Write a novel synopsis that opens the agent's door — not the rejection pile.
A synopsis is written in present tense, third person, ending revealed. One page for HarperCollins, four pages for Penguin Random House, 300 characters for online platforms: Extypis reads your entire novel and produces the exact version each destination expects, without you rewriting from scratch.
Structure
A synopsis that holds answers five questions, in order.
Who? What do they want? What stops them? How do they succeed or fail? What changes in the world?
Pre-structured synopsis canvas built on the condensed dramatic arc: initial situation, inciting incident, stakes and obstacles, climax, revealed resolution. Drawn from Christopher Vogler (Hero's Journey) and John Truby (desire → need → revelation, from The Anatomy of Story). You fill in, the skeleton holds.
From the last line of the novel to the synopsis that lands.
Isolate the main arc, write too long, cut ruthlessly, check the five questions, get a second read. Five steps mapped by Extypis, so you don't restart from zero on every submission.
Step 01
Isolate the main narrative arc
Before the first sentence, answer in three lines: what does your protagonist want, what opposes it, how does it end? Those three lines are the skeleton. Anything that doesn't connect to them — secondary subplot, peripheral character, scene you love — stays out of the synopsis.
Step 02
Let the AI read your novel
Extypis's AI doesn't generate a generic synopsis: it reads your project. Your chapters, your character sheets, your key events, your conflicts. It proposes a first version — chronological, present tense, third person, with the ending. You start from a faithful text, not a blank page.
Step 03
Cut ruthlessly
First draft at 1,500 words, final version at 700. Every sentence must move the main arc forward. Cap at 3-4 named characters (the rest: « her brother », « his colleague »). No metaphors, no quoted dialogue, no cliffhanger. This is the step that separates a synopsis that lands from one that ends in the rejection stack.
Step 04
Check the five questions
Who? What do they want? What stops them? How do they succeed or fail? What changes in the world? If a single answer is missing, the synopsis is incomplete. Extypis flags the questions without a clear answer and proposes a bridging sentence.
Step 05
Decline by destination
One version isn't enough. A literary agent doesn't read like a Big Five publisher, who doesn't read like a contest panel, who doesn't read like the back cover of an online novel. Extypis keeps in the same project the 1-page version, the 4-page version, the short pitch — each derived from the same base, so factually consistent.
Step 06
Submit cleanly
Title page with contact details, Times 12, double-spaced, paginated, standard margins. Direct DOCX export, no detour through Word. The submission package leaves with cover letter, synopsis, and first 30-50 pages — all from the same project, in the right formats.
The synopsis is where good novels die.
Not for lack of story. For lack of method to condense it without betraying it.
« My synopsis is longer than my novel. »
You want to save everything — every arc, every character, every scene you love. Result: 4,000 words, unreadable. The committee moves to the next manuscript.
The Extypis answer
Pre-structured canvas that constrains you to the main arc only. The AI isolates key events, drops secondary subplots, proposes a faithful 700-word version. You cut what you want, but you start short.
« I can't condense 80 secondary characters. »
A saga with a three-generation family tree is unpresentable as a synopsis. Erasing everyone betrays the work, keeping everyone drowns the reader.
The Extypis answer
Cap at 3-4 named characters. Others become functions (« her brother », « his colleague », « the director »). The AI proposes the right level of granularity for the target length — 1 page or 4 pages — and automatically detects redundancies.
« I don't know if I should reveal the ending. »
It's the question that comes up at every workshop. You're afraid of burning the suspense. You hold back the ending. And the agent passes.
The Extypis answer
Absolute golden rule: a synopsis reveals the ending. That's what proves your arc holds, that you know where you're going, that the story resolves. Extypis detects « to find out what happens, read the novel » and flags it as an amateur tell.
« My synopsis for Penguin doesn't have the right format for HarperCollins. »
Each house has its requirements: length, layout, section order, title page, contact details. You patch it up every submission, you risk errors, you waste time that should be spent writing.
The Extypis answer
Multiple versions of the synopsis coexist in the same project. DOCX export by destination, already to spec: agents (Curtis Brown, Andrew Wylie, Janklow & Nesbit), publishers (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Hachette US), contests. Pick the destination, the right file comes out.
« I write my synopsis AFTER forgetting the first 30 pages. »
You finish the manuscript in September, you tackle the synopsis in November. Chapter 3 — what was that again? You reread, you lose two days, you write a synopsis too focused on the ending and vague on the beginning.
The Extypis answer
The AI reads your full novel in one call. No going back, no memory reconstruction. The generated synopsis covers the whole arc, from chapter 1 to resolution, with the right beats in the right places. You correct what doesn't ring true, you don't rewrite everything.
Three levers to clear the editor's filter.
Generate a faithful first version, decline by destination, ship the spec-DOCX — without reinventing the method on each submission.
The AI reads your novel and proposes a faithful synopsis.
Hero's Journey or free narrative plan, character sheets, key events. The AI draws on your whole project to write a first version in present tense, third person, ending included.
Structured narrative plan
Beat-sheet structured around three reputable frameworks, with automatic narrative health and chapter mapping.
AI writing assistant
Conversational AI assistant in the sidebar, color-coded quotes highlighted in the text and one-click rewriting from any passage.
AI narrative element generator
Characters, places, events, themes… generated by AI with optional illustration.
@character mentions
Insert clickable mentions to your characters, locations and objects.
