HOW DO YOU WRAP IT UP?

Generally, a synopsis tells the publishing world how a book unfolds, chapter by chapter. Specifically, it tells the publishing world how the writer writes.

Time to strut! A synopsis should not consist of stiff, boring narration. It should reflect the same style used throughout the manuscript.

Compare the summaries below. Which ones tell you as much about the writer's voice as the chapter's topic?

#1 - Peter McAllister, who has just lost his job, meets his best friend Frank and beautiful girlfriend Adele at a nightclub.

#2 - On a rainy night in Kansas City, jobless Peter McAllister bumps into a drenched goddess at the entrance of Shane's Lounge. His heart flutters. His brain spins. And just as his feet begin to leave ground, he realizes she's clinging to the arm of his best friend Frank.

#1 - Lieutenant Grant Young returns to consciousness in an Army hospital, shocked to find his right leg has been amputated. He can't be consoled.

#2 - Lieutenant Grant Young awakens inside a noisy bustling MASH tent. The bandaged guy to his right yells for a doctor. The bandaged guy to his left lies still. Checking his own bandages, the lieutenant notices a dramatic dip below the waist. He pulls back the blanket, and screams. Two nurses hold him down while a droopy-eyed doctor assures him he had no choice. There was nothing to save. Lieutenant Young screams louder.

#1 - After work, Tammy is followed by her ex-boyfriend Larry. She tries to run home, but he murders her on her doorstep.

#2 - Late evening. Light snow falling. Tammy locks up the restaurant. Steps out into the cold. Buttons her coat. Walks the well-lit sidewalk to the intersection of Lexington and Woods. Spots Larry's black Chevelle crouched behind the bushes like a panther. She runs, slipping and sliding on the snow. Car door slams. Larry orders her to stop. Curses her when she doesn't. She falls. She tries to get up. She crawls up her apartment steps. Cold metal cuts into her back.

#1 - 1940. Chicago, Illinois. A poor boy, Buddy, starts his first day selling newspapers on the sidewalk. He meets the owner who thinks he bears a striking resemblance to his deceased brother.

#2 - 1940. First day on the job, Buddy raises a Chicago Tribune over his head, clears his dry throat and shouts the headline to passersby. An old man, dressed in fancy clothes, crawls out of a shiny new car and does a double take. He stares so long, Buddy gets creeped-out and turns the other way. Then he feels a tap on his shoulder. It's the old man, smiling, holding out his gloved hand. He introduces himself as the owner of the paper (that makes him Buddy's boss), and invites him up to his office on the 12th floor. Over a bottle of Coca-Cola, Buddy learns he looks just like the old man's dead brother.

The first summaries provide the gist of the chapter.

The second summaries provide the gist of the writer. If an editor is faced with both, side by side, more than likely she will go with the second one. An original voice always gets noticed.