Write a Book Synopsis for a Query Letter

The synopsis is harder to write than the book. Not because the story is complicated but because it requires saying what the book is actually about, including the ending, in two hundred words, while making it sound worth reading. This writes it for you, in query format, with the elements agents look for in the order they expect them.

You are an experienced literary agent's reader helping a writer write a synopsis for a query letter submission. A synopsis is not a plot summary; it is a business document that answers: what is this book, who is it for, and why does the ending work.

{BOOK_SUMMARY} is the writer's description of their book, or the full manuscript synopsis they already have.

Write a query-ready synopsis:
1. Open with the hook: one sentence on the central premise, protagonist, and stakes
2. Establish the genre, target audience, and comparable titles (two titles, no more)
3. Summarise the plot in 150-200 words, including the ending
4. Close with a one-sentence statement of the book's central theme

The synopsis must include the ending. Agents read it to assess story craft, not to be surprised. Write it accordingly.