen, for helping me understand about synopsis and the throughline; however in my synopsis, is this just for the editor or agents eyes only? If so, then do I put the number 1.) Inciting incident blah, blah..? Or do I write the whole story in a smaller review as in like when you are thinking of buying a book on Amazon.com and you scroll down to the readers reviews about the plot and how the story went without the ending, so as not to have a spoiler? Or is it a total basic overall viewing of what the story is all about, as letting them see two of these for the first two books that I'd like to submit for my set of 4 if

lucky--meaning--if they think I have something. JK Rowling's book was rejected 12 times, so I see this as like auditioning for a part in a movie, if I were an actress?
The throughline it seems is just a POV about my two leading people, but still mentioning the ones that were apart of the story, then killed or a convenient accident, as then intro another person. My question? Do you put throughline woven into your chapters? Or do you make chapters to put them in?
Synopsis sounds like I need about 20 pages so to gloss over what my story is all about, maybe with notes about my audience in which case I would say what I'm aiming for as genre.
Both of these I'm still scratching my head about, the 8 pt. with fillers between signposts so exciting that I don't get a sagging middle?
Glen, you are the Buddha of writing, could you please help? Ever so impressed,

Answer: Synopses are marketing materials, which you don't need to create until you have a finished manuscript you are ready to approach agents or publishers with. Even then, only some agents and publishers will ask for one. Often they will also specify how long they want the synopsis to be (usually 2-5 pages).

If you are writing a synopsis, don't put in signpost numbers, etc. Those are just for you. The agent wants to see you have a good story. He doesn't need to look under the hood to see your process.

He does, however, want to see that you can bring the story to a satisfactory conclusion. So, unlike with jacket copy, a synopsis will include spoilers. It will reveal the ending.

Don't include notes about the audience or the genre in your synopsis. You can mention these in your cover letter. The genre should be obvious.

Make the synopsis about one book only. If someone is really excited about the first book and wants to buy it, they may ask if you have a sequel in mind. But they have to love the first book first.

Regarding chapters...

When you create an outline for yourself, you will include all the major signposts and events. All the throughlines, subplots, etc. will be woven in the order that makes sense to you.

Chapter breaks usually make sense when placed after an event, but this will vary. Some chapters may have more than one event.

Popular Articles

---