I have been working with my agent, John Parker at the Zeno Agency, to prepare my manuscript of The Sentinel’s Call for pitching to publishers.  Edits to the ms are complete and I am very pleased wit the outcome.  Next step, write a high-level outline of the rest of the series so John can pitch the series with the manuscript.

And there lies the new learning opportunity.

I had developed a detailed outline of the series for myself, but the question is, how to condense it and present it?  How hard could it be, really?

Answer:  harder than I thought.

My first attempt was to write exactly what I thought was being requested:  a straight-forward, play-by-play outline of the plot.  It provided information, but was about as interesting as eating dry toast.  My agent asked me to try again.

Kevin J Anderson, a NYT bestselling author many times over, and one of the authors presenting the Superstars Writing Seminar, gave me some great advice to purchase the book, “I Have This Nifty Idea . . . Now What Do I Do With It?”, edited by Mike Resnick.  This was a very helpful resource and gave specific, real-life examples of outlines other authors have used to sell their works to publishers.

I read the book and churned out a new version of the outline.

I still didn’t get it.

After the second failed attempt to produce a decent outline, I spoke with John Parker over the phone and he gave me the insights I was lacking.  I was delivering the wrong product.  What was needed was not a dry, play-by-play description of the plot.  No one but me would read it.  The outline is a marketing tool, like the original query letter I sent to John describing my book when I was seeking representation.  The outline needs to be like that, only longer.

As John explained, the outline is a tool to present to the reader what the series is about, not what happens.  Those two phrases almost seem to be interchangeable at first, but the difference is as profound as it is subtle.  Think of a movie trailer or the back jacket of a book.  They are designed to give you a sense of what the story is about and create the desire to find out what happens.

With that insight, writing the outline was an entirely different experience.  Instead of merely outlining the plot points, I was now free to focus on the characters and their conflicts and challenges.  I could highlight the political intrigues that twist the plot in unexpected directions and underline the agonizing decisions the characters will face.  With just enough plot description to frame the stakes, the outline is now exciting and colorful.

Hopefully it will produce the desired result:  making people want to read more, want to ask more, and want to buy my books.

This process was one more step on the learning curve.  To many, perhaps it is intuitively obvious, but to me it was a struggle.  Maybe what I’ve learned will make the process easier for the next writer facing this task.