What should querying writers do, and not do, in their synopsis and when providing comp titles?
With Donovan Levine, Associate Literary Agent, Neighborhood Literary.
Short answer: Treat the synopsis and comps as two distinct tools. A synopsis is a one-to-two page, third-person, present-tense, beat-by-beat summary of the whole story (beginning, middle, and end) that establishes the main characters, the inciting and central conflict, the stakes, and the emotional crux; it favors brevity and flow over cliffhangers and, depending on the agent's guidelines, may include spoilers.
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What is a synopsis and how is it different from a blurb or jacket copy?
Donovan Levine’s advice: A synopsis is a beat-by-beat outline of your main plot; a blurb is the punchier teaser in your query, closer to the jacket copy on the back of a book.
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How do you actually write a synopsis (tense, person, and structure)?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Donovan recommends third person and present tense, beginning with the inciting action and covering the major beginning, middle and ending beats; let themes emerge through the characters and conflict.
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Should you spoil the ending in your synopsis?
Donovan Levine’s advice: It depends on the agent’s guidelines, but Donovan prefers you give the ending away and skip cliffhangers, because the synopsis is where he judges how you execute the plot.
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How long should a synopsis be?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Usually one to two pages; once it runs past three, start cutting, though heavy worldbuilding or a 120K-plus book can justify going longer.
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What is a comp title and what is it for?
Donovan Levine’s advice: A comp is a recent, established book with a premise like yours that signals where it sits on the shelf and who reads it.
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How do you balance originality against fitting the market in your comps?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Use comps to show where your book fits, then add a line or two on why it fits and what sets it apart, so it reads as filling a market gap, not copying one.
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How specific should a comp title be?
Donovan Levine’s advice: A useful comp should make the project easier to picture and narrow its audience or shelf position; a mega-franchise is usually too broad unless the comparison identifies one precise, defensible element.
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How recent do comp titles need to be, and should you chase trends?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Keep comps recent, ideally within five years, and don’t chase trends: the multi-year publishing pipeline means a trend can pass before your book ships.
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Can you comp to movies or TV instead of books?
Donovan Levine’s advice: It depends on the agent. Donovan, who has a film background, is fine with screen comps, but to be safe most writers should lean on books, and keep any comp recent.
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How well should you know a comp title, and where can you research comps?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Donovan says reading every comp in full is not always necessary, but writers must research accurately through sources such as Goodreads, Amazon, recommendation sites and Publishers Marketplace when available.
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How do synopses and comps differ for nonfiction versus fiction?
Donovan Levine’s advice: Nonfiction uses a proposal with an overview, not a synopsis, and can spend a full page justifying each comp, where a fiction query keeps comps to a line or two.
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About the agent
Donovan Levine is an associate literary agent at Neighborhood Literary in Philadelphia, representing adult and young adult genre fiction, crime thrillers, adventure, family saga, and select nonfiction. He has been agenting for about three years and also works as an author, copy editor, and journalist. As a publishing professional, his goal is to amplify voices from underrepresented communities and parts of the world, and to advance meaningful literature and lived experiences in whatever shape that may take.