The Dreaded, Awful, No-Good
Synopsis
Jenna Petersen
This article comes from a Writing Question Wednesday question from my blog.
For readers or writers who are just starting
out, let me define a synopsis. It is a selling tool writers use to summarize
their story for a potential editor or agent. It is often sent along with a query
letter or partial manuscript to give an editor a clear idea of plot and
character. If you have not read Scandalous, be warned that the
synopsis does contain most of the major plot twists and the ending. Also note
that it is an original synopsis. That is, it doesn't reflect title, plot,
character or name changes that came about during the editing process at Avon.
Secondly, I know someone said they wanted to see a 'successful' synopsis. I'm
not sure how successful this one is, really. It was not the synopsis for the
book that landed me my agent. And my editor had a full manuscript as well as
this synopsis when my agent sent Scandalous to her, so she may or
may not have read the synopsis. I would guess that the synopsis is more often
read and utilized when an editor or agent asks for a partial. If they're really
interested after they read the chapters, then they will read the synopsis to see
what direction the author takes story before they ask for a full book.
So with those caveats, here is my synopsis:
Her Husband’s Bed
Synopsis
Katherine Fleming wants nothing more than a staid marriage with a person she
likes, but when her plans go terribly off course, she instead finds herself
bound to Dominic Redford, exactly the kind of man who could awaken her body,
steal her heart, and maybe free her soul.
KATHERINE FLEMING doesn’t want love and she’s absolutely terrified of being
swept away by passion. She doesn’t want to fall prey to the kind of obsessive
love she believes lead to her mother and father’s deaths. She thinks she’s found
the perfect match in widower Colden Redford, a man she likes but feels no
stronger emotions for.
DOMINIC REDFORD has never been close to his family, especially his older
brother, who took great pleasure in revealing that Dominic was really a bastard,
not of their father’s line. After years of trying to find the real man who sired
him, Dominic has learned that evidence about his father’s identity is hidden on
one of the Redford family estates. He comes to Cole’s wedding hoping the Earl
will finally grant him access to it. Instead, he catches a few stolen moments
with his brother’s beguiling fiancée and finds himself wanting, once more, that
which his brother possesses.
Days before Cole and Katherine are to wed, the entire family is shocked when his
supposedly dead wife resurfaces. Though she was thought to have been killed in a
terrible accident at sea, Sarah has actually been living on the Continent and
only returned when she learned her husband was to remarry. Both the Redfords and
Katherine’s guardians know that when the engagement is broken and the reason
becomes public, a scandal will rock both families.
As they struggle to find a way to salvage both her reputation and a clandestine
deal involving Katherine’s inheritance, Cole offers Dominic a trade. He promises
to give Dominic the estate he’s been trying to access for three years in
exchange for Dominic’s marriage to Katherine. He asks that Dominic turn
Katherine’s large fortune over to the secretly struggling family. Tempted by the
estate that may hold the key to who he really is and the prospect of stealing
Katherine from his brother, Dominic agrees.
Though she fights the new arrangement, Katherine can’t deny the strong
attraction she feels for Dominic. An attraction that is only increased when the
two share a passionate kiss on the terrace where they first met. With the help
of his brother, Dominic manages to convince Katherine that this new union is the
only way to keep the truth from destroying her reputation and the reputation of
his family. She reluctantly agrees, though she vows to keep her heart at a
distance, for she knows Dominic is exactly the kind of man who could inspire an
uncontrollable wanting.
This marriage of convenience quickly turns to one of passion as Dominic schools
his wife in the ways of desire. They grow closer emotionally in a series of
encounters that show each of them a bit of the other’s heart and soul. But
Katherine is still afraid of giving Dominic her heart because she watched her
own mother destroy herself due to the passionate love she felt for her father.
And Dominic continues to keep her at arm’s length as he searches desperately for
the truth about his own past and the man who was really his father.
Katherine’s suspicions about the reasons her husband married her increase, and
are finally confirmed by a surprise visit from Cole. He reveals the deal he and
Dominic struck for her hand. She’s devastated to discover that her husband only
took her in trade. The couple faces off and Dominic admits that while he did
take the deal his brother offered, he truly did desire her. And he still does.
He also reveals the truth about his family to her, and why discovering the past
is so vitally important to him.
As she watches her husband sleep that night after they make love, Katherine
admits to herself that she’s fallen in love with him. That admission brings her
no solace, but only solidifies her fears and makes her want to turn away from
the horror she saw her mother live out. Still, she decides to help him in his
search for his father in an attempt to bring him peace, but secretly plans to
leave him and escape the strong feelings that are growing in her with each
passing day.
The couple confronts Dominic’s mother and brother. The argument helps Katherine
see Cole’s true colors, and she begins to question all the things she thought
she knew about him, and about Dominic. She’s almost ready to forget her fears
and allow herself to love this man when she discovers that she’s pregnant.
Fearing that her strong feelings for Dominic might endanger her child, as she
was endangered by her parents, she packs her things and prepares to leave while
Dominic is away for the day.
Before she goes, she is called to help the servants in the attic where Dominic
spent most of his search. While investigating the servants’ questions, Katherine
makes the discovery of a hidden packet of letters that reveal who Dominic’s true
father is. Leaving him the information in a note, she departs their home.
When he finds her message, Dominic is torn between his choices. The name of his
true father is one he knows. A man of the ton who is close to death in London.
Dominic could go complete the quest that has haunted him for years and find his
father, or he could make chase after the wife he’s grown to love and respect as
a lover, a friend and a partner.
Katherine is shocked when Dominic bursts into her room at the inn where she
stops for the night. He declares his love to her and they finally discuss all
her reasons for being afraid. She reveals the truth about her parents’ sick
obsession with each other. And how her mother’s passion for her father lead to
both Katherine’s utter neglect and their deaths. She also reveals the truth
about the baby she carries, and her fears that she wouldn’t be able to protect
her child if she, too, succumbs to the desire she feels for Dominic. Once
Dominic understands, he talks to Katherine about how different they are from her
parents, and how he would protect their child with his life. Once convinced that
she can feel passion and love without losing herself in Dominic, the couple
reunites and hurries away in the hopes that they can speak to Dominic’s father
before he dies.
They make it just in time. Dominic finally gets answers to the secrets his
family wouldn’t reveal and meets the half-brothers and sister he never knew. He
has resolved his past, as has Katherine, and the two can now look forward to a
bright future together. One with no more secrets, no more fears. Only the
happiness they have earned.
Jenna again: Okay, so as you can see, this synopsis is not particularly long.
Mine usually run between 2 (this one is 2) and five pages. I put them in Times
New Roman and single space. If you're writing one, don't forget that for a
romance editor, the romance is going to be the most compelling thing for
them. So focus on that. I generally pick turning points in the book. For this
book they were:
The first kiss on the terrace.
The first time they make love.
The revelation about the deal Cole and Dominic made.
Her realization that she loves him.
Her discovery of her pregnancy and the identity of Dominic's father.
His pursuit of her.
The resolution.
Obviously, if you've read the book, there is a lot more to this book than these
seven events. But I don't need to put every twist and turn into a synopsis.
These seven events cover the arc of the romance and the secondary plot of
Dominic's search for his father. It gives enough details to whet the editor's
appetite for the book (hopefully), but not so much that they're wading through
what could amount to chapters worth of, "And then Katherine turns left down a
corridor. She wonders if she should have turned right."
Anyway, that's my synopsis, for what it's worth. Hope it helps. :)