At some point, every writer will need to write a synopsis of their completed book. But too often we put off writing these until the last minute. As a result, synopses often share common weaknesses. This class will explore the standard features of the synopsis, the most common mistakes synopsis writers make, and how a weak synopsis might reflect deeper structural concerns in your manuscript. Any synopses submitted ahead of time will receive an additional edit by the instructor.

Richard Z. Santos is a writer and teacher in Austin. He has an MFA from Texas State University. His fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in multiple publications including The Morning News, The Texas Observer, The San Antonio Express News, The Rumpus, and many more. He is a regular reviewer and features writer for Kirkus Reviews. Authors he has interviewed include David Mitchell, Sandra Cisneros, James McBride, Daniel Alarcon, Kevin Powers, and others. He moderates panels for the Writer’s League and the Texas Book Festival. He has judged a category, or two, for the WLT Manuscript Contest multiple times. In a previous career, Richard worked for some of the nation’s top political consulting firms, national campaigns, and labor unions.