Rosecliff Literary
DC-based literary agency | where stories find their path | founder @jessicaberg.bsky.social
- Synopses are built for speed, not scenic detours. I promise your book’s side quests, emotional beats, and cool worldbuilding still exist. Just... not here.
- If you struggle with synopses, write one badly on purpose. Seriously. Write the worst, most boring summary possible. Then go back and make it sharper, clearer, and less painful. This works better than trying to get it “perfect” from the start.
- If your synopsis is bloated, try the “AND THEN” test. Read your draft out loud. Every time you naturally want to say and then..., stop. That’s where you’re stuffing too much in. Cut where needed.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryPlus, synopses aren’t for readers. They’re for the people who need to know the spoilers, because they’re helping you refine the story! Editors, agents, critique partners, long-suffering writer friends who are tired of hearing you complain about POVs and timelines— Ahem. People like that!
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryThis. Your query letter is where you can be a little mysterious. Your synopsis has to spill it all.
- “But my book has twists! If I put them in the synopsis, they won’t be surprising anymore!” Right. But if you don’t put them in the synopsis, then your story won’t make sense. And that’s a bigger problem.
- If your synopsis reads like a dry book report, congratulations! You have written an extremely skippable document. Your goal isn’t to summarize your book. It’s to sell the story in a clear, compelling way.
- I know your book is good. Your synopsis doesn’t have to prove that! It just has to clearly show what happens. Editors and agents can fill in the blanks. Just give them something worth filling in.
- Biggest synopsis mistake? Too many names. If I need a seating chart to understand who’s who, I’m out. Keep it simple: main character, main antagonist, key supporting roles. Everyone else is “his friend,” “her brother,” or “the rival.”
- A synopsis is not a vibe check. “I want to show the feeling of my book.” No. That’s the job of your pages. A synopsis is what happens, and why it matters. If your book is emotional, the plot should still convey that.
- Your synopsis should pass the “personally attacked” test. Would a reader who loves your genre feel seen by the way you describe your book? Or would they squint at the page like, why does this sound like a Wikipedia summary?
- A synopsis is a movie trailer in plain text. You’re not cutting to black every two seconds for DRAMATIC EFFECT. But you are giving us the highlights in a way that makes us want to watch the full thing.
- Your book is not too complex for a one-page synopsis. You just don’t want to make decisions.
- A synopsis is a movie trailer in plain text. You’re not cutting to black every two seconds for DRAMATIC EFFECT. But you are giving us the highlights in a way that makes us want to watch the full thing.
- Writing a synopsis is just translating 90K words into 500. While keeping voice, stakes, and clarity. While not panicking. Anyway, how’s your day going?
- ‘Just summarize your book in one page!’ Babe, I haven’t even summarized my life in therapy yet.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryOur featured essay collection at the @barrelhouse.bsky.social conference: IT ALL FELT IMPOSSIBLE by @tmcallister.bsky.social! Join us 4/12/25 in DC and you can leave with a copy of this awesome book (plus lots of other stuff)! Just $85. Hope to see you there! www.barrelhousemag.com/conference
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryNew column is up at @crimereads.bsky.social! This time I looked at @wmboyle4.bsky.social’s Saint of the Narrows Street (@sohopress.bsky.social), TJ Klune’s The Bones Beneath My Skin (@torbooks.bsky.social), and Ricardo Silva Romero’s Río Muerto (World Editions). crimereads.com/gabino-igles...
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryOnly at #AWP25, if you purchase an early release limited edition copy of @lumchanmfa.bsky.social's upcoming collection, BITTER OVER SWEET, you'll be entered to win this beautiful ukulele! Find us at Booth #563 from March 26th-29th!