8 narrative element types
Dedicated cards for characters, locations, conflicts, themes, objects and more.
One base, as many synopses as destinations.
1-page agent synopsis, 4-page detailed synopsis, 300-character short pitch for online platforms. All versions live in the same project, stay consistent with each other, update together.
Storyboard
Story overview with summaries, labels, quick preview and scene reordering.
Non-linear writing
Write scenes in any order, then reorganize them freely.
AI rewriting in your text
Select any passage and let AI suggest a rewording right inside the editor.
AI continuity check
AI automatically detects contradictions, forgotten arcs and inconsistencies in your story, and saves the report.
From synopsis to submission package, no patch-up.
DOCX export to each agent's spec. Title page with contact details, pagination, optional dedication. The synopsis ships alongside the cover letter and first chapters, in coherence.
Multi-format export
Export to PDF, DOCX, EPUB, HTML, Markdown or full archive.
PDF export (LaTeX)
Generate polished PDFs with true typographic quality.
Front matter and back matter
Preface, afterword, dedication, epigraph, table of contents (at the start or the end?): publishing has conventions no author really learns. Extypis guides you through every editorial fixture — title page, cover auto-cropped to book format, ISBN, copyright, opening and closing sections — and lets you reorder or hide any of them at export.
Everything Extypis unlocks for you
Five concrete capabilities: structure, write, (use AI 🤫), analyse, publish.
Hold your story, from outline to final page.
Narrative tools you won't find elsewhere — turn a tangle of ideas into a structure that holds.
AI that suggests, never replaces
The AI permanently sees your whole project — outline, sheets, scenes already written. Every rewrite, every completion, every suggestion, every cover stays consistent with your entire work, and at no extra cost or setup. You approve every word.
Estimates if you only use this feature. Credits are shared across every AI tool.
Ship a book, not a file.
From manuscript to finished book: professional exports, academic citations, direct publishing.
Analyse and refine your prose
Style tools that go beyond the spell-checker: readability, poetic meter, repetitions, connectors, passive voice.
Daily writing comfort
Everything that makes long-form writing sustainable: shortcuts, templates, anchored notes, versions, goals.
Lifetime updates
Every future Extypis innovation included, no extra cost, no paywall.
Backing an indie project
Extypis is an independent, self-funded project — no ads, no venture capital.
Human support
Got a question? You talk directly to the creator, never a chatbot.
Free to begin, even to submit. Serious when you write seriously.
The synthesis work is yours. The subscription gives you a copilot that reads your full novel, derives multiple versions, and checks compliance with the narrative voice editors expect.
Common questions, straight answers.
How long should a synopsis be for a literary agent?
One A4 page, around 700 words in Times 12, double-spaced. Most agents (Curtis Brown, Andrew Wylie, Janklow & Nesbit) and Big Five publishers expect a short, factual synopsis with the ending revealed. Some publishers accept up to 4 pages of detailed breakdown depending on the work's format. Extypis generates both versions from the same project — you pick which to send.
Should I reveal the novel's ending in the synopsis?
Yes, always. It's the absolute golden rule. The synopsis is not a back cover: it's not a tool to seduce the end reader, but a technical document for the acquisition committee. The agent needs to know how the plot resolves to assess the coherence of your arc. Any phrase like « to find out what happens, read the novel » sends the manuscript straight to rejection. Extypis detects these phrases and flags them.
Does Extypis generate a synopsis automatically?
Yes, Extypis's AI reads your full novel then proposes a faithful synopsis. It draws on your chapters, character sheets, key events, conflicts. The result is written in present tense, third person, chronologically ordered, with the resolution revealed. You validate or correct sentence by sentence — the AI proposes, you decide. AI use is never required: you can write the synopsis manually, the canvas and structural checklist remain available.
How to write a synopsis without falling into a flat chronological summary?
Fluidity comes from the dramatic arc, not from style. A synopsis isn't the place to showcase your prose. But it must show tension: the protagonist's desire, what opposes it, what changes in them (Truby's method: desire → need → revelation, from The Anatomy of Story; or Save the Cat for the beat-by-beat structure). If each paragraph answers one of the five markers (situation, inciting incident, obstacles, climax, resolution), the text breathes. Extypis flags passages where tension drops — typically, an event list with no stake attached.
Synopsis for a literary contest vs synopsis for an online platform: what's the difference?
Everything. A synopsis for a literary contest stays close to the standard agent synopsis: 1-2 pages, factual, ending revealed. A pitch for an online platform (Wattpad, Royal Road, Inkitt) is a back cover in disguise: 200-500 characters, hook tone, does NOT reveal the ending (the goal is to seduce readers, not convince a committee). Extypis generates both from the same project, with no use-case confusion.
Can I have multiple synopses (1 page / 4 pages / 300-char pitch) in the same project?
Yes, it's the recommended practice. An Extypis project can hold as many synopsis versions as you want: 1-page version for agents, 4-page version for publishers, short pitch for online platforms, contest version. All derive from your novel, stay consistent with each other, update when you change the manuscript. Export the chosen version directly to DOCX, no detour through Word.
Start with a synopsis canvas and let Extypis's AI generate a first version from your novel.
A synopsis is hours of work, not weeks — provided you have the method and a tool that reads your novel instead of asking you to summarise everything by hand. The synopsis is the first sentence of your work an editor reads. Make it count.