The Importance of a Good Book Synopsis
Why is it vital to write a good book synopsis?
The Value of Book Synopsis
It is common for authors to put all their focus and concern on the text of their book only. As a result, they tend to leave aside the other texts that follow the publication of a work and that are of vital significance for dissemination.
The Synopsis is the most essential of them. In short, it is the book’s presentation and has numerous uses, according to the author’s objective.
Why it’s worth writing a synopsis?
It is rare that the author only wants to publish and hide his book from the world. In that case, it doesn’t need a synopsis. However, the Synopsis is essential for all other cases because it introduces the work to the world, highlighting the most relevant parts and piquing the reader’s interest while exciting their imagination.
The Synopsis is the first text that publishers read about the work. Considering the number of books, they receive daily, depending on the publisher, it is easy to see the Importance of well-written Synopsis. However, it is not only for this purpose that the Synopsis exists. It is also essential for independent authors who need to present their books to the public on the internet.
The Synopsis is the base text that guides all other publicity texts that the author will have to create to publicize his work, whether you are a publisher or not. What differentiates the Synopsis from the summary and the review, for example, is the personality of the text. While other people can create the summary and the review, the Synopsis must be made by the author himself before the interpretations of others. He knows which points should be highlighted in the work, the curiosities of the writing process, and the mission that the book carries.
Let's discuss the ten tips for writing an attractive synopsis:
1. Truly dedicate yourself to it
The great challenge in writing a synopsis is to synthesize an entire book in a few lines after writing countless pages of the work. For that reason, dedicate a reasonable amount of time to it. It is not the main work, but through the synopsis, many readers will come to you. Think about the Synopsis being a Key to opening a world for your book.
2. Write more than one synopsis
This tip is for authors who want to publish the synopsis on their social networks. It is important to have diversified material for all dissemination channels. To create more than one version, mainly changing the intro. Be creative, and It is crucial to think outside the box.
3. Think about your potential audience
The synopsis needs to have the language you speak to your audience. You need to have your voice and your way of speaking, even in the third person. If you think about your audience, your reader, while writing the Synopsis, the greater the chances they will understand your message and, consequently, be interested in reading your book.
4. View the synopsis as a movie trailer
We can make this analogy to simplify things. A movie trailer shows just a few scenes, the most impactful of which is to arouse curiosity and call the viewer to watch. You can do the same with your Synopsis, highlight key elements of your narrative, and draw the reader into reading.
5. Don’t give spoilers
If you tell the whole story in the Synopsis, the reader, who is in a hurry every day, will not be interested in reading your work. When in doubt, put yourself in his shoes and write an exciting synopsis without delivering everything too soon.
6. Be objective
A synopsis cannot be long enough to be an extension of the newly written work. It is a synthesis and, as such, must be objective and impactful. There is no rule as to size, but consider a page worth as a reasonable proposition.
7. Contextualize the reader
In the synopsis, provide the context, location, and period in which the story takes place. Tell everything relevant to the story. In this way, the reader will begin to read the work that is already prepared and inspired. You can also hire a ghostwriter if it becomes difficult for you to create a synopsis all by yourself!
8. Talk about the most important characters
Nothing fairer than using the Synopsis to tell about the characters you went to so much trouble and affection to create. To help, make a list of the main characters so you don’t forget any. If your work is short stories or poems, talk about the thematic unit that unites the texts within the book. In this way, you allow the reader the opportunity to identify with the characters or the narrative line, which facilitates their interest in reading.
9. Present the conflict
Conflict is as essential as the characters in a synopsis. Introduce the reader to the problem the character will have to face in the story. Do it in a creative way: talk about obstacles, introduce enemies, and all the exciting details. Go show the plot in the order in which it happens in your book. Otherwise, the reader may be lost about the timeline of the work.
10. Write the synopsis in the third person
Always use the third person to write the synopsis, even if the work was written in the first person. It is a different material from the work, so the third person is more suitable in this case. The third person is a neutral voice, which will allow your audience to identify with the lot of your book quickly. Finally, regardless of your goals concerning your book, get organized to create a good synopsis, and if you cannot do it yourself, then avail of any professional ghostwriting service that offers to write your synopsis.
