by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
Let’s talk about writing a novel synopsis, shall we?
Not a favorite topic of conversation, is it? Sometimes when writers hear the words “write a synopsis,” they react as if they need an appendectomy without any anesthesia.
While writing a synopsis may never be your favorite thing to do, there are steps you can follow that make the process practically pain-free.
For the next few blog posts, I’ll break down writing a synopsis into a series of clear-cut steps. Today we’ll focus on Part 1: The Overview Paragraph.
The overview paragraph is the step I see omitted most often from a book synopsis. I’m thankful bestselling authors Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck taught me the value of beginning a synopsis with an overview paragraph.
Why Do You Need an Overview Paragraph?
As you would suspect, an overview paragraph gives an agent or editor a summary of your book before you dive into the details, while also allowing you to grab the reader’s attention with a hook.
The basics of your overview paragraph include:
- Your first sentence grabs your reader’s attention.
- Two to three sentences summarizing your novel’s plot.
How Can You Hook Your Reader?
There are several different ways you can grab an editor’s or agent’s attention with the first sentence of your overview paragraph:
- Utilize your Story Question: If you’ve developed a Story Question for your novel – and you know how a Story Question fuels your novel, right? – then start with that. EXAMPLE: Is it ever wrong to love someone? This is the Story Question for my novel Somebody Like You.
- Utilize a High Concept Pitch: A high concept pitch is when you grab someone’s attention with a title or a single sentence before they ever see anything you’ve written. EXAMPLE: Can a young widow fall in love with her husband’s reflection? This is how I pitched Somebody Like You before I had a synopsis or even a Story Question for the book.
- Utilize Your Elevator Pitch: Just remember, you can only use a single sentence, so make sure it’s a strong hook from your pitch that will make the editor or agent curious to learn more about your story.
After you land your hook, write two or three more sentences from one of the main character’s points of view (POV), giving a birds-eye-view of the story. Here’s what the overview paragraph looked like for Somebody Like You:
Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection? (HOOK)
When her late-husband’s identical twin brother, Stephen, shows up on her doorstep, Haley Jordan’s barely beginning to heal heart is scraped raw. There’s too much at risk if Haley lets Stephen close—and she didn’t even allow her husband Sam past the barriers surrounding her heart. How can Haley and Stephen honor the memory of a man whose death has brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?
In the remaining paragraphs of the synopsis – whether you’re writing a one-page synopsis or a longer one – you’ll give more details. More about this in my next blog post. For now, focus on polishing a strong summary paragraph.
The award-winning Thatcher Sister Series by Beth K. Vogt, published by Tyndale House, is described as a “Little Women gone wrong” collection of novels highlighting complicated sister relationships in the style of This is Us. NYT bestselling author Lisa Wingate said, “With tenderness and skill, Beth Vogt examines the price of secrets, the weight of tragic loss, and the soul-deep poison of things left unsaid.” The series includes Things I Never Told You, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been. Unpacking Christmas: A Thatchers Sisters Novella, was released in November 2022 by Never Door Press.
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She started out in fiction writing award-winning contemporary romances, including Somebody Like You, which was selected as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. Beth transitioned to women’s fiction with her Thatcher Sister Series, which she calls “a Little Women gone wrong” collection of books highlighting complicated sister relationships. Published by Tyndale House, the series includes Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been. Beth is also a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a RITA® finalist. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation, and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to living with imaginary characters and is also one of Beth’s most trusted brainstormers for her novels. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.