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryAn #agentsguide to THE SIRENS CALL, mine & @d-and-a-authors.bsky.social ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART X DARK WATER DAUGHTER New Adult Pirate Romantasy that we #amquerying! We would love to put this in front of you so interact and I’ll message you! 🏴☠️ #WritingCommunity
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryPosting an #editorsguide for my international heist thriller going out on sub 😊 💎So many lies 💎Tight circle of suspects 💎Heists 💎Strong female protagonist 💎Love triangle #A #T #Heist @roseclifflit.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryLOL, am I the only one obsessively refreshing my inbox five minutes after sending out query letters? Yes, I know it’s the weekend. Yes, I know replies take weeks(if they reply even.) Yes, I'm still checking. 😁 #WritingCommunity #amquerying
- Reposted by Rosecliff Literaryjust got my pictures back from my Marrakech film and ironically the picture I took of my wilted daffs to finish the roll has ended up being my favourite one of all
- Y'all know Jess always wants gothic vibes. Old houses, eerie landscapes, creeping dread. Horror? Mystery? Literary? Doesn’t matter. If your book feels like a haunted house you can’t leave, send it. #MSWL
- Not just office romance—Jessica wants workplace fiction with real stakes. Power struggles, high-pressure environments, complications that cut deep. Give her tension, drama, and narrative gold. #MSWL
- Synopses are where writers break out their worst verbs. The story follows... the character journeys… events unfold… tensions rise… No. Make it specific. Make it sharp. The way you describe the plot should sound like your book.
- Want to finally crack the code on writing synopses? 👀 Next Thurs 3/13 7pm, @jessicaberg.bsky.social is teaching a no-fluff, all-clarity class on how to write a synopsis that actually works—hosted by @thewriterscenter.bsky.social writer.org/event/40-pop...
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryI was reading a novel that was so beautifully written but had so much torture in it and then it occurred to me that I could just put it down and not finish it and this is personal growth.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiterarySince it's International Women's Day, and a bunch of white nationalist misogynists seem intent on making life miserable for the rest of us... can I interest anyone in Tradwife? Could be cathartic. It certainly was for me payhip.com/b/TDowG
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryI like to think of it as GOODFELLAS in a country club. 🥂🥂🥂
- Dark romance? Like…real dark? Yes. Spicy sports romance? Extra points if it’s unhinged. If your book has tension that makes people feral, Jess wants it. #MSWL
- 🖤 Tommy’s always here for crime novels with anti-heroes. Give him leads who should walk away but don’t. The ones who know better but can’t help themselves. Morally gray, ethically messy, impossible to forget. #MSWL
- Your synopsis is not a proof of concept. You don’t need to explain why the book works. You just need to show what happens in a way that makes sense. Treat it like an efficient post-game recap, not a TED Talk.
- Jess, in an interview: Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to be patient, strategic, and trust the process. also Jess, watching an email refresh wheel spin for two full seconds: This is unacceptable. I am owed answers immediately. Anyway, watch here! www.youtube.com/watch?mc_cid...
- “Should I include spoilers in my synopsis?” Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes. The synopsis is not the query. It’s not a teaser. It is the full plot. If you’re writing “But will she survive?” at the end… guess what? You just failed the test. Tell us what happens.
- 🚨 Tommy Dean’s Spring #MSWL is here. 🚨 He’s looking for crime, mystery, suspense, and thrillers that pull him under and refuse to let go. High stakes. Big consequences. Characters with pasts that won’t stay buried.
- @jessicaberg.bsky.social worked on queries today and UMMM these full requests are FLYING out of here like I’m she's running a literary Black Friday doorbuster sale (she's not … but imagine). 🚀📚
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryVery true 💯
- Reposted by Rosecliff Literary@jessicaberg.bsky.social and I will discuss our experiences of being open to queries! Check us out on IG tomorrow! @roseclifflit.bsky.social
- Spring wishlist: Jessica wants thrillers that wreck you. Domestic suspense where the walls are closing in. Social thrillers that cut deep. Psychological horror that lingers. If your story makes readers question everything, send it. #MSWL
- Writing a synopsis is like writing a dating profile. Too vague? No matches. Too detailed? No one cares. Too clever? Suspicious. You’re not trying to tell your life story ... you’re trying to get someone to say hmm, tell me more.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryARGH! I have been ITCHING to share this INCREDIBLE cover for my weird, uncomfortable, antsy folk horror novel ITCH! AND NOW I CAN! ISN'T SHE A ZINGER? SO PINK! SO SCRATCHY! SO ITCHY! OUT FROM HODDER & STOUGHTON, October 2025 Cover design: Saffron Stocker PREORDER: shorturl.at/ybN1z
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryI'm not doomscrolling, I'm just trying new screams
- HERE FOR ALL THE WEIRD (especially all the weird horror!!)
