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Query Letter vs Synopsis: What Each Does and When
Self-published thriller author who treats every book like a product, not a lottery ticket.
A query letter is a one-page pitch that makes an agent want to read your book. A synopsis is a plain summary of the whole plot, ending included, that shows the agent the story holds together. The query sells; the synopsis proves.
Most agents ask for the query every time and the synopsis some of the time, so you need both ready before you send your first batch. They are not two lengths of the same document, and writing one as if it were the other is the most common mistake.
StoryWith AI is our own product, so weigh what we say about it accordingly.
Key takeaways
- Query letter: about 250 to 350 words. A hook, a short pitch of the story's setup and stakes, the book's title, genre and word count, comp titles and a short bio.
- Synopsis: usually one or two pages, about 500 to 1,000 words single spaced. The whole plot from start to finish, written in third person present tense.
- The ending: the synopsis must reveal it. The query usually leaves it out, though at least one former agent says spoilers in a query are fine.
- When: some agents want the synopsis with the first query; others ask for it with a partial or full request. Follow each agent's guidelines.
- Neither is a blurb. A back-cover blurb is sales copy for readers. A synopsis is a working document for an agent or editor.
What is the difference between a query letter and a synopsis?
Writer's Digest put it in two sentences in 2009, and the definitions still hold: "A query is a one-page letter that explains what you've written, who you are, and why the agent should represent you." And "A synopsis is a front-to-back telling of what happens in your story."
Here is the full comparison.
| Query letter | Synopsis | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Make the agent want to read the pages | Show the agent the whole story works |
| Length | About 250 to 350 words, one page | Usually one or two pages, about 500 to 1,000 words single spaced |
| Covers | The setup, the protagonist, the central conflict and the stakes | Every major plot turn, from opening to final page |
| Ending | Usually left out | Always included |
| Voice | Your book's tone, with a hook | Plain and clear; tone is secondary |
| Person and tense | A letter from you to the agent | Third person present tense (first person is acceptable for memoir) |
| Extras | Title, genre, word count, comp titles, short bio | None; just the story |
| Who asks | Almost every agent | Many agents, at query stage or later |
Definitions from Writer's Digest (Chuck Sambuchino, 30 January 2009). Query length from Nathan Bransford (2008, updated 30 May 2019). Synopsis length, person and tense from Jane Friedman, "How to Write a Novel or Memoir Synopsis" (updated 11 September 2025). All read on 20 October 2026.
What goes in a query letter?
A query letter has three parts: the pitch, the book's details and you.
The pitch is the story's setup in a few short paragraphs: who the protagonist is, what they want, what stands in the way and what they stand to lose. The 2009 Writer's Digest piece puts the pitch at 3 to 8 sentences. It stops before the ending, at the point where the reader has to know what happens next.
The book's details are the title, genre, word count and, usually, two or three comp titles. Our guide to whether your book is ready to query covers what agents check here.
The bio is a line or two on anything relevant to the book: publishing credits, expertise, or nothing at all if you have none yet.
On length, former agent Nathan Bransford found "there is a sweet spot in query word count between 250 and 350 words." Jane Friedman's 2022 query letter class page puts the description of your premise at about 200 to 400 words.
What goes in a synopsis?
Everything that happens, in order, at the level of the main plot and the major turns. Jane Friedman's guidance is widely cited, and its core rules are these:
- Length: a one- or two-page synopsis, about 500 to 1,000 words single spaced, "and use that as your default."
- Person and tense: "third person, present tense (even if your novel is written in first person)." For memoir, she recommends first person.
- The ending: "It shows what happens and who changes, and it has to reveal the ending."
- Names: "it's common to put the name in all caps in the first instance."
Keep the cast small. Name only the characters the plot depends on, and refer to minor ones by role ("the harbourmaster") rather than by name. Leave out subplots that do not change the main story.
Spacing is the one point where sources disagree. Friedman defaults to single spacing. Some agencies' guidelines set their own spacing, and the 2009 Writer's Digest piece sized its longer synopsis against a double-spaced manuscript, about one page per 35 pages of text. The agent's guidelines win.
Do you reveal the ending in a query letter?
Usually not. The pitch should leave the agent wanting the pages, and the synopsis is where the ending goes. An editor quoted in Reedsy's synopsis guide says a query should give "just enough information that they want to know more, but not give the ending away."
There is a dissenting view worth knowing. In a 2023 post, Nathan Bransford tells writers "Do not worry about spoilers in a query letter," adding that "You don't have to tell the agent how the novel ends." His point is that vagueness is the bigger risk: a query that stays vague to protect a twist leaves the agent unable to tell what the story is, and agents rarely find twists surprising anyway.
In the synopsis, there is no debate. Bransford: "You're supposed to spoil everything."
Quotes as listed on Reedsy's synopsis guide (updated 6 March 2026) and Nathan Bransford's blog (6 March 2023) on 20 October 2026.
When do agents ask for a synopsis?
It depends on the agent, so read each submission page. Jane Friedman notes that "Synopses may be required when you first query your work, or you may be asked for it later."
Two examples from agencies' own submission pages, accessed on 20 October 2026:
| Agency | What it asks for |
|---|---|
| Corvisiero Literary Agency (US) | "For fiction, we require a query letter along with a 1-2 page synopsis (includes spoilers and the ending)." |
| DHH Literary Agency (UK) | A single-page synopsis: "We prefer a single page synopsis", one that outlines the whole story with "no cliffhangers." |
Quoted as listed on each agency's submissions page on 20 October 2026. Examples only, not recommendations. Pages were undated.
