[...] blows the “dreaded” bit right out of the water. Ann Aguirre wrote an article titled  Dispelling Popular Fallacy on the subject. Hilarious and irreverent as ever, Ann takes on the whole concept of the synopsis [...]

[...] Dispelling Popular Fallacy Want a quick and dirty outline to follow for your next synopsis? Author Ann Aguirre has that. [...]

I kept hearing that agents were impossible to come by and I won mine through a contest. I heard that getting a book deal was nearly impossible in the current (and recent) economy (a myth you and others dispelled with your previous sales, too). I got a deal in a poor economy, too.

And yes, people can sell on a synopsis, on a strong pitch, on a previous track record… On little more than a character’s voice… There are almost as many options as there are publishers.

Glad you’re setting the record straight. :-)

So I know it’s possible to intrigue people with the mere sketch of the idea. It’s all about being enthusiastic yourself and presenting it right.

if I outline or plot, I lose interest in writing the story.

One of my Cp’s has the same issue Ann!!!! If she thinks too long and hard about a story, fugedubadit!!! I’ll never make fun of her about it again–sorry ya’ll!! I got my second K contract on spec–ed rejected option book but offered me a contract anyway. I sent her a four or five paragraph/1 page “blurb” for the first book of that contract. That’s all.

I DID make myself learn to plot/write a synopsis to sell on proposal and that still works for me, but if I had to sit down and think about it, I randomly end up writing one of three ways–just don’t ask me what those three ways are. And even with a synopsis, it’s still just a roadmap to remind me where I’m going.

So, yeah. Fallacy! :)