It amazes me that aspiring novelists will spend five or ten years writing their masterpiece novel, then hammer out the synopsis one afternoon while watching Everybody Loves Raymond on TV. The synopsis is the writer’s tool for selling his or her manuscript and isn’t something to be undertaken lightly. If you want to write a glowing novel synopsis, follow these helpful tips.
Include the Entire Story
The biggest mistake that novelists make when writing a novel synopsis is failing to detail the entire plot. The point of a synopsis is not to make the agent or publisher guess what might happen at the end; they want to know exactly what happens. This doesn’t mean that you need to chronicle every event in your entire novel, but make sure you touch on the main plot points all the way to the very end.
Get Excited
Your novel synopsis must have as much enthusiastic energy as the novel itself if you want it to sell to a publisher. This means that it shouldn’t plod along at a snail’s pace, issuing bits of information in monotone; instead, you must add sufficient vibrancy to keep the agent or publisher reading. Think about how you would describe the plot of an action movie to a friend. That’s the kind of enthusiasm I’m talking about.
Hit the Right Length
Some agents and publishers will specify how long the novel synopsis should be, while others won’t give any indication as to the desired length. Your best bet is to keep it between two and ten pages, sometimes no more than five if you’re pitching to a large agency or publishing house. The goal is to give the synopsis as quickly and concisely as possible while still delivering all of the necessary information.
Include Dialogue or Snippets of Prose
Remember that your novel synopsis is an agent’s or publisher’s first glimpse of your writing style. For this reason, the synopsis must reflect the tone and voice of your novel. One of the best ways to showcase your writing style is to include bits of dialogue or prose where appropriate. Put them in quotation marks and work them into the synopsis of the story.
Write in Present Tense
Even if your novel is written in past tense, the novel synopsis should be in the present. This helps to maintain the momentum of the synopsis and is the only acceptable method.
Use Short Paragraphs
The entire point of submitting a novel synopsis is to get the agent or publisher to read the entire thing before making a decision. If he or she stops reading after the first page, you’ve failed in your mission. One way to keep him or her reading is to include plenty of paragraph breaks. It speeds up the reading without detracting from the content of your synopsis.
Give Appropriate Back Story
If the reader has to know about your main character’s past alcohol abuse to understand his motivations, then your synopsis must explain that bit of back story. If the agent or publisher finishes the novel synopsis and has any questions at all about the characters in your book, he or she is going to assume that the manuscript itself leaves those same questions unanswered.
