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When you write your synopsis remember that you are trying to reveal the most concentrated taste of your book. This includes the ending. A synopsis is not the place to hold back on that. I also think it's good to avoid pat phrasing like 'a heartfelt coming of age novel', 'an epic fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien, Rowling or Lewis', or 'a seductive vampire love story like Twilight." Standing out from the crowd is paramount so no comparisons to other novels. Your synopsis should show and never tell that your story is heartfelt, epic, or seductive. Strike any 'generalzation phrasing' out of the sypnosis. Instead, reveal youself as a unique voice. This will be achieved by bold vision, succint words, and specific content.
My last bit of advice involves some research. Take that synopsis into critique group. Listen to the advice of your critiquers. If they have issues, address those issues. If they love it, read it to a few people outside that circle. I would find a children's librarian or someone who is a true bookophile.
These are the words you are hoping for, "I would read that book." Now, this is not something that you put in a query letter, but it something that will feed your confidence when you write that letter.
You want to make sure the copy is absolutely clean. You should be ready to go. Best of luck!
I've covered basic goals of writing a synopsis and also offered some guidance on how to create a framework to begin drilling down that story into a concentrated form.
Writing is lonely business, and I can always use a little help from my friends. Here is a great synopsis starter from talented Trudi Trueit author of the recently released SECRETS OF A LAB RAT -- NO GIRLS ALLOWED (DOGS OK): One thing I do to jumpstart my synopsis neurons is to fill in the blanks of this sentence: This book is about a (blank) who (blanks) (i.e. what does the character want most?). That gets me right to the nuts and bolts of what I want to say, and I usually can come up with something short and catchy.
I'm going to add to Trudi's idea of "catchy". I think what you want to catch is the essence of the voice of the book in that pithy description. I actually write the synopsis from the POV of my character. I don't generally use this version but I do find providential turns of phrase when performing this exercise. This is just like adding a dash of salt to the soup. It's all about the details,folks.
