"A useful sentence to keep in mind is: When A (inciting incident) happens, B (character) must do C (action) otherwise/before D (catastrophe). You might need to play with that to make it fit your book but that covers the basics of what I need to know… who am I rooting for, what’s their problem, and what’s at stake if they fail?"
So which deal is your super awesome debut novel going to land? Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of manuscripts sell for less than $50,000. Of those, few sell for less than $5,000, and the rest fall somewhere in the middle.
Finding the right literary agent for your manuscript requires a lot of homework. And then, once you've found someone with aligned interests, convincing them that your project is polished and marketable is another battle altogether. Therefore, if you want to work with the agent of your dreams, make sure you put in the time, effort, and research required to make your dream a reality. Remember, you only get one shot.
A synopsis is a clear and direct summary of your manuscript that should highlight your engaging protagonist, your emotional arc, the originality of your vision, and the logic of your plot.
