Writing the Synopsis: Solve Your Plot and Sell Your Book

08/6/2025 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm EDT
Fiction/Creative Nonfiction
Workshop

You need a synopsis to sell your book to agents and publishers. Writing it now can solve plot and structure problems, determine which characters belong, and create a map to finish your book.

for Creative Nonfiction, Nonfiction and Fiction

Writers often dread distilling their beautiful story into a dry synopsis—and they’re right! It’s not creative and fun. But the synopsis is not only a requirement for querying and publishing, it’s also a valuable tool to shape your story and get closer to “The End.” A good synopsis gives an overview of your whole book, in an easy-to-process form. By examining turning-point scenes, character objectives, and the underlying dramatic question that propels your book, you’ll know where you’re going and how to get there. 

You’ll be able to send a draft of your working synopsis in advance. Allison will use volunteer examples to show what makes a synopsis work (and what doesn’t!). Then she’ll live-edit participant synopses to show how to reverse-engineer your manuscript from your synopsis to create more tension, power, and literary might. (Please note, she won’t get to everyone: examples will be chosen to benefit the whole group!)

Suitable for writers with a manuscript in any stage from messy early draft to ready-to-query.

A CRAFT TALKS webinar - $25 early bird, $35 regular registration, replay sent to all registrants.

Contact Information

Allison K Williams