What is a Synopsis?

The standard submission package is a cover letter, the first three chapters, and a synopsis. Most writers know what the first two are, but have no idea what a synopsis is, or what a publisher wants one.

In simple terms, the synopsis is the story of the book. It tells the whole story, including the surprise ending and it gives the main characters, including their conflict, motivation and character arc. It also lists technical details like genre and length.

It tells the publisher everything significant that is in the novel, and also gives a very clear idea of your ability to write clearly and tell a good story.

How long should a synopsis be? As long as it takes. Some stories can be summed up quickly, while others need several pages to develop properly. As a general rule, a synopsis for a full length novel should be between two and five single-spaced pages.

What do I include? Everything significant to the story. If you are writing a hot erotic romance, you don't need to mention every single time your characters get it on, unless one of them is significantly different. But if your tender YA romance has a brutal rape scene half way through, the publisher needs to know. You also need to include the emotional impact of the story as well as the bones of the plot.

What do I leave out? All the things which make the story enjoyable, but don't move the plot forward. That cute scene where they wash the dog and get covered with soapy water does not need to be included, unless it's the pivot which gets them into bed. Similarly, don't include characters which do not play an essential part in the story.

Is there a format for writing a synopsis? Yes. It's single spaced, written in the third person, present tense, and is written in a similar style to the novel. Cosy mysteries are written in a cosy style, edgy thrillers have an edgy style. Character names are written in block capitals the first time they are mentioned.

For reference here are a couple of examples of a good synopsis:

Example 1:

• Working Title: Robert
• Genre: Regency mystery/romance
• Word count: 63,000 words
• Setting: London in 1816.

ROBERT, Earl of Mostrim discovers that his sister LOUISA, lady Edgeware, is being blackmailed. Her impetuous one-night affair with another man has clouded the paternity of her baby son.

Robert's only brother was killed at Waterloo, and he knows he must marry if his estate is to have an heir. He agrees to help Louisa expose her blackmailer while he is searching for a suitable wife. His search leads him to the beautiful ISABELLE LINGFORD.

Isabelle is young and innocent, the perfect choice to be the new lady Mostrim, but Robert finds his courtship is being frustrated by Isabella's formidable chaperone, Miss CLARA BEATON. Robert has a rival for Isabelle's affections - his cousin and heir, CHARLES MCKAY, is also pursuing her.

Robert's investigations into his sister's blackmailer bring him the dark underbelly of Regency London and into frequent contact with Miss Beaton. He begins to suspect that she is involved in his sister's blackmail, especially when he discovers her home and lifestyle is more lavish than a chaperone should be able to afford. He accuses of her being the blackmailer, but instead finds that she was working with the Bow Street runners to uncover the real blackmailer. Clara reluctantly allows him to help her investigate.

A wager in the betting book in Brooks leads Robert to believe his cousin Charles is the blackmailer, so he beats him up during a boxing match, injuring him and causing bad feeling between them.

During the course of their investigation, a reluctant attraction develop between Robert and Clara. She is sophisticated and intelligent, but far too independent for his tastes, and she considers him too bossy. They arrange to trap the blackmailer and discover it is Lord THOMAS PACKENHAM, another of Isabelle's suitors. After his arrest, Clara and Robert celebrate with a bottle of Champagne which leads to a night of unexpected passion.

The next morning, he does the honourable thing and proposes, but to his shock, Clara refuses him. She will not countenance a loveless marriage which will cost her independence. She does agree to reconsider if she turns out to be pregnant. Robert's courtship of Isabelle is now in limbo until he knows if he will have to marry Clara, but he doesn't have time to get bored - someone is trying to kill him.

When Lord Thomas escapes from custody and Robert learns that Clara has gone after him, he pursues them to Littleport, where they become caught up in the violence of the Littleport Food Riots. He is arrested, but Clara rescues him from Ely gaol before he can be hanged. Their subsequent night of passion is ruined when Robert manages to say the wrong thing. The following morning Clara refuses to have anything further to do with him.

