How to Write a Synopsis to Sell Your Fiction to a Publisher!

Learn how to write a synopsis for your fiction so your can sell your fiction story idea to an agent or publisher to give you a better chance at actually publishing your fiction stories.

Writing a synopsis was one of those things that I had wish I knew before I started writing all of my books, but now that I learned how to write one, it helps me outline my entire book before I begin the writing phase.

A synopsis is a great tool to help sell your fiction story idea to a prospective publisher or agent. It should be included with all submissions to publishers and is the first thing the publisher or agent will read when they look at what you are submitting. Make sure it is grammatically correct and that everything in your synopsis is spelled correctly so you make a great first impression with a prospective publisher.

Fiction and non-fiction synopsis write-ups differ in many ways. I will only cover how to write a fiction synopsis here. Simply search online for more information on how to write a synopsis for non-fiction if you want to learn more about it.

For your fiction, a well organized and written synopsis tells a prospective publisher the who, what, where, when, and how of your story. It is recommended that you leave out the why in your fiction synopsis as this is definitely not the place to cite purpose or inspiration for your book or writing.

Your synopsis is your first and probably your last chance to introduce and sell your idea to the publisher. If they don't like your synopsis, they probably won't even open your manuscript. It is very important that you immediately grab your reader's attention right away. You must keep it brief (a few paragraphs at the most), and you want your message to be absolutely clear.

When thinking how to write a synopsis, you must consider it from the publisher's point of view. They receive several submissions each day for every genre and they rely on your synopsis to give them a detailed peek into your fiction manuscript in order to quickly determine if your book is good for their target market and if book sellers will want to order the book to sell to their customers.

How to write a synopsis should start with a great hook or angle to magnetically entice your readers and make your fiction manuscript stand out from the many others they are looking at within the same genre. Next, you must introduce the main concept or concepts of your book. Think of your synopsis as a master summary of all of the chapters in your book. You want to include one or two sentences for every chapter to step through your entire book.

1. Always write your synopsis in the present tense no matter what tense your story is written in.

2. Do not use flowery or fluffy prose to express the points throughout your synopsis. Save that for your story itself.

3. Your synopsis is used to "sell" your story idea to the publisher. No more, no less.

4. In order to properly sell your story, you must distinguish your novel from others in the genre. There are many other novels out there with similar themes, so use your synopsis as your advertisement. A synopsis is truly a work of art in itself, and used to sell your writing, so take care to make it as distinctive as possible.

5. Give a chapter-by-chapter summary of your book. A summary of a chapter is only a couple of sentences including your main characters and a particular "thing" they are doing in that chapter. Together, your summary gives a publisher a professional, polished overview of the book so they can make an informed decision whether to set your book in their stack of potential manuscripts.

How to write a synopsis correctly is one thing. Knowing how to actually draft it up for submission is another. You should always contact a prospective publisher and ask particular submission details before sending in your fiction story package.

As a standard, a publisher will be looking for information such as the current title for your work, your synopsis, the length of the work (number of words), the market and demographic focus and genre you are targeting with your story, describe the main character, and describe the supporting characters. Of course, you should always provide a brief description of your personal background and author biography. It helps them to know a little more about you.

How to write a synopsis and how to write a query letter work hand-in-hand and can be written at the same time since they serve pretty much the same purpose. The query letter is more like your cover letter and your synopsis is like your resume. When submitting your synopsis to a publisher, you should always include a query letter, your brief biography, your synopsis, and a full copy your edited manuscript.

Related Pages on Write and Publish Fiction to How to Write a Synopsis!

If you are looking for pages on this website related to this topic, please find them and click on the links below.

Create a Press Kit to Help Market Your Fiction!

Elements of a Press Kit - What You Need to Help Promote Your Fiction!

Fiction Author Biography for Self Promotion!

Author Biography Example to Help You Write Your Own Biography!

Write a Press Release for Your Newly Published Work!

Press Release - Learn How to Write One to Market Your Fiction!

Press Release for Fiction! Learn How to Write a Fiction Press Release!

Tips for a Press Release and Examples to Follow!

Fiction Author Brochure For Self-Marketing Your Fiction!

Use your Brochure for Self Marketing Your Book!

Write a Query Letter to Attract a Publisher's Interest!

Fiction Query Letter Writing to Get Your Fiction Published!

What is a Synopsis and Why is it an Important Part of Writing?

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