Apart from availing of any of the best ghostwriting service, to write your synopsis, you can always hire ghostwriting services for editing your work. Whether it is a book, article, synopsis, or speech, ghostwriting services are available that can edit your work to perfection. So, let us discuss the role of an editor and how they can help!
The Importance of Having An Editor When Writing
With self-publishing and blogging available to almost anyone these days, a good percentage of text written is released almost totally unedited or edited by the original author. That’s one reason why the general quality of writing, particularly on the internet, is continuing to get worse.
The Editor’s Job
We often think of an editor as someone who sits and nit-picks at small grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors, and there’s no question that’s part of the editor’s job. If we focus on just those things, we lose the essential role of an editor in helping authors/writers create readable, coherent, and clear writing.
Good editors can work wonders for authors who are less than perfect with their grammar (and who is perfect?) Their real value comes from two things: Editors are much more likely to provide an external perspective on the writing. They may not have subject matter expertise, but they are more similar to those reading your writing than you are. For that reason, their perspective on text is often much more accurate than the original writer’s perspective. And that’s essential. It’s easy for us to write with the US in mind, forgetting that the majority of our readers don’t have the knowledge or interest about our subject that we have. Having a person more similar to the readers helps us step out of our little writing world and helps us write for the reader.
Second, editors, because they tend to be more dispassionate and detached from the subject, are the critical check on the coherence and “sense” of what we write. As a writer, you may never notice that your points ramble or paragraphs contain information that distracts from your points. You may not see flaws in your report or content. A good editor will. So, the key part of being “edited” is having someone who can look at your reasoning, logic, organization, and other elements that make your points either stand out or get lost in words.
Editors will also be able to help you trim the fat — removing what need not be there because they will be more focused on the WORDS than on their own internal thinking. That’s what sets the editor and author apart. Authors tend to focus on getting out what is in their heads and making it available to others through words, while editors should be looking only at the expression of their thoughts. That makes them invaluable if they are good.
Tips For Learning From An Editor
There is no substitute for a professional-level editor, but of course, that’s not practical for many of us. Unfortunately, you can’t rely on blog readers to help you edit via their comments because it’s not their job to do that. Neither do they have the skills or interest. So, that leaves having access to someone to help you, such as a spouse, a trusted friend, etc., but even blog posts should have some external editing if you want them to be “authoritative.”
However, it is to be noted that what a professional and experienced editor can do, an inexperienced person can not. There are multiple tricks and techniques we are not aware of, that editors utilize when perfecting the work. Moreover, we also might miss out on a few things that will not be missed by an editor’s eye, and they will correct them right away. So, all in all, one can not underestimate the talent of an experienced editor!
Stop Being Defensive
It’s not about being right or wrong but about working together to produce a better text. Put aside your ego, listen without defensiveness, and you’ll find that not only does your current writing get better, but your writing skills will improve over time. It’s about learning. A good editor will indirectly (or sometimes directly) help you develop your own style or voice.
Guide Your Editor
If you have a friend or colleague edit your material, tell them what you want and don’t want from them. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a “friend editor” provide comments you aren’t interested in hearing, and without guidance, the editor may become quickly frustrated as his input is shunted aside. Guide them by asking them to focus on what you perceive as your weaknesses. For example, if you tend to ramble, specifically ask the editor to flag any long sentences so they can be edited. Or, if you have trouble organizing your thoughts on paper/text, ask the editor to help you with that.
Furthermore, if you are availing of the services of an editor who is also a ghostwriter, then ensure to convey all your requirements to them. Don’t feel shy or hesitant because that will only result in your loss. Be confident and share all the expectations you have of them, tell them even the tiniest details, and then trust them to provide top-notch work. With transparent communication throughout this editing process, you can ensure that you not only have an amazing experience but also receive a perfect draft that is ready to be published!
Remember, it is still your work!
No matter what an editor suggests, it’s still YOUR work, and you make the final decisions (some exceptions apply to professional writers). You don’t HAVE to follow every editorial suggestion. But you should LISTEN to all of them. That’s what will help you improve over the long term. But if you do have second thoughts about whether your editor is right or not, then you can always get some more opinions from other editors. In a nutshell, remember that editors are not angels and just like any other human, they can make mistakes. So, trust your abilities first before blindly depending on any editor, publisher, or any other human that is a part of your overall journey as an author.