How to Write a Synopsis Agents Want to Read: A Comprehensive Guide for Fiction Writers
$39You've spent months — maybe years — on your manuscript. Don't let a weak synopsis be the reason an agent passes. This 40-page guide breaks down exactly how to get it right.
This guide is the property of Lauren Kay Writes and is for personal use only. It should not be resold or redistributed.
What’s included in this 40-page guide:
What agents are actually looking for when they read your synopsis
A step-by-step framework for building your synopsis section by section — from the old world to the resolution
How a synopsis differs from a query letter — and why you should never just copy your query blurb into your synopsis
Formatting guidelines, length expectations, and what to do when agents don't specify
How to write emotional stakes into your synopsis
Four complete "what NOT to do" synopses with annotations on exactly what's going wrong
Four complete strong synopses with annotations on what's working and why — across fantasy, romance, thriller, and literary fiction
Tips for how to handle dual POV, non-linear timelines, and series vs. standalone novels
The most common synopsis mistakes I see (and how to fix every one of them)
A complete synopsis checklist
And more tools to help your synopsis shine, from a 6-figure debut author who received 8 agent offers
The synopsis is the most dreaded part of the submission package — and the most misunderstood.
Most writers treat the synopsis like a book report: flat, lifeless, and forgettable. But agents aren't reading your synopsis for a summary. They're reading it to see if your story holds together — if the stakes are real, if the arc is complete, and if the ending pays off.
This guide breaks down exactly how to write a synopsis that does all of that. You'll learn a step-by-step framework for drafting your synopsis from scratch, with genre examples at every stage so you can see what each section looks like in practice.
Then you'll study eight full synopsis examples — four showing common mistakes with annotations explaining what's going wrong, and four strong versions with annotations explaining what's working and why.