It takes the arrival of an amorous Russian Count to make Robert realise that he is in love with Clara, but has he left it too late? When the Count discovers that Robert has a compromising sketch of Clara, he challenges Robert to a duel, but Clara intervenes to stop it before anyone is killed.

The next day Clara disappears, and almost too late, Robert discovers that his cousin Charles, with the aid of Isabelle, is trying to murder her. Charles is determined to kill her before she can marry Robert and cut him out of the succession. After a dramatic chase, Robert manages to rescue Clara and protect her from Charles and his hired thugs.

Their marriage is one of the major events of the London season, and ties up their turbulent romance.

Example 2:

• Working Title: Javon
• Genre: Science fiction/Adult
• Word count: 63,000 words
• Setting: Fictional Planet Eris

JAVON, prince of Eris, needs a wife in a hurry, or he's going to have to marry the new queen. It doesn't matter that queen NEELIE is twice his age or that she expects him to wear a consort collar. No, the problem is that he can't mate with her. In order to avoid a diplomatic disaster that will see the planet torn by civil war, he's prepared to marry just about anyone else.

Cue BLAHA. Like every penniless student, she has a part-time job. Hers is just a little more demanding than most -she's the Royal Assassin, and her next hit is a very important person. Blaha's only way through the labyrinth of security is with a human visiting from earth.

Unfortunately the human, LUIS REYES, is not going to co-operate. He is determined to get back to earth and the only way that Blaha can get him off the spaceship is by promising to get up close and very personal.

Humans and Erisians have a checkered history. Erisians are a species that mates three males to one female. To them, human energy is a deliciously addictive snack, but it can leave the human dangerously weak, and can give the Erisian some unexpected human traits. When Blaha seduces Luis, she gets a little greedy, and he passes out.

An unconscious human on her bedroom floor causes her to panic, and when she calls for help, Javon comes to the rescue. She's in trouble, she's beautiful- in fact she's perfect. Exactly the kind of wife he needs, and there's something about her which is very familiar.

Javon sets out to seduce her. When he takes Blaha and Luis to their desert destination, he plans to impress her, but the visit doesn't go as expected. For the first time in her life, Blaha bungles a hit and is forced to go on the run.

She didn't expect that Luis and Javon would go with her. In the cave where they hide out, passion explodes between the three of them, and the two males discover who Blaha really is. Luis, who has lost seven relatives to gang violence and drive-by shootings, is horrified by her choice of profession. Javon is guilt-stricken that his grandmother, the old queen, trained Blaha as an assassin. Now Neelie is forcing her to continue by holding her little brother hostage.

But her liaison with the human has consequences. Blaha discovers that she has lost the killer instinct. She is helpless, unable to defend herself from the wild creatures in the dessert. When Javon is injured saving her Blaha shows her gratitude with mind-blowing love-making. Javon knows this is the woman for him. So what if she has taken a human lover?

But Blaha knows that she cannot escape her fate. If she doesn't finish the hit, her brother will pay the price, so Javon does the unthinkable. To save Blaha, he agrees to marry Neelie and wear her collar. That will give Blaha a chance to rescue her brother and escape before Neelie discovers that she can no longer kill.

Blaha is devastated when she discovers that Javon is going to marry her employer. She turns to Luis, who uses a bit of creative bondage to allow them to make love without him collapsing afterwards, and she agrees to go with Earth with him. After all, it's the one place her little brother will be safe from Neelie, and Luis will be there.

Javon finds himself a prisoner in the palace but is happy that Blaha will soon be out of Neelie's clutches. But when Neelie discovers that he is in love with Blaha, she sets a trap that will end with her execution.

Determined to save Blaha, Javon challenges the powerful Neelie for the throne of Eris. Luis tries to even up the odds by kissing him to give him an infusion of energy, but it comes at a cost. Javon now has to fight a female at the peak of her powers, while he can't use violence.

The fight is bitter, and Javon barely manages to defeat Neelie, but he fears that his victory is not enough to persuade Blaha to marry him. She wants Luis - and so does Javon. In a frantic dash to the spaceport to prevent him from leaving for Earth, Javon must confront his fear of rejection so that he can persuade Blaha to marry both of them.

Author: Eileen Gormley