sYNOPSIS bIOPSY

I thought writing an author bio was hard. Writing a synopsis of your book is like going in for a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy.  (Yes, I got that from a google search, but it sounds exactly as torturous as writing a synopsis.) 

I've been publishing for more than two decades. When it comes to writing and publishing, and all that comes with those practices, I like to think I'm an expert. But some things that you think might get easier the more you do them actually don't get easy. They remain just as frustratingly difficult to do. That's if you actually care about representing a literary work properly. If you are the type that likes to wing it, then you won't concern yourself much with doing a good job. Just well enough to get by. Getting by gets you nowhere in the world of publishing. You got to stand out.

That's why author bios and book synopses are important. These have always been my toughest areas regarding the publishing and writing process. 

Take, for instance, my newest publication: "Once Upon A Bad Hombre".

I wrote the damn thing. It took me at least two years (on and off) of editing, revising, and editing some more, to get to the point where I thought it might be ready to be published. So, it got published. But after publishing a book, things don't just take off by themselves. You can't just sit back and relax and let the book go where it needs to go and say what it needs to say. You got to be the representative and pusher of your work. That, or pay someone to do those things for you. 

For authors who have little to no experience writing promotional material, this second option is favorable. For people, like myself, who have experience in writing and promoting literary works, the work is doable. You can even exceed at it. But that don't mean you're going to like it one bit, or find it easy to do. That's my situation. 

I'm trying out my own book synopsis here. I want to get your opinion on it. How does it sound? Is it attention-grabbing? Too wordy? Makes sense? Let me know. 

Here goes:

​"A new administration is in power in the U.S. promising to enact a 'solution that is final' to the 'immigrant problem'. In spite of the rhetoric, no one seems to care that immigrants are going missing in increasing numbers, as their fellow compatriots continue with their daily lives watching their telenovelas like any normal day. Meanwhile, a mysterious ash falls across the U.S. and Mexico, and no one knows its true source. When Marco, a reporter for the Daily News Report, is assigned to investigate rumors of a secret immigrant panel headed by the president's staff, his investigation uncovers truths too dangerous to reveal to the general public, and he is taken off the story. Facing the choice of keeping the truth in the dark, or telling the world one way or another, Marco decides to go underground and head all the way to Mexico City to reveal the plot against all people of Mexican descent. Along the way, Marco is triggered by people complacently sitting around in public spaces watching telenovelas in cafes and hair salons, which drives him to shoot the TV sets to send a message, but no one seems to get it. Will Mexicans stop living vicarious lives of fantasy through their telenovelas and live life to the fullest? Or will time run out once Marco reaches his destination and reveals the news of an impending Mexican apocalypse?" 

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Thanks for the feedback. If you have not yet, please go like my page on Facebook, Gabriel Hugo Author. And share this post with others who might find it useful. I appreciate it. 

​P.s. Come back soon for part 2 of Synopsis Biopsy, where I "dissect" the structure of my synopsis to offer you a kind of how-to on writing synopses.