As usual, I’m moved by your insight and dedication – and delighted to see such activity across the BL network.

First, good luck with your submissions. I am glad my own experience is useful. It is not my intention to moan or complain about this process (which is, after all, a voluntary one!), but more to record what it took for me to get my work out there and into the hands of readers. I think it’s interesting, and it’s also a good motivator to keep going because this record keeps me accountable.

Second, good luck with that novel! As for the James Jones fellowship, like you, I assumed that what the readers for the fellowship wanted was a synopsis of the book. My method, in all its embarrassing lack of sophistication was this: I googled “how to write a novel synopsis,” or some string of words like that, and then I found several descriptions of how to write a two page version of this document, which is a creature all its own, as it turns out. I read somewhere between four and six of the articles I found from that search, weeding out those websites containing articles that struck me as themselves poorly written, and so unlikely to be good sources of advice. And then I printed out the articles about synopsis writing that seemed to come from the most professional sources and read them over and over until they made sense. And then I summarized my book. The book was complete, which made the synopsizing job a lot easier. One thing I remember is that a synopsis is not a chapter by chapter breakdown at all, but more a description of what happens, what that leads to and how, in the end, it is all wrapped up beautifully.

Let me know how it all turns out and, again, the best of luck to you.

I came upon your blog while looking for more information on the James Jones First Novel Fellowship. I LOVE this blog. Thank you for putting it out there; I’ve been writing for years but am a novice at submitting. I’m into my third month of concentrated submissions, not counting the 30+ queries on my first novel. Your writing only inspires me to up my game. Thank you!

Maybe you can help other readers and I with regards to the James Jones Fellowship. I’m not clear on what they want in an outline. At two pages, do they mean synopsis? Or do they mean chapter-by-chapter breakdown? Would you mind sharing with us what format you followed?

ben

Best Wishes, from an aspiring writer who would love to be doing as well as YOU are. Marmalade

Yes!
-op

Lokesh, But you are royalty — and very kind. Thank you.

Marie — I just heard from Columbia. Thanks. No thanks. meh