Writing a synopsis

This page explains what a synopsis is, what our editors look for in one, and how to write yours. You'll also find a short example.

What a synopsis is

A synopsis is a summary of your whole book, including how it ends. It is not the blurb on the back cover, which is written to make readers curious. An editor uses your synopsis to see whether the story or argument holds together from beginning to end.

Length and format

• 500 to 1,000 words. Under 500 usually leaves out too much; over 1,000 becomes hard to follow.
• Written in the third person and the present tense ("Mira returns to Kolkata…", not "Mira returned…").
• Plain paragraphs. No headings, bullet points or chapter-by-chapter breakdown.
• You'll paste it into a text box on the form, so keep a copy in a plain text file.

What to include

For fiction

1. The opening: who your main character is, where and when the story is set, and what they want.
2. The problem: what gets in their way and what's at stake.
3. The key turns: the three or four events that change the course of the story.
4. The ending: how it resolves. Always include the ending. Editors need to know you can land the book.
5. The heart of it: one or two sentences on what the book is really about.

Name only the main characters (three to five). Write character names in capitals the first time they appear, for example "MIRA SEN, 34".

For poetry

Instead of a plot summary, write about the collection as a whole: its themes, how it is organised, the forms you use, and how the poems speak to each other. 300 to 500 words is enough.

For non-fiction

Explain the book's central idea or argument, how the chapters build it, the sources or experience you draw on, and who the book is for. Mention two or three comparable recent books and how yours is different.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out the ending to "keep the suspense".
• Listing every subplot and minor character.
• Explaining the themes instead of showing them through what happens.
• Selling the book ("a gripping, unforgettable story") instead of describing it.

A short example

This example is about 200 words. Yours will be longer and more detailed.

When her father dies, MIRA SEN, 34, a translator in Bengaluru, returns to the crumbling family house in north Kolkata she has avoided for ten years. She plans to sell it within a month. But her aunt RUMA, who has lived there all her life, refuses to leave, and among her father's papers Mira finds letters suggesting he had another family.

As Mira tracks down the letters' author, she meets ARJUN, a schoolteacher who turns out to be her half-brother. Their tentative friendship falls apart when Mira learns that Ruma knew about Arjun all along and helped keep him hidden.

Forced to choose between selling the house and honouring her father's wish that it be shared, Mira splits the proceeds three ways and moves Ruma into a flat nearby. The novel ends on the morning the house is handed over, with Mira and Arjun walking its rooms together for the first and last time.

The River House is a novel about inheritance: what we are given, what we hide, and what we choose to pass on.

Next steps

Next, write your author bio.