Guide G1
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How to Write a Synopsis That Does Its Job
What a synopsis is for, how agents use it, what it must contain, and a step-by-step process for writing the two-page version and adapting it to any length.
Introduction
Writing a book synopsis: the document every writer dreads
A synopsis is a learnable document with a clear function and a definable structure.
The synopsis is the part of the submission package that produces the most anxiety and the most bad advice. Writers who have spent a year or more on a novel are told to reduce it to two pages. Every subplot, every carefully constructed character arc, every scene they revised four times, compressed into a document that must also make the story feel alive and the stakes feel real. Writing a book synopsis is an uncomfortable exercise, and most writers approach it the wrong way.
A learnable document
The good news is that a synopsis is a learnable document. It has a clear function, a definable structure, and a limited set of things it needs to contain. Once you understand what it is actually trying to do, and what it is not trying to do, the task becomes considerably less overwhelming.
What this guide covers
This guide covers what a synopsis is for, how agents use it, what it must contain, how to write it, and how to adapt it to the different length requirements agents specify. It is built around the two-page synopsis as the working standard, with clear guidance on compressing to one page and expanding when required.
What a Synopsis Is
What a synopsis is and how agents use it
It is a structural summary of your entire novel, including the ending.
The function of the synopsis
A synopsis is not a teaser. It is not a back-cover blurb. It is not a marketing document. It is a structural summary of your entire novel, including the ending, written so that an agent or editor can assess whether your story holds together from first page to last.
The first use: a filter
Agents use the synopsis in two distinct ways. The first is as a filter at the query stage. When an agent receives your submission package, the synopsis tells them whether the plot is coherent, whether the ending delivers on the promise of the opening, and whether the book has the shape of something publishable. They are not reading it for pleasure. They are reading it for structure and logic.
The second use: does it work all the way through?
The second use comes later, if they are already interested. An agent who has read your opening chapters and wants to know where the book goes will turn to the synopsis. At this stage they are assessing whether the middle holds up, whether the emotional journey of the protagonist is earned, and whether the resolution is satisfying. They are asking: does this book actually work all the way through?
This distinction matters because it tells you what the synopsis must achieve. It must show the logic of the plot. It must show that cause leads to consequence throughout. And it must show that the ending is not arbitrary: it follows, emotionally and narratively, from everything that came before.
What agents are not doing
Agents are not reading your synopsis hoping to be moved by it. They are not expecting it to read like the novel. They are not penalising you for a synopsis that feels functional rather than beautiful. A synopsis that is clear, complete, and structurally honest will do its job. A synopsis that is trying too hard to be literary, or that withholds the ending to create suspense, will not.
The teaser mistake
The single most common synopsis mistake is treating it as a teaser. Writing “what happens next will change everything” or ending on a cliffhanger with the resolution omitted. Agents notice this immediately and it signals that the writer does not understand what a synopsis is for.
Length
How long should your synopsis be
Agents do not agree. Write one master synopsis and adapt it.
Why there is no single answer
Agents do not agree on synopsis length. Some specify one page. Some ask for two. A minority request up to four pages for complex narratives, and some submission guidelines say nothing about length at all. This inconsistency is a source of genuine frustration for writers, and the only honest response to it is to prepare for all eventualities.
The practical solution is to write one master synopsis and know how to adapt it. Build the two-page version first. It is the most common request and the most useful working document. From it, you can compress down or expand out as required.
The three formats you need to understand
The one-page synopsis (400 to 500 words)
Some agents, particularly in the US market, specify a one-page synopsis as part of their submission guidelines. At this length, brutal compression is required. You are keeping only the spine of the story: the protagonist, the central conflict, the key turning points, and the resolution. Everything else goes. Subplots appear only if they are load-bearing for the main plot. Secondary characters appear only by role, not by name, unless they are essential to understanding the ending.
The one-page synopsis is the hardest format to write well because there is no room for context or texture. If you have built your two-page version correctly, compressing it is a matter of identifying what is truly structural and cutting the rest.
The two-page synopsis (600 to 800 words)
This is the standard. Most agents who request a synopsis without specifying length expect something in this range. It is long enough to convey the emotional logic of the story alongside the plot logic, and short enough to remain readable as a working document. The two-page synopsis is the version this guide teaches. Build this one first.
The extended synopsis (up to 4 pages / 1,000 to 1,200 words)
A small number of agents and some publishers, particularly for complex speculative fiction or multi-threaded narratives, request a longer synopsis. At this length you have room for more detail on subplots, secondary character arcs, and world-building elements that are integral to the plot. The structure is the same as the two-page version; you are simply allowing more breath in each section.
If no length is specified in the submission guidelines, default to two pages.
