Synopsis question

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RK Wallis

rk.wallis@myyahoo.com
Full Member
Feb 15, 2019
Australia
If you book's in first person, do you write the synopsis in first person? I thinking yes because it's like a consistency thing. Thoughts?
 
That's an interesting proposition...writing a synopsis in the first person would be confrontational and attention-grabbing. But, it would also feel wrong, as a synopsis isn't narration, it's a description or summary—which requires the stance of a third person.
 
The standard is to write a synopsis in third person present tense, as @Jackson Banks has indicated, no matter what POV your book is written in. Certainly you can experiment, but bear in mind it likely won't make a difference. A synopsis is only a piece of data. It's not meant to entice or sell the work. It's meant to show an agent or editor you have a cohesive story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end that resolves all major arcs.
 
Nah, not wanting to experiment, my synopsis is currently in 3rd, but I'm just swapping my MS to 1st and wanted to check what's standard :)
 
Regardless of what POV you use in your Manuscript. A Synopsis is always in 3rd but do use some elements in there from your Manuscript such as the manner etc.
 
A full synopsis should be, as mentioned, third person present tense, clear and simple, plainly factual. Don't hide anything, tell the whole story; secrets, surprises, reveals and all.
Now there are some who would say, don't give it all away in the synopsis. But then what you are giving them is just a taster. The purpose of a full synopsis is to demonstrate to the publisher/agent that you have the whole story plotted out and that it all hangs together without them having to read the whole MS.
 
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