How to Write a Book Synopsis

A book synopsis, or short overview of your novel or memoir, is an important document for anyone considering traditional publishing. 

But condensing your entire story into a short recap is difficult, and many writers find the process daunting.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about how to write a synopsis for your book, including how ProWritingAid will support the editing process. 

What Is a Synopsis?

The purpose of a synopsis is to let literary agents and publishers know whether they want to read your entire book.

The goal is to show that your story is original, while still being to-market, without any glaring plot issues.

Synopsis vs Book Blurb

People often confuse the synopsis with the book blurb, but these are two very different things. They serve entirely different purposes, and you’ll write them with their respective goals in mind.

A book blurb is what you would see on a sales page or the back cover of a book. The goal of a blurb is to entice readers to pick up your book and read it. It’s a marketing tool, and you never want to reveal your ending in a blurb.

A synopsis, on the other hand, is not meant for readers; therefore, you aren’t trying to sell your book to anyone but an agent or publishing house. You want to avoid salesy language and stick to the story. It’s also about twice the length of a blurb.

When Do You Need a Synopsis?

Sometimes, a literary agent will ask for a synopsis of your book to determine if they will request your entire manuscript. Every agent has a different process, though, so keep in mind that some may ask for your first chapter(s) instead.

Once your story gets picked up by an agent, however, you may still need to write a synopsis for publishing houses. Agents pitch your book to various publishers to get you a book deal.

The synopsis is a great way for editors and publishers to see if your story is worth reading. Here are some things agents and publishers are looking for in a synopsis:

• A fresh take or unique elements

• Matches genre expectations

• Overall plot structure

• Glaring plot or character issues

• A satisfying conclusion

You’ll want your synopsis to be well structured, with a good flow. It will need to showcase your writing skills without being salesy. 

You can also use your synopsis as a plotting tool. If you aren’t a detailed outliner, writing a brief, two-page synopsis of your plot is a great way to identify plot holes and character issues, like a lack of motivation.

Personally, I write my synopses before I write my books. It helps me establish the flow of the story before I start outlining.

How Long Is a Synopsis?

A synopsis should be around 500 words, or two pages, typed and double-spaced. It should never be longer than a few pages.

Pay attention to specific word counts from agents, though. Some may allow slightly longer synopses, while others prefer to keep it shorter. 

If you can’t succinctly and effectively tell your story in two pages, you’ll put off agents and publishers. It will suggest that your plot is unwieldy, you have too much world-building, or some other structural issue. 

7 Steps for Writing a Book Synopsis

Writing a book synopsis is easier when you break it into smaller chunks. Below, we’ve divided the process for how to write a synopsis into seven simple steps.

1. Identify the Goal, Motivation, and Conflict

The most important part of every main character, and therefore every story, is their goal, motivation, and conflict. These are often referred to as the GMC in writer-speak. 

Even plot-heavy stories should have character goals and motivations driving them forward. A character’s goal is what they want, and their motivation is why they want it.

The conflict is what stands between a character and their goal. The conflict is what you’ll build most of your plot points around.

Your character’s goals and motivations may change throughout the story, and that’s okay. For your synopsis, identify their GMC at the beginning of the story. Be sure to note if they have a different goal at the end of the story as well.

In addition to your GMC, you’ll want to pay attention to how your character changes throughout the story. This is called a character arc.

2. Set the Stage

Your synopsis should start with the premise. Sometimes this is referred to as the status quo for your character or the mundane world. 

In other words, who is your character at the beginning of your story? What do they do?

You won’t spend a lot of time on this in your synopsis, but you do need to set the stage for whoever is reading it. 

Fantasy and science fiction writers generally have more world-building than other genres. You don’t want to waste precious space on the page with wordy world-building details.

Instead, focus on what’s absolutely necessary for your premise to make sense. This shouldn’t be more than a sentence or two. 

For example, a synopsis for Alice in Wonderland might talk about Wonderland as “an alternate world of magic and talking animals, ruled by the wicked Queen of Hearts.” You don’t need to go into details about all the magic and every character. 

3. Identify the Major Plot Points

It’s hard narrowing your story down into the most major parts. What scenes are relevant in your synopsis? Which scenes need to be left out?

There are so many different plot structures out there, like three-act or Hero’s Journey or the Story Circle. But many of those are too long for your synopsis.

