Synopsis

After editing your manuscript, which required you to evaluate every minutia for clarity and conciseness, you need to pull back to a bird’s eye view so it can be presented to future readers in a way that will convince them they need to read it. This begins with creating a synopsis of the story, which is a stripped-down version of the entire book told in the space of three or so paragraphs for no more than a total of 350 to 400 words. Deciding what to include and what to exclude requires great thought.

First, forget about all subplots and characters not central to the climax and denouement. Isolate only those portions of the plot that are essential to understanding the circumstances in which your main characters find themselves, the growing threat to their well-being, and the steps they must take to extricate themselves from peril. You are creating a road map to your book’s conclusion, not a blow-by-blow account of the scenery along the way. That said, it must be a colorful, attractive road map to give yourself the greatest chance of catching the reader’s eye.

Begin with a punchy hook. Continue in concise, tight narrative that utilizes the active voice, pregnant nouns, and potent verbs. Remember to summarize. Don’t try to insert little patches of detail to show off the power of your writing style. Your compelling narrative will advertise those skills without any additional help from you. Keep a fast pace while making sure your paragraphs flow into each other in a logical way. Keep in mind that you’re telling a story — a condensed one but one that must grab the reader in the same way as you expect your manuscript to do. End with a tease about the peril in which your characters find themselves and their determination to survive unscathed. When you’re finished, proofread and revise over and over again until you are convinced it is the best it can be. You know the drill.

Format the body of the synopsis like a business letter with left alignment and using the present tense. Place the book’s title centrally aligned at the top of the page in capital letters. On the line below, also in central alignment, write By (your name) and the word Synopsis on the line below that. Begin the body of the synopsis two lines below that. It is written in the present tense and is left aligned for all lines, even the first.

On first thought, you might throw up your hands and say it is impossible to include all of the above information in just three paragraphs. If you are of that mind, you are not alone. The hard reality is that synopses are extremely difficult to write. You can help yourself get the hang of it by prowling your local bookstore and reading the blurb written on the inside front jacket of all published books. The meat of your synopsis should mimic those blurbs.

Well-written synopses are an art form. As with any art form, there is a learning curve. The more of them you write, the easier the next one will be. Treat them like you do your manuscript. Do a rough draft, put it away for several days, then look at it again. And again. And again. If you know someone who loves to read and will give you an honest opinion, run it by them in the role of consumer. If this were on the front jacket of a book, would they buy it? Polish and polish until you know you have the best letter possible. When that happens, you're ready to move on to your query letter.

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