I'm So Excited!

OK, this might seem silly to all you non-writer's out there, but, then again maybe not. In a previous post I talked about Shelfari. What I forgot to mention in my measly attempt to give you an idea about the forum, is that this is a place where you can also meet old as well as new friends. Also, in a previous post, I attempted to show you how excited I was when I was asked to be a multi-published romance author's MySpace friend. This post is sort of an updated combination of the two. In my early writing days, all I heard from other, more experienced writers, when taking about the craft, was the dreaded synopsis. What the heck? What's the dreaded synopsis? And why were they always talking about it as if it was some big, ugly monster? Believe me, I found out what they were talking about and why. Writing a synopsis is dreaded. By all. I am no exception. There are writer's who literally cringe when they hear those words. Writing a synopsis is not a fun deed. And for all you non-writer's out there, let me give you a little idea what the dreaded synopsis is all about. A synopsis is a tool used by writer's to sell their book to a publisher and/or agent. It is the tool. It's the first thing a publisher or agent will ask to see, and sometimes, the only thing they want to see when a writer submits their work. Every writer who writes a book with the goal of getting published is required to write one. That is, if they want to sell their book. The reason us writer's cringe, is because, we have to summarize our 100,000 plus words book down to 1-5 pages. And it's a challenge. A great, BIG challenge. That is, it was a challenge until multi-published romance author Elizabeth Sinclair, who writes romantic suspense for Silhouette and Medallion Press, Inc., wrote a guide to help those of writer's us who lack the skill to produce a selling synopsis. It's called, you guessed it, The Dreaded Synopsis. I absolutely do not know what I would have done had Elizabeth Sinclair not wrote this guide. I bought my signed copy about five years ago. It was a Godsend. I'm proud to say, because of Elizabeth Sinclair, I can now write a decent synopsis and I no longer tremble at the sound of those words. Well, sometimes I no longer cringe. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Which brings me back to my second reason for this post. I met her on Shelfari! I requested that she be one of my friends. And I'm happy to say, she has a new writing guide out, entitled, FIRST CHAPTERS. Apparently, it's the first in her Building A Novel series of writer's guides. I can't wait to get it! If I hadn't have heard of Shelfari, and if I hadn't have signed up, I wouldn't have found Elizabeth Sinclair again. And if I hadn't found Elizabeth Sinclair again, I wouldn't have found out she's writing these writer's guide series...therefore... Well, you get the picture. Happy synopsis writing!