Tag Archives: books

Recommended

I’ve blogged before about how I once enjoyed reading chick lit (or rom com), but over the years, my interest in that genre dwindled. Occasionally, I will still read one and certainly will read any that are written by Abby Jimenez. Her first chick lit, Friend Zone, was published in 2019. I liked the story not only because it was a romance but because it focused on the issue of infertility. Jimenez’s books are like that. Romance is always the focal issue, but Jimenez brings more depth to the story by introducing issues or problems, such as infertility.

The latest Jimenez book is Just for the Summer. Emma and Justin meet cute and slowly begin a relationship. Hovering over their love match, however, is the mystery of Emma’s mother, a woman with serious mental issues that ultimately threaten to split them up. To her credit, Jimenez addresses this serious issue with sensitivity, not opting for a quick resolution to the problem.

I haven’t read all of Abby Jimenez’s books, but four out of six isn’t bad. Highly recommended if you enjoy chick lit..

Hoping

Having recently completed my fifth novel, I’m now in the process of submitting the manuscript to agents for consideration. In the past, I’ve submitted a query letter along with however many pages the agent requests, usually ten or the first chapter. This time, I’m finding that some agents are also requesting that a synopsis be submitted.

After a quick online search, I found that a synopsis is a one- or two-page summary of the plot, including the ending. I shook my head in frustration. It will probably take me a few hours to complete what I would consider an acceptable synopsis. This is frustrating because it will slow down the work I’m doing to forward my manuscript to agents, but also because agents might never even get around to reading the synopsis.

I shouldn’t be so pessimistic. If I prematurely assume that agents won’t bother to read my synopsis, why would I assume that they’d bother reading my letter or sample manuscript pages? I sigh. I realize that I have to try. My query letter and/or my manuscript pages might not win over an agent’s support, but I’m still making the effort to submit these. The additional submission of a synopsis can only help. So, I will work on my synopsis. I have to hope it will help, or why would I go through this submission process at all?