How to write a synopsis/query when the story has more than one POV

Question

I’ve recently been trying to work on my query letter / synopsis for my historical fiction novel. There are 4 POVs. I was told once if your story has more than one pov, in your query letter/synopsis, you write out the ‘main’ pov/plot of the story, then at the end you say, for example,

“along with A, this story is also told from the perspectives of B, her father; C her brother: and D her mother.”

But then someone else told me that I should try and include the arcs of those other POVs along with the ‘main’ one as well to spark interest in agents.

I guess I’m not sure how to go about it. My synopsis/query are already pretty long so I’m also trying to wiggle away at it, but I’m just curious what everyone else has done with multiple POVs and which format is the most successful when querying? How much is to much information and how little is to little?

Thanks!!

Answer 1

First of all, your query will include two summaries of your novel: a short blurb-like pitch of 150 to 300 words in the letter itself and a two or three page synopsis (500 to 1000 words) of the whole story.

For both, you need to step back from the details of your story and try to look at it as a reader would remember it a year or so after having read it. For example, think of The Lord of the Rings. Yes, Merry and Pippin get carried off to the Ents and Sam has a crush on Galadriel, but that is not the story. The story is that a group of companions destroys the One Ring.

So, what is your story about? It is not about all these different characters experiencing all these different things. There is some unifying whole or these individual tales wouldn't be part of the same novel. It would be an anthology.

There are many novels that are told from different viewpoints. There are even novels that are made up of stories of characters that don't meet. But they all tell a bigger story. The settlement of America, as seen through many individual experiences. Or a love story, as experienced by each of the partners.

If the different viewpoints are an important aspect of your narrative, mention them in one sentence, like I did with the love story and the story of the American settlers. If they aren't, don't mention them, like I didn't with the Lord of the Rings.

Answer 2

#1, "wiggle" away at it? You mean "whittle away at it." #2, "how much is to much information"? You mean "too much information."

These are worrisome; misuse of words or typos in a query letter will get you rejected instantly. I know an agent that tossed a query letter into the reject pile for the first five words -- "I've written a fiction novel." (All novels are fiction!)

The query or synopsis has to present an interesting story. For multiple POV, I would say something like "We follow four main POVs -- Mary, Galt, Alice and Kevin -- But Mary is the hero and most prominent."

Only mention others in the synopsis as helpers, mentors, villains or obstacles in Mary's journey. A teacher perhaps, a jealous sister, etc.

The agent already knows how story arcs work, you don't have to explain that.

The agent is trying to figure out if you know how to write, and (very importantly) if you know how to follow the rules. If their guidelines say a one page synopsis, write one page without "cheating". Don't use thin margins, don't use a smaller font or thinner kerning, obey the rules. Agents don't want to work with cheaters.

Always remember, your agent is forced to reject about 95% to 99% of all queries; they just don't have the time to handle very many sales jobs at once. So they are incredibly picky.

And they don't really care if they passed up a best-seller; that's bound to happen. JK Rowling was rejected 12 times before the first Harry Potter book was accepted.

All they can go on, to judge your writing and suitability as a client, is your query letter. About 90% of those must be rejected, so they set rules and see if you follow them, they judge your writing ability from what you write there.

If the query has no red flags and sounds saleable, they will get your first ten pages (or many ask for the first 3, 5, or 10 pages with the query, or ask for a synopsis, or both -- For electronic submissions, why not, it's free).

Again, first mistake while reading your synopsis, or first pages, and they are done.

Give the over-arching story in the synopsis. If you mention the 4 major characters first, you can mention them in the synopsis as you write.

Don't keep anything secret (like "read the book to find out!" secret), that will get you rejected. The synopsis includes everything, including twists, revelations, and the ending.

The agent needs to know everything about the book to sell it, and she (a super-majority of agents are women) isn't going to invest her time reading the whole book unless the synopsis proves it will be a satisfying story.

The reason agents exist is that this is a lot of work. They provide the expert literary and market-savvy filter for publishers; they know what each publisher is looking for, what the trends are, and what would sell and what they would probably buy, and most importantly, how much they would pay for what they want.

Always approach knowing you need the agent (or publisher-employed reader, often true for script writing) far, far more than they need you.

And the smallest of red flags will result in your rejection. Typos. Word misuse. Ignoring or trying to "fudge" the rules they set for query letters. "Teasers" in query letters or your synopsis.

All stories can be broken down by the Three Act Formula.

1. Intro, then Inciting Incident (a problem).
2. Try to solve the problem, it gets worse and
3. The hero is forced to leave her "Normal World".
4. Complications, escalating stakes, and worse mistakes.
5. A turning point; the hero has failed, lost, is devastated.
6. There is one path left. Risk everything. Even their life.
7. The hero cannot give up, they bet it all on the last chance. They succeed, often with heavy losses, but they have neutralized the threat (at least for now).
8. The hero returns to their normal world, or if it is destroyed, to their new normal. Their new status, or way of life, or new mission in life.

Pick the steps that apply, and write a piece on each. The synopsis tells the full story in "beat" form. Figure out where your "beats" are.

Study the 3-Act structure; it is really 4 parts (Act I, Act-IIa, Act-IIb, Act 3), and each of those are split in half with parts to do in each. Some authors split these into 4 parts each, so 16 story parts.

I prefer 8 story parts of approximately equal length.

Figure out where your eight beats are. Then summarize each beat.

Figure out how many words you have for your synopsis, divide that by 8, and keep the beat summaries to that word count.

Tell the whole story. But not in the voice of any character, in third person Omniscient overview. You are the author explaining your story to an agent or publisher; they will be analytic about this, they will not suspend disbelief or get enthralled, they will be looking for plot holes or plot silliness. They want to see if your story holds up, and if their readers (or viewers for screenplays) will suspend disbelief and get enthralled.