It dawned on me recently that the synopsis for my novel Slipwater is perhaps not up to scratch. That must be the reason nobody has picked it up yet. I mean, it can’t be the story, right?

In fact, after looking into it a little more it seems that what I have written is not really a synopsis at all. It’s more like the blurb you would read on a dust jacket, and that’s not what they are looking for.

It’s hard to condense an 88,000 word novel into 250 words, and in doing so I also have to spoil what happens as well. I understand the editors and agents want to know what is in store for them should they read on beyond the initial bunch of pages I’ve sent them, but a lot of the excitement from reading comes from not knowing what to expect.

I can’t help but think that by exposing the details of my novel up front I do the telling of the story a disservice, which in turn reduces the thrill of turning the page.

Still, if that’s what they want I best get it done.