[annabelle-estrada Posts: 2 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

How long should a picture book synopsis be?

Any tips for a concept picture book synopsis?

Thanks!

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,448 Status: Offline WWW]

Hi Annabelle,

Synopsis' are typically for works longer than PBs when you are not sending the entire MS like you typically do for PBs.  So if a query form asks for a "synopsis" for a PB, I would assume it's just the "pitch" or the middle paragraph of your query letter letting the agent or editor know what the book is about. So just a few lines.

I hope other people chime in with their thoughts!

[Vijaya Posts: 7,165 Status: Online Encourage WWW]

Annabelle. I usually have a 1-3 sentence pitch for PBs. It's kind of funny to have a cover letter longer than the actual ms, but that's the nature of the beast. Good luck!

[annabelle-estrada Posts: 2 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

 

[Laurel Gale Posts: 71 Status: Offline I write middle grade fantasy. WWW]

When I've submitted picture books, the synopsis has always been a short one- to three-sentence pitch. Sometimes I've also included comps or other relevant information about the manuscript.  I think this is standard from what I've read online, and I got some positive responses, so I think it worked.  Almost all agents and publishers who accept picture book submissions want to see the entire manuscript right away.

[callie-dean Posts: 7 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Some Query Manager forms have separate fields for "synopsis" and "pitch." Do you think they are expecting these to be the same thing for PBs, or should we try to differentiate between the two?

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 7,002 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

A synopsis contains the end of the story. A pitch is marketing meant to intrigue the reader so they read the book to learn the end.