Because the synopsis is so critical to a proposal, I decided to write this spin-off of last week’s blog, “Keys to a Great Synopsis,”  in hopes of helping authors not only write more effective synopses, but to impart a bit about the fiction market, too.

When I read synopses from authors, much is revealed. For instance, I see:

Cozy mysteries that are meant to be romance.

Gothic plots presented as historical romances.

Women’s fiction that the author intended to be romance.

Mysteries masquerading as romantic suspense.

In the submissions I see, these are almost never flipped, so to my mind, this suggests the romance market in particular is one that many authors seek to understand, but don’t quite get. Hence the near-miss plots. I think this may be because the romance formula is strict and authors seek to offer readers something unique so without realizing it, they can stray into other genres. An eternal truth about romance novels is that editors and readers do want fresh plots. However, they also know that the romance story has set guidelines from which writers must not venture. Plots can hit the edges of the box but not punch holes. In my view, what the author must understand about the Christian romance reader is that she seeks to be assured that even in our coarse culture, a godly woman unwilling to compromise her faith and the accompanying physical and spiritual virtues can find a Christian man to love her forever.

As to plot misfires, let me address the cited examples:

Cozy mysteries that are meant to be romance.

Some authors use a mystery to bring the couple together. Often a dead body is involved, meaning what you have is a cozy mystery. I don’t claim that it’s impossible to find a place for a romance novel with an element of mystery, or maybe even a dead body. However, this is a tricky combination because a romance reader is not seeking out the genre because she loves to guess the answer to a problem before the author intends, thereby “beating” the author in the game. Nor does the romance reader necessarily seek a surprise by being unable to guess the solution thanks to the author’s skill at throwing red herrings. The mystery reader, however, loves to read about a familiar and comfortable character such as Nancy Drew solving different crimes, with the reward of bringing an evildoer to justice. This is a different type of reward than the reassurance sought by the romance reader. Also, because each romance novel ends the story with the promise of marriage, the romance author has to start out with a new couple with each book. I haven’t seen a romance collection where the hero and heroine date through several books and finally marry after solving the sixth mystery. I can only speak for myself, but if I am choosing between two excellent proposals, the one that does not contain a heavy mystery element will to win out over a cozy mystery.

Gothic plots presented as historical romances.

Almost all aspiring romance authors know the name Victoria Holt even if they have never read one of the books she wrote under that name or her many pen names. Romances known as “New” Gothic, (as opposed to other forms of Gothic fiction such as written by Mary Shelley,  Edgar Allen Poe and others), contain several common elements. A general idea is that they are set in the Victorian era  in a spooky mansion or castle; the heroine is forbidden to enter a certain room or there is some other type of mystery; the heroine spends a considerable amount of time pondering and trying to figure out if she should and can circumvent the forbidding instruction; an element of the supernatural is later explained by natural causes; the heroine feels helpless; and, the hero may be rarely present, preoccupied by worry, or have some other mysterious qualities. This plot is less of a puzzle (where piecing together several clues solves the mystery) than suspense because the reader and heroine know secrets will be revealed once the “forbidden room” is entered. The general tone of these books is rainy, gloomy, fearful, and suspenseful. Some readers like this brand of romance, but it is quite different from the tone and feel of a Christian romance set in the Victorian era, especially since most Christian romance novels emphasize the couple’s Christian walk and take place in America. I believe the door for Gothic romances may be cracking in the Christian market, so if you enjoy this type of story and have the skill to work in Christian elements, you might try your hand.

Women’s fiction that the author intended to be romance.

Just because a book has lots of romance, and maybe even the romance is the main plot, doesn’t mean it’s genre romance. Books with many subplots, points of view, and secondary characters taking much of the reader’s time mean that the story has ventured into the category of women’s fiction. Women’s fiction readers want a longer, deeper story. Many of them like a romance element, but many would rather the story focus on family relationships or friendships. Some readers prefer to see characters working within a marriage rather than during the courtship phase. Women’s fiction can have more points of view and subplots than the romance genre, which, except in rare cases, is restricted to the hero and heroine’s viewpoints. Women’s fiction is also generally contemporary. However, this category cuts a  wide swath. For instance, the upcoming “Class Reunion” series of poignant Southern humor from Debby Mayne , is quite different from missional fiction such as A Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias, yet it’s not unreasonable to consider both of these works to be Christian women’s fiction. If you want to write women’s fiction, think about the book of your heart and you may well have hit upon a story that will work in this category.

Mysteries masquerading as romantic suspense.

Sometimes authors think they want to write suspense, but discover they don’t have the interest, desire, or motivation to talk about police procedure or crime scenes. Readers of this genre want a daring adventure, so that’s what I expect when someone tells me she’s written romantic suspense. But sometimes I get low-key suspense with a ho-hum mystery. I can see that the couple will be the romantic leads, but I really don’t care when, where, or how the mystery presented is solved. I can tell that the all will be well without too much excitement or drama. If your story has no danger of anyone getting killed, wounded, or at least kidnapped, then you don’t have a romantic suspense novel. The hero and heroine usually have gritty problems with dark pasts that keep them from wanting to fall in love with anyone, yet they do — and you won’t see them in another romantic suspense novel as protagonists, because their love story is told as they solve the crime at hand. Also, these books are very, very hard to put down.

These are only a few examples of mislabeled stories, but I’ve seen them often enough that I can assure you that if this has happened to you, you are not alone. When you write your summary, make sure that you identify your novel correctly. This will show the reviewer that you know your targeted readers and can write the story to reach them.

Happy summarizing!

Your turn:

Have you tried to write one type of story, only to have it take a life of its own and turn into something else?

Has a secondary character taken over your story? How do you plan to tame the character?