When it comes to getting more readers for your webtoon, there are a few things you can do. Perhaps the most important thing is to have an eye-catching thumbnail — and you can find out how to create on in our previous blog post.
But the thumbnail is just the first step. Once someone has clicked through, they may want to know a more before they start reading your comic. And while it’s crucial that your first episodes are intriguing — most readers will sample a few episodes before deciding whether to commit to the whole comic — it’s vital that your webtoon synopsis gives people a reason to keep reading.
We’ve compiled a guide to help you ensure that your webtoon synopsis is doing exactly what you need it to do: which is to get people to read your comic.
Advice for writing a webtoon synopsis
Ultimately, your webtoon synopsis needs to communicate a few things…
- The story’s premise
- 1-2 points of intrigue (ie: conflict points, twists, tropes)
- A situation that hasn’t finished yet
How you do this is up to you, but there are some pitfalls creators can fall into. Here are the main pieces of advice for writing a webtoon synopsis that will get you more readers.
Keep it short — but not too short
A wall of text isn’t intriguing so much as it is daunting. It may be tempting to squeeze every plot beat in, but an overlong synopsis might make it seem like you don’t have confidence that your comic can speak for itself.
Ideally, your synopsis should be anything from 3-6 sentences. This is flexible, especially if some sentences in your synopsis are shorter than others. And I’d advise that. Breaking up longer sentences with short, snappy statements helps keep the reader engaged — and you can also use the shorter sentences to make an impact.
However, too short and your synopsis doesn’t communicate anything meaningful. I’ve seen some webtoon synopses that are very basic sentences that don’t offer any clue as to what the story is about. After all, you wouldn’t read Alice In Wonderland if the synopsis just said: “Alice chases a rabbit!” While some readers let the art speak for itself, you need a synopsis to entice those who want to know something about the plot first.
What are the plot hooks?
When you write a synopsis, you’re not thinