To write a synopsis, you must first decide whether it is a detailed synopsis or a short synopsis. With a short synopsis you have exactly two pages singled space (or the equivalent double spaced) to tell your main story. The shorter, the better. Consider starting with a 100 word blurb and expanding that blurb, rather than trying to cram everything in.

With a detailed synopsis, you have approximately one double spaced page for every 10,000 words and thus you can add more detail.

You need to discover if the publisher or agent you are targetting wants a short or a detailed synopsis.

There are five things you need to include in any synopsis

1. The setting -- specifically where does the action take place?

2. The main  characters -- what are their major motivations or conflicts both externally and internally.

3. After the magic words, When the novels begins, you tell your main story. If this is a romance, you are telling of the growing attraction and the set backs the couple encounters on the way. If it is a saga, you are telling the story of one woman’s growth arc..

4. The Back Moment. -- how does the story reach its climatic moment, what happens

5. The Resolution, the happy ending. Tell the editor how the story ends.

To get practice  with synopsis writing, try writing a brief 2 page synopsis for every novel you read. If you can do that, you should be able to identify the elements you need to write YOUR synopsis.

Finally remember synopsis writing is an art and requires different skills then novel writing. Do your best and trust in your natural ability to story-tell.

A synopsis can only tell an editor or an agent so much. if she thinks the story might work, she will request a partial (or the first three chapters) to check your writing ability and get a sense or your style. Or she may wish to see the whole manuscript Do not send off a query unless you are prepared to deliver the manuscript within a reasonable length of time.