Help With Writing A Book Synopsis

Blubbering into your laptop.

That’s how having to write your book synopsis can leave you (and it’s such a technical sounding word!)

After slaving away over your novel for months/years/decades, you’re finally finished. Except you’re not.

Unless you’re lucky enough to have someone else to do it for you, you’re going to have to sum up all those multiple thousands of words in a few snappy, salesy paragraphs if you want to attract readers, publishers, agents.

Good luck.

No, sorry, actually the point of this post was to say that in my experience the task can be made easier by writing a synopsis after you finish each draft.

Even if you haven’t finished your story, a synopsis after each draft can help you write the next draft, giving you more focus and a better (or even a new) idea of where your story needs to go.

I wrote what I thought was a final synopsis after finishing what I thought was the final draft of The Zombie Cop. But I discovered that my synopsis was tighter, better structured and more exciting than the draft of the novel I thought I’d just finished.

Naturally, I had to rewrite another draft to fit the synopsis, and the book was better for it (in my opinion, anyway).

I’ve also found that synopses are easier to write months after you’ve finished a book. A bit of distance between you and your hard chosen words clears the air, brings things into sharper focus.

Though I have to say, even several years after finishing some of my books, I still find myself changing things when I re-read the synopsis.