Format
Word count
When required
One page
400 to 500 words
When agent specifies; US market more common
Two pages
600 to 800 words
Standard; use when no length specified
Extended
1,000 to 1,200 words
Complex narratives; some publishers; when requested
What It Must Contain
What your synopsis must contain
Five elements carry the synopsis. Everything else is optional.
The five things a synopsis cannot leave out
1
The protagonist and what they want
Establish your main character and their central goal within the first paragraph. Not their backstory, not their personality in the abstract: their want, and what stands in the way of it. An agent reading the opening of a synopsis needs to know immediately whose story this is and why it matters.
2
The inciting incident and the central conflict
What happens that sets the story in motion? What is the central problem or opposition your protagonist faces? This should appear early and clearly. It is the engine the rest of the synopsis runs on.
3
The key turning points
A novel has structural moments that change the direction of the story. These must appear in the synopsis. Exactly which moments qualify will depend on your plot, but as a working guide: the point at which the protagonist commits to the central conflict, the midpoint shift that changes the nature of the problem, and the moment before the final act when things are at their worst. You do not need to label these. You need to convey them.
4
The emotional journey of the protagonist
Plot events alone do not make a synopsis work. An agent reading a list of things that happen will not be able to assess whether the story works emotionally. Show how the protagonist changes, what it costs them, and what they understand at the end that they did not understand at the beginning. This does not require many words. One or two sentences at each key turning point is enough.
5
The resolution: the full ending
The ending is not optional. The synopsis must tell the agent how the story ends, how the central conflict is resolved, and what the emotional landing is. Withholding the ending is the most common synopsis mistake and one of the most damaging. If an agent notices that the ending is absent or vague, the synopsis has failed its primary purpose.
What the synopsis does not need to contain
Every subplot. Include only subplots that are structurally connected to the main plot or that directly affect its resolution.
Every secondary character. Name only the characters whose actions are necessary to follow the plot. Others can be referred to by role.
Themes or intended meanings. Do not explain what your book is about in the abstract. Show it through the plot.
Cliffhangers or withheld information. The synopsis is a complete document, not a sales pitch.
Your writing style. The synopsis does not need to sound like the novel. It needs to be clear.
Writing It
How to write the two-page synopsis
Six steps, started only once you have finished revising.
A working process
Write the synopsis after you have finished revising the manuscript, not before. A synopsis written during drafting will not reflect what the book actually became. Write it when you know what the book is.
1
List the structural events
Before you write a word of the synopsis, list the ten to fifteen events in your novel that are structurally essential. Not your favourite scenes. Not the most beautifully written passages. The events without which the plot cannot be followed or the ending cannot be understood. If you removed any item from your list and the story still made sense, remove it.
2
Identify your protagonist’s emotional arc in three sentences
Write three sentences about your protagonist: who they are at the start, what the story does to them, and who they are at the end. These sentences will anchor the synopsis and stop it becoming a plot list.
3
Write a first draft without worrying about length
Using your structural event list and your three character sentences, write a first draft of the synopsis. Do not count words. Do not try to compress yet. Just tell the story clearly, in order, from inciting incident to resolution.
4
Cut to the structure
Read back through what you have written and remove anything that is not structurally necessary. Subplots that do not affect the main plot go. Secondary characters who do not directly change the course of events go. Descriptive detail goes. Thematic commentary goes. What remains should be the load-bearing architecture of your story.
5
Restore the emotional logic
Read the cut version and check that it still feels like a story about a person rather than a sequence of events. If the protagonist has disappeared into the plot, add back the one or two sentences per turning point that show what is happening to them internally. This is what separates a synopsis that works from one that reads like a plot summary.
6
Check the ending
Read the final paragraph and ask: does this ending feel earned by everything that came before it? Is the resolution clear? Is the emotional landing stated, not implied? If the answer to any of these is no, the synopsis needs more work regardless of how good the rest of it is.
Tense and person
Write the synopsis in third person, present tense, even if your novel is written in first person, past tense. This is the standard convention. It reads more actively and it is what agents expect.
Opening the synopsis
The first sentence of your synopsis should establish three things: the protagonist, the world or situation, and the central problem. Do not open with backstory. Do not open with world-building. Open with the conflict.
A workable template for the opening sentence:
[Protagonist name], a [brief identifying detail], must [central goal] when [inciting event or opposition].
This is a starting point, not a formula. Use it to get moving, then revise until it sounds like your story rather than a template.
