Belletrinsic

Who: Writers struggling to perfect their query letter and synopsis

What: Query and Synopsis Workshop

When: Saturday, June 12, 2010

10 am–12:30 pm

Where: Fire Petal Books

386 North Main

Centerville, UT 84014

Why: To tame those beastly queries

How: Reserve your spot by clicking on the PayPal link at the bottom of this post and paying the $45 workshop fee. Then email michelle .witte @firepetalbooks .com with your contact information.

Questions? Contact Michelle:

michelle .witte @firepetalbooks .com

801.992.3776

Note: Bring multiple (at least 3) copies of your query and your 4–5 page synopsis. We will be discussing and critiquing the queries/synopses you bring.

No question that writing a book can be hard. Even worse is writing the query and synopsis. Without a great query, however will you get an agent or editor to take a further peek at your story?

To help writers with this seemingly daunting task, Fire Petal Books is hosting a Query and Synopsis Workshop, taught by owner Michelle Witte. Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early for the workshop.*

During the first 45 minutes, Michelle will teach the principles for writing a good query followed by a discussion on crafting a synopsis. The rest of the time will be spent workshopping queries and a few synopses.

Learn the art of the query and synopsis. Your book will thank you.

Michelle is the owner of Fire Petal Books, a children’s bookstore opening in Centerville, Utah. She has worked as an editor for the past 6 years, first with the Deseret Morning News and then 3 years with Gibbs Smith, a national nonfiction publisher located in Layton, Utah. In addition to helping writers craft better books and stories, she writes books for young adults. Working in multiple aspects of publishing—from editing, publicity, writing, and sales—has given her a better understanding of the process a book travels before a reader cracks the book open for the first time.

*Depending on demand, we may schedule another class either this week or next.

Time for a good laugh, right? Right. So today I bring you: AutoSummarize courtesy of Microsoft Word.

Here’s how it works. Open one of your manuscripts in Word. Go to Tools, and then click AutoSummarize. Choose to have your book summarized in 500 words (or like on mine, reduce to 5%). The program is intended to pick out the most important phrases from your document, but when it does so, the results are nonsensical—and completely hilarious. Try it. You’ll see what I mean.

For a sample, I provide you with a portion of the summary from The Mark of Jasmine. What was just a normal part of the story has turned into something truly naughty.

Jess couldn’t help laughing at his bravado. Jess just shook her head at him, though she enjoyed his stories. “Never?” Evil man. Dreyden placed an arm round her waist and drew her close. Jess didn’t have to fake a blush when Dreyden pulled her into his arms and planted his lips on hers. Dreyden grinned sheepishly.

A well-endowed woman came up behind the innkeeper, winking at Dreyden and looking Jess over. “Hmm . . . well, we’ve had a long journey, so if you wouldn’t mind . . . ” Dreyden looked directly at Jess.

This way if you please.” Wicked man! The man shared a knowing smile with Dreyden as he excused himself.

The second Jess heard the door click shut, she pushed herself away from Dreyden. Eyes wide, Jess turned away from him. “Close your eyes.”

“You suppose quite a bit,” Jess replied. Jess wondered where all this dancing would get him.

“Please stop. Jess was hurt. Anger flashed in the busty woman’s face as Dreyden completely ignored the trollop. Jess nearly purred. Maybe Jess did have some power over men, after all. Jess smiled at the compliment. Why not play the Prince’s wife? “If you’ll excuse us.”

As a note, although it is funnier with your own work, since you know it so well, it is still quite hilarious reading others’ summaries.

This gem of a tool came to my attention via Jana as a comment on one of Nathan Bransford’s posts.

It looks like Lea Ann McCombs was the only brave soul to post her short synopsis. Way to go, Lea Ann!

So here’s the critique. Comments are in blue.

The Legacy…………..
Abandoned at birth, Sara Purvis determines to find the mother who refused to be a part of her life. Use more more exciting verbs and words here. Determines, find aren’t the strongest choices. But her search leads her to a group of people who do not wish to be invaded. What is the group of people called? Would they kill to keep her from finding out more? Are they evil? Also, stronger verbs here as well. “Do not wish to be invaded” doesn’t sound terribly exciting. Add a few details. She must ask herself: Is her mother a victim or a villain? And does she really want to know? In general, avoid rhetorical questions, especially in queries. You can rephrase to something like: Sara must discover whether her mother is the victim—or the villain.

Good job, and good luck!