Profwriting

Is your synopsis any good?

Answer the questions in the space provided, then compare your ideas with the advice of our professional writers by clicking on the buttons.

Do you have a synopsis?

Why you need a synopsis
Even if you can write beautifully, publishers and agents are unlikely to show real interest in your idea until you can demonstrate how it develops chapter by chapter or section by section. A synopsis outlines your story arc and demonstrates why the reader should keep turning the page. It also proves that you can sustain an idea past five chapters – a tall order even for many accomplished, stylistically proficient writers.

How many pages do you think your synopsis should be?

Commissioning editors and literary agents are extremely busy people. They don’t have time to wade through reams of paper or personal details, but neither will they be satisfied with a back-of-an envelope paragraph.

This is the usual form in the following areas of writing:

• Non-fiction – aim for a single-page document that presents your idea in outline, highlighting its key sales points and offering a brief analysis of the market and competition. Don't forget to mention your credentials as author. Attach a chapter-by-chapter contents breakdown and a sample of your writing.
  
• Fiction – send a brief, professional covering letter, plus the first three chapters (or at least 30 pages) of your novel, plus a synopsis of the remaining chapters.

Explain your idea and who it’s aimed at in 12 words or less

Your idea in short
If you can’t explain your idea and who it might appeal to in a sentence, you’re unlikely to make commissioning people sit up and notice you. Work on your six-word concept by selling your idea to work colleagues, family and strangers on the bus until people ‘get it’ without a long-winded explanation.

What other books/films/TV shows does your idea resemble?

What else it resembles
Being able to say that your book is ‘Bridget Jones meets Frankenstein' or ‘Fever Pitch for non-league football’ can wake up the financial and sales execs during a long editorial or aquisitions meeting. These are the people in publishing who you want on your side – so make it easy for them to remember your idea. This is the purpose of the six-word strapline.

Why you need a synopsis
Even if you can write beautifully, publishers and agents are unlikely to show real interest in your idea until you can demonstrate how it develops chapter by chapter or section by section. A synopsis outlines your story arc and demonstrates why the reader should keep turning the page. It also proves that you can sustain an idea past five chapters – a tall order even for many accomplished, stylistically proficient writers.

The form of a synopsis
Commissioning editors and literary agents are extremely busy people. They don’t have time to wade through reams of paper or personal details, but neither will they be satisfied with a back-of-an envelope paragraph.

This is the usual form in the following areas of writing:

• Non-fiction – aim for a single-page document that presents your idea in outline, highlighting its key sales points and offering a brief analysis of the market and competition. Don't forget to mention your credentials as author. Attach a chapter-by-chapter contents breakdown and a sample of your writing.
  
• Fiction – send a brief, professional covering letter, plus the first three chapters (or at least 30 pages) of your novel, plus a synopsis of the remaining chapters.

Your idea in short
If you can’t explain your idea and who it might appeal to in a sentence, you’re unlikely to make commissioning people sit up and notice you. Work on your six-word concept by selling your idea to work colleagues, family and strangers on the bus until people ‘get it’ without a long-winded explanation.

What else it resembles
Being able to say that your book is ‘Bridget Jones meets Frankenstein' or ‘Fever Pitch for non-league football’ can wake up the financial and sales execs during a long editorial or aquisitions meeting. These are the people in publishing who you want on your side – so make it easy for them to remember your idea. This is the purpose of the six-word strapline.

To find out more:
• Take the mini courses in Assessing Commercial Viability or How to Write a Synopsis, [link] which offers sample synopses for different genres.
• Check out the advice from double Nibbie-winning independent publisher Snow Books.
• Join our Members Room to read and watch the advice of leading literary agents.
• Get feedback from fellow writers on your synopsis in our Pitch Room [link].