A Strong One-Page Synopsis Supports Your Submission

While your novel extract is the most important element of your submission, your synopsis plays a key supporting role. A strong one-page synopsis will get us straight to the heart of your book, and enable us to pinpoint the “who, what, where and when” of where your story goes. Here are the key elements we hope to find.

The Pitch

Opening with your pitch gets a one-page synopsis off to a flying start. Writing in the third person, present tense, introduce your main character and setting, followed by the central catalyst and resolution of your book. For example, here’s the pitch Abi Daré used in her submission for The Girl with the Louding Voice: “14-year-old Lagos housemaid refuses to accept her fate – she wants an education and to get a ‘louding voice’.” 

Paragraph One: Tell Us How Your Novel Starts

In your first paragraph, tell us how your novel starts. Who is your main character? What is their situation at the start of the book? What are they hoping to achieve? Why is this important to them? What is the inciting incident that starts the main character’s conflict and journey? Focus on your main characters and use simple, declarative sentences for clarity and brevity. If you need to mention minor characters, just say ‘their doctor’, ‘their neighbour’, ‘new classmate’ etc.

Part Two: Show Us How Your Plot Unfolds 

Next, set out what happens in the mid-section of your book. This is likely to be the longest part of your synopsis. Here, we are looking a sense of your main character’s arc as well as the main plot points. What gets in the way of what your main character is trying to achieve? How does this conflict affect them? Who is helping your character towards their goal and who is hindering them? What is the turning point for your character that sets them on the path to either achieving or not achieving their goal?

Final Paragraph: Tell Us How Your Novel Ends

In your final paragraph, explain how your book concludes. How does your character try to solve the conflict? What happens in the climax of your book? Is your main character better or worse off at the end of the novel? Include your ending and any plot twists. 

Formatting your synopsis

Present your synopsis at the end of your novel extract, as the final page of your submission document. It should fit onto one A4 page and be single-spaced in a 12 point easy-to-read font.

Related read – The novel synopsis: ten literary agents offer their advice

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