Some agents read the synopsis last. In a round-up on the Bath Novel Award site, Laura Williams of Greene & Heaton said, "I normally start reading the novel itself, and read the synopsis later." Susan Armstrong of C+W said she dives into the novel, then once she has a sense of the writing will "step back and look at the synopsis." Friedman also notes that "Some agents hate synopses and never read them; this is more typical for agents who represent literary work."
So the synopsis rarely wins you a request on its own. It can lose you one, though, if it shows a middle that wanders or an ending that does not follow from the setup.
Agent quotes as listed on the Bath Novel Award's synopsis advice page (UK agents; published 22 May 2024) on 20 October 2026.
One book, written both ways
Here is a hypothetical upmarket mystery, written once as a query pitch and once as the opening of a synopsis. The book and its characters are invented.
Hypothetical example, not a real book.
As a query pitch:
Nell Hart came back to the island to sell her father's house, not to find his business partner face down in the boathouse. When the storm cuts the ferry and the only witness changes his story overnight, Nell realises that whoever moved the body is still on the island, and that her father's ledger is the one thing every suspect wants.
If she hands it over, she may never learn what happened to her father. If she keeps it, she may not see the mainland again.
As the opening of a synopsis:
NELL HART, 38, returns to the island where she grew up to sell her late father's house. On her first night she finds TOM ASHER, her father's business partner, dead in the boathouse. By morning the body has been moved, and the storm has cut the island off from the mainland.
The harbourmaster, the only witness, tells police he saw no one on the pier. Nell finds her father's ledger hidden in the house and learns that the two men sold the ferry company months before her father's death, without telling the islanders...
The pitch asks a question and stops. The synopsis answers it, in order, all the way to the end. It names the culprit, explains the motive and says what Nell decides. It also uses capitals at first mention and keeps to present tense.
How do the query and synopsis work together?
They should describe the same book. Agents notice when the query promises a thriller and the synopsis reads like family drama, or when a character central to the pitch disappears from the synopsis.
A practical order of work:
- Write the synopsis first. It forces you to set out the plot plainly, and gaps in it often point to gaps in the manuscript.
- Cut the query pitch from it. Take the setup and the central conflict, stop at the turn, and add voice.
- Check them against each other. Same protagonist, same stakes, same genre promise.
- Check them against the pages. If the first chapter does not deliver what the query promises, revise the chapter, not the query.
Then test the letter. The free query letter grader scores the hook, stakes, voice and clarity and flags missing pieces such as comps or a word count. If you are starting from nothing, the query letter generator builds a first draft from six answers.
Is a synopsis the same as a blurb?
No. Jane Friedman warns against confusing a synopsis with "sales copy, or the kind of marketing description that might appear on your back cover."
A blurb is written for readers browsing a shop or a retailer page. It sells, keeps the ending hidden and is a fraction of a synopsis's length. A synopsis is for the agent or editor only. Agent Kate Barker, quoted in the same Bath Novel Award round-up, calls it "a technical document that no reader will ever see." If you need a blurb, our guide to writing a book blurb that sells covers that job.
Where StoryWith AI fits
On Pro and the plans above it (Studio and Founding Lifetime), StoryWith AI's pitch kit generates cover art concepts, title alternatives, a back-cover blurb, a query letter and a submission checklist that says what is still missing, all from your manuscript, as listed on the features and pricing pages on 20 October 2026. It does not write a synopsis; that one is yours.
Where it helps the synopsis is upstream. A synopsis exposes plot problems, and StoryWith AI's analyzers look for the same ones in the manuscript: structure, pacing, continuity and plot holes, and payoffs with no setup, each finding linked to the passage that caused it in one list sorted by severity. If writing your synopsis shows a middle that wanders, that is the place to look.
It is the wrong tool if you want someone to judge your query's market appeal the way an agent would, or to research which agents to send it to. Before you query, you can check an opening of up to about 10,000 words with the free manuscript readiness score, no signup needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the difference between a query letter and a synopsis?
A query letter is a one-page pitch, about 250 to 350 words, that makes an agent want to read your book. A synopsis is a summary of the whole plot, usually one or two pages, that includes the ending and shows the story holds together.
How long should a synopsis be?
Jane Friedman recommends one or two pages, about 500 to 1,000 words single spaced, as a default. Some agents ask for exactly one page, so always check the agent's guidelines first.
Should a synopsis reveal the ending?
Yes, always. Agents use the synopsis to see where the story goes and how it ends. Leaving the ending out, or ending on a cliffhanger, defeats its purpose.
Should a query letter reveal the ending?
Usually not; the pitch stops at the central conflict and the stakes. Former agent Nathan Bransford argues that spoilers in a query are fine and vagueness is the bigger risk, so do not hide what the book is about to protect a twist.
Do I always need a synopsis to query?
No. Some agents ask for it with the query, some ask later with a request for pages, and some do not ask at all. Have one ready before your first batch so you can send it when asked.
What tense and person should a synopsis use?
Third person, present tense, even if the novel is written in first person or past tense. For memoir, Jane Friedman recommends first person.
Is a synopsis the same as a book blurb?
No. A blurb is sales copy for readers and hides the ending. A synopsis is a plain working document for agents and editors and reveals it.
