The dreaded synopsis. Anyone who’s chosen the traditional path into publishing know that these pesky buggers are enough to drive a writer to drink… literally.

I have good news and bad. The good news is I’ve found a solution to help keep your liver in tact. The bad, no matter how much you might hate writing these little darlings a synopsis is the only way of selling your book to a publisher. You will have to learn.

Over the years I’ve read so many posts on this subject it felt like my eyeballs were bleeding. What surprised me most was that very few ever mentioned story beats, never mind using them for a synopsis. Which is why I’ve decided to share my discovery.

When you use story beats to create your synopsis something amazing happens. All that pressure weighing down your shoulders, crushing your literary spirit, while you try to…