Common synopsis problems
What to do instead
Opens with backstory or world description
Start with the protagonist and the central problem
Withholds the ending
State the resolution clearly in the final paragraph
Includes too many character names
Name only characters essential to following the plot
Reads as a chapter-by-chapter list
Condense multiple events into one sentence where possible
Loses the protagonist in the plot
Add one emotional beat per turning point
Tries to sound like the novel
Write clearly and functionally; voice is not the goal
Template
A two-page synopsis template
Seven paragraphs, in story order, about 700 words in all. Use it to get a first version down, then make it your own.
Paragraph
What it covers
Words
1. Opening
Your protagonist, their situation and the inciting incident. Use the opening-sentence template earlier in this guide.
80 to 100
2. The conflict
What the protagonist now wants, what stands in the way, and what they stand to lose
80 to 100
3. First turning point
The first major event that changes their direction, and the decision they make
100
4. Rising pressure
How things get harder, including any subplot that affects the main story
100
5. The lowest point
The moment everything seems lost, and what it costs them emotionally
100
6. The climax
The final confrontation and the choice the protagonist makes
100
7. The resolution
How it ends, in full, and how the protagonist has changed
80 to 100
Write it in the present tense and the third person, whatever tense and viewpoint the novel uses. Name only the characters the agent needs to follow; everyone else can be described by role ("her brother", "the harbourmaster").
For a one-page version, merge paragraphs 3 and 4, and 5 and 6. For an extended synopsis, give each turning point its own paragraph.
Compressing to One Page
Compressing to one page
If the guidelines say one page, they mean it.
When an agent specifies a one-page synopsis
Read the submission guidelines carefully. If they specify one page, they mean it. Sending two pages when one is asked for is a signal that you cannot follow instructions, which is not a useful signal to send at the start of a professional relationship.
How to compress
To compress your two-page synopsis to one page:
Keep only the main plot. Every subplot goes, even load-bearing ones, unless the ending is literally incomprehensible without them.
Reduce secondary characters to roles rather than names. “Her editor” rather than “Marcus.”
Combine events. Two turning points that both develop the same pressure on the protagonist can often be stated as one.
Cut the emotional beats to the minimum. The protagonist’s internal journey appears only at the opening (who they are), the lowest point (what it has cost them), and the resolution (who they become).
The one-page synopsis will feel brutal to write. That is the correct response to it. The discomfort is the compression working.
Presentation
Presentation and formatting
A professional document, formatted like one.
What the synopsis should look like
The synopsis is a professional document. Its formatting should communicate that it was prepared by someone who knows what they are doing.
Use standard manuscript formatting: 12pt Times New Roman, double spaced, one-inch margins.
Put your name, the book title, and the word “Synopsis” in the header.
State the word count and genre at the top of the first page, below the header.
Do not use chapter headings, scene breaks, or any formatting that mimics the manuscript.
Do not use bold or italics for emphasis within the text.
The synopsis is submitted as a separate document unless the agent’s guidelines specify otherwise. Check before you send.
The Companion Documents
The companion documents
The synopsis is one part of a package. All of it needs to be ready.
The synopsis does not exist in isolation. Agents request it as part of a submission package that also includes a query letter and usually the opening pages of the manuscript. All three documents need to be in good shape before you submit to anyone.
Going deeper on the query letter
The query letter is covered in full in How to Write a Query Letter (Guide G2, The Submissions Room). Read it alongside this guide. The query letter hooks the agent and makes them want to read more; the synopsis shows them the full structure of what they would be taking on. They need to work together.
Before You Close This Guide
Clear, complete and structurally honest
The synopsis does not need to be beautiful. It needs to work.
A synopsis is not a test of how well you can sell your book in two pages. It is a map that lets an agent see whether the story holds together from beginning to end. Name the protagonist and what they want, show the turning points and what they cost, and state the ending plainly. Build the two-page version first, keep it clear rather than clever, and you will have a document you can adapt to whatever length an agent asks for.
What to do next
Where you are: Ready to publish, guide 3 of 16
Start, pressure, end: three sentences.
1. Do this now
Write the three sentences that describe your protagonist at the start, under pressure, and at the end.
2. Read next
G2: How to Write a Query Letter (Open). Next on your path. The query letter goes on top of the synopsis.
G4: What the First Page of Your Manuscript Tells an Agent (Ticket). The synopsis and the first page must tell the same story.
B1: Story Structure: Which One Is Right for Your Book? (Open). If the synopsis will not come together, the structure may need work.
3. Not sure?
Struggling to summarise the plot? E3: Structural Editing: Is the Shape of Your Book Right?
Self-publishing instead? H1: Self-Publishing vs Traditional: A Practical Comparison
Need to format the manuscript? F3: How to Format Your Manuscript for Submission
← Previous on this path: G4: What the First Page of Your Manuscript Tells an Agent
Next on this path: G2: How to Write a Query Letter →