- Weird friends! It's publication day for the beautiful grotesquerie that is Weird Horror 10! An unbelievably stacked ToC! Provocative and transcendent fiction. Head on over to our site and grab a print or digital copy. Indie publishing can use your support. Thank you! www.weirdhorrormagazine.com
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryThis week’s guest is Rhonda Schlumpberger, EIC of Intrepidus Ink! We’ll sample stories from the magazine & read some of Rhonda’s own fantastic fiction! Read along with us! @intrepidusink.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryAs silly as it may seem, the Goodreads giveaway is one of those milestones I have been waiting for for so long. If you’re on Goodreads, enter to win one of 10 early copies of DOLL PARTS coming August 26, 2025. 
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryPlanning to spend spring break sending 100+ postcards to indie bookstores asking them to stock CLOSER. Plz tell me your fave indie to add to my list.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryOver the moon that Small Rain is a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. I'm honored to be among these writers. www.penfaulkner.org/2025/03/03/a... @penfaulkner.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryAny literary agents attending #awp25? I’d love to connect and build a circle of support!
- Jess is craving contemporary historical (1960s-90s) with a voice. Think Demon Copperhead but for another era. Literary-leaning, immersive, and the kind of book people argue about. #MSWL
- 🌷 Jessica’s Spring 2025 MSWL: Give Me the Darkness, Give Me the Drama 🌷 Listen, Jessica’s in her era ... she wants thrillers that ruin your sleep, romances that make you question your morals, and mysteries with tension so thick you could spread it on toast.
- This month, we're making it easier for you to write your synopsis. TL;dr - you're over thinking it.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryExciting news to close ACCOMPLISHMENT SUNDAY 🤩 Contributor @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social is now an agent with @roseclifflit.bsky.social with a love for mystery and thrillers!! Learn more and read submission guidelines here: buff.ly/iRQSG1n
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryDo read this really excellent judge’s report by @sfreligh.bsky.social where as well as comments on our top five she includes special mentions of stories by @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social Trudy Mensah & Letty Butler www.bathflashfictionaward.com/2025/02/judg...
- Reposted by Rosecliff Literary📚 Book Giveaway For The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet! 📚 If you're based in US/Canada, enter this Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a print copy of my sapphic 🏳️🌈 historical romance!
- DELIGHTED to welcome Tommy to the team!!
- No more secrets! I'm so excited to announce that I'm a literary agent with @roseclifflit.bsky.social and I'm open to queries on Friday! Huge thanks to @jessicaberg.bsky.social for the encouragement and mentorship! MSWL below!
- If you’ve been here a minute, you know Rosecliff thrives on seasonal MSWL drops. Sure, spring should be all about renewal ... but step outside. The world is literally on fire. So, of course, @jessicaberg.bsky.social wants books that burn.
- We’re open to everything (except AI books, obviously). But if you want to make us feral with excitement, check out our seasonal wishlist. The next one drops March 1. Think of it like a cheat code for our inbox. We’ll still read everything though :) #MSWL #AmQuerying
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryPoets & prose writers, scholars, students, editors, publishers! Submit session proposals for Lit Youngstown's 9th Fall Lit Fest Oct 16-18 in Youngstown, Oh! by Feb 28 #writingcommunity @prairie-schooner.bsky.social @tinhouse.bsky.social @blackearthinst.bsky.social @nobabooks.bsky.social
- CRISIS: All my G2 pens are GONE. Just... vanished. Now it’s just me, a felt tip, and the fragile grip I have on this workday. Accepting thoughts, prayers, and emergency resupplies. 🚑✍️
- There are things agents fear. Not ghosts or even the query queue itself. But this will make a clichéd chill run down my spine every time. 📜 “My book is like nothing you’ve ever read before.” 📜 “No title yet, but trust me.” We say this w/ 🖤: Be brave. Be clear. Give us a hook, not a mystery.
- Reposted by Rosecliff LiteraryToday is our birthday! Electric Sheep has been hosting guest authors, craft discussions, and readings for 4 years! We've had more than 100 guest authors & editors, and we've read & shared almost 1000 spec short stories & articles. Thanks to everyone who has visited & supported us!
