Writing a Business Plan for Your Book: The Summary/Synopsis

The first section of the business plan for a book contains the “Overview”–we talked about that last week. (Click here to go there…)

Today, we continue the process of writing a business plan for your book with a look at the second section: the Summary (or the Synopsis).

Some authors write the synopsis before the manuscript. Others work from an outline, while others prefer to write the synopsis once the manuscript is complete. (This is more common in fiction, though not a universal rule.) Authors who write the synopsis first may want to revisit it once the book is finished to ensure conformity, though that’s not absolutely necessary unless the synopsis is needed for sales or marketing purposes.

When preparing a business plan for your book, you’ll need at least a brief synopsis (less than a page). You can use a brief narrative summary, your writing outline (if you use one), or a complete synopsis for the second section of your book’s business plan. 

When it comes to learning how to write an outline or synopsis, craft books, online resources, and courses abound. However, since I try to keep these posts as practical as possible, I’m also going to review my method for writing an effective book synopsis. If this method doesn’t work for you, there are many other good ones available at a click of the keys.)

In my own business plans, I use my writing outline as section 2 to begin with, and write a synopsis after the novel is completed (if I need one; often, I don’t). I’ll write a separate post about outlining later in the month; for today, we’re talking about the synopsis.

Here’s my method for synopsis writing:

Step 1: Write the manuscript. This method works from a completed manuscript, as opposed to writing the manuscript afterward. Later in the month, I’ll write a post about writing an outline in advance, so stay tuned if that’s more your thing. 

Step 2: Open a copy of the manuscript and also a new word processing document (in a separate window). Your synopsis will officially begin with a back-jacket-style blurb about the book as a whole, but leave that step for last. It will be easier once you have the rest put together.

Step 3: Read the first chapter of the manuscript, and summarize it in one sentence. ONE. One only. Do not pass go, do not collect multiple semicolons. Continue through the entire manuscript, summarizing each chapter in a single sentence. Don’t worry about harmonizing them yet.

Remember, as you go, that although your manuscript may be written in one of many tenses, synopses are always written in third person present tense. “Hiro sees a body. Hiro finds the killer.” This generally isn’t negotiable.

It’s OK if your first draft is sloppy. Here’s the first draft Chapter 1 summary sentence from my upcoming novel, Claws of the Cat:

“Just before dawn, a messenger summons Hiro and Father Mateo to the Sakura Teahouse, claiming that SAYURI, an entertainer and recent Christian convert, has been accused of murdering AKECHI HIDEYOSHI, a samurai.”

We’ll see how that sentence changed in the final draft a little later.

Don’t worry about getting the prose perfect in the first draft. Focus on summarizing what happens in that chapter. You will notice, also, that many of the bells and whistles, supporting details and super-awesome-spy-toys will not appear in the synopsis. That’s okay. Take a deep breath and keep chugging through.

Synopsis Step 4: Once your first-pass summary is complete, and every chapter of your manuscript has become a sentence in the synopsis, put the manuscript away – it’s time to edit the synopsis. Edit and polish the prose as if the synopsis was a manuscript in its own right.

Let’s revisit Claws of the Cat. Here’s the final version of that same Chapter 1 sentence:

At dawn on May 16, 1565, a messenger summons Hiro and Father Mateo to Kyoto’s Sakura teahouse, where an entertainer named SAYURI stands accused of murdering a retired general, AKECHI HIDEYOSHI.

(Note: I don’t particularly like the use of the date. I think it’s clunky and would probably do it a little differently next time. That said, it does convey the historical nature of the novel – and remember, it’s still not the blurb.)

You’ve finished editing when your synopsis is no more than two pages long and reads smoothly aloud. Many authors (myself included) like to produce both a one-page and a two-page version of the synopsis.

Step 5: Writing the book-jacket blurb that starts the synopsis. By now, you’ve just finished going through the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb, summarizing each chapter and hopefully getting a good feel for the novel as a whole.

The blurb can be one sentence, similar to a logline, or a 2-3 sentence paragraph. The blurb should summarize “what the book is about” and entice a reader to read on. Here’s the one from my synopsis of Claws of the Cat:

When a samurai is murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja HIRO HATTORI has two days to find the killer in order to save the life of FATHER MATEO AVILA DE SANTOS, the Jesuit priest that Hiro has pledged his own life to protect.

Short, clear, and to the point. If you read no more than this, you understand the novel’s genre (mystery), location (Kyoto), protagonist and antagonist (a master ninja and a killer), and the stakes (the death of the man the protagonist is sworn to protect).

Step 6: Leave the synopsis alone for 2-5 days, and then go back for one more editing pass. The “time element” is important because it gives you necessary distance from the writing.

When editing your synopsis, watch out for:

– Passive voice, passive verbs, and the wicked “to be” – replace these with active verbs and active voice. Eliminate “to be” whenever possible.

– Overuse of adjectives. To misquote the old parenting proverb: “first time is funny, second time is silly, third time deserves a spanking.” This applies equally to use of the same adjective(s) in different places and also to use of multiple adjectives in a string to describe a single object. If you need more than one, you need to think about cutting them.

– Pronouns. “He” and “she” often create ambiguity. Pay special attention to sentence structure and use pronouns only when their meanings are absolutely clear.

These tips may not make writing synopses easy, but hopefully I’ve given a road map any author can follow to a successful synopsis and summary. Please join me next week as we dive into the next section of the book business plan, and as always please speak up with any questions or comments! I love to hear from you!