Figured it out

[tabaquis]

I have figured out what the crippling, frustrating thing is that makes me cry and rage and veer away from my computer every time the issue of publishing my book comes up.

God knows I've dissected this a hundred times.

I've got THREE novels WRITTEN. COMPLETED. And I know the plots for the next three or four! And people have read them and liked them.

Comments

[xowl]

Do you have good examples of query+synopsis? The synopsis isn't really a summary, it's the plot without the story (using the "Quuen dies. King dies" = plot, "Queen dies; King dies... of a broken heart" = story definitions).

Try taking an Evan Marshal-like approach (whether you hate him or not): break your novel down into sections (or decide how many paragraphs you want in your synopsis) and for each one, just write what happens. You aren't summarizing the novel; you're listing the action (internal and external) and major changes that occur (again, internal and external). Basically, leave out anything that answers "why" in the first pass.

And don't do it for the whole book. Do it section-by-section. Much easier.

Practice by writing a synopsis for someone else's book. One you neither love nor hate.

The synopsis is the place you get to tell a little. Not too much, and you do want to go back andput some "story" in the synopsis after the first pass is done, but none of the examples I've read really summarize a novel

[shosen]

I'm not sure this is any help, but it was the first thing I thought of to try :P

If you have someone you can think of who is good at selling things, or might be able to condence it, see if they'll write you a rough draft/source document, and then edit that to make it personal and from you.

If nothing else, it'll get you past the blank page state, and might be enough to push you into writing a whole letter if you decide to just scrap their version enitrely ^_~

But then again, I've never written a query letter 'cause I'm a coward, so...

[banjo_di]

I was about to say almost exactly the same thing. >.>

Except for the last bit. I have written query letters. I kind of like writing "advertising and marketing" stuff. It's over-the-top and sometimes borders on bald-faced lies. But it's kind of fun to go there sometimes. >.>

Let loose your inhibitions about selling or not selling. Don't worry about that, if you can. And if someone else could write it better, ask them to write it!

[tabaquis]

Sadly, I have asked any and all of my friends who've read and liked the book if they can help me throw it together.

Unfortunately, they're all either too busy with their own stuff or too "tough love" to want to help me with it. :(

And seriously, Di, you have no idea how bad I am. I don't have to be inhibited... it's just awful copy.

[shosen]

I thought of something else ^_^ Write the "anti-query" letter, and then when you're done, just reverse everything in it.

This might be more amusing than helpful, but you never know ^_~

[tabaquis]

..anti-query?

10 reasons why you shouldn't read my book and why you're a stupid knob for even opening this envelope?

[shosen]

Yes, but you have to make sure you go to dramatic extremes with it, otherwise instead of amusing it's just depressing ^_~

[sabrelioness]

I know the feeling; I can't sell my art for crap; I can't even get people to buy comissions. And then people say: 'Why don't you draw/comic/design for a living?'

Because everybody loves it if they can read/look for free on LJ or DA, but no one wants to pay for it!

Stupid non-artistic-supporting bastards.

If you want to see my 'bits and pieces' of writing, go to yamadashi. You have to friend to be able to read.