Instead, consider using the most basic plot structure:

• Exposition (premise)

• Inciting incident

• Rising action

• Climax

• Falling action/denouement

• Resolution

For each plot point, make sure it’s clear how it relates to the goal, motivation, and conflict of your character. Include your character’s change throughout the story as you plan. 

4. Eliminate Unnecessary Details

Too many unnecessary details will bog down your synopsis, and it will miss the mark. We’ve already talked about keeping world-building details to a minimum, but there are other details you’ll need to cut. 

First of all, unless you have a very small cast of characters, you probably won’t introduce every character in your synopsis. 

Instead, you should have your main characters, an antagonist if applicable, and maybe one or two side characters who are crucial to either the major plot points or your character’s goals and motivations. 

Don’t spend a long time describing your characters either. Focus on a couple of personality traits and anything that shows their diversity. The synopsis is not the time to spend several paragraphs describing your hero’s beauty or your villain’s hook nose. 

Likewise, don’t spend time describing the setting. Say where they are at each plot point without a big description, unless it’s relevant to the plot. 

5. Consider POV and Voice

Generally, you’ll want to use third-person present as your point-of-view in your synopsis, regardless of what POV your story is written in. 

As far as voice, you’ll want your voice to shine through, while still being professional. A synopsis is more of a business document than a sales document, so avoid language you would use in your blurb.

However, you’ll still want to use good writing skills. This means focusing on the emotional aspect of your story and using strong verbs whenever possible. 

You don’t need to spend time focusing on showing over telling, though. As we discussed in the previous section, you’re not spending time on heavy description.

Use power verbs and strong adjectives when appropriate. But mostly, focus on the facts and flow of your story.

6. Write the Overview, Including the Ending

It’s time to finally write the synopsis. You’ve planned out your plot points, and you know your character’s goals, motivations, and conflicts. You should have an idea which characters you need to mention and which you can leave out.

A quick tip for writing your synopsis is to use one paragraph for each of the six plot points we covered in step three. 

If you find that you go over about 500 words, you’ll want to go in and cut down some of those plot points. For example, falling action will be a very short paragraph. You may have also included too much detail in your exposition or climax as well.

Cut things, while still focusing on flow, to get your synopsis to about two pages, double-spaced. Going a few lines over is fine, but your final word count should be around the 500 mark. 

It might feel weird to write spoilers, but that’s what agents and publishers want to see. Be sure you don’t tease the ending: write what happens exactly as it happens.

7. Edit for Clarity and Engagement

Your first draft of your synopsis won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. You can always edit it.

First, edit for overall clarity. Does your plot flow make sense or did you leave out something crucial?

Then, make sure each sentence is clear and concise. Long, poetic sentences won’t serve you well in a synopsis. 

For clarity, consider editing for:

• Passive voice

• Glue words

• Repetition

• Clichés and idioms

Then check for engagement. This is a hard balance with a synopsis because you don’t want to use superlatives or sound like you’re trying to sell your book (even though you are). 

Word choice, also called diction, is the best way to increase engagement without making your synopsis sound like a blurb. ProWritingAid’s Diction Report makes editing for word choice a breeze.

Using ProWritingAid for Your Synopsis

ProWritingAid has several reports that make editing for clarity and engagement as simple as clicking a button. Here are the reports we recommend for your synopsis.

Common Mistakes When Writing a Synopsis

Because you have so little space to sell your novel to an agent or publisher, it’s important to have a well-written synopsis. But beware of some of these common mistakes that will hurt your synopsis’ effectiveness: 

• Leaving off the title of your book

• Hiding the plot twist, climax, and ending

• Including dialogue

• Showing the setting or characters with excessive descriptions

• Including too many characters

• Failing to show the goal, motivation, and conflict for your protagonist(s)

• Asking rhetorical questions

Another common pitfall is using verbiage like “the novel” or “the climax.” Don’t use names for the plot points—just tell us what happens next. 

Final Thoughts on Writing a Synopsis

Summarizing your entire book for a literary agent or publishing house doesn’t need to be daunting. Using the seven steps we outlined above will make the process feel much smoother.

Edit your synopsis to perfection with ProWritingAid. It’s free to sign up, and you’ll turn your rough synopsis into a polished piece that will catch the eye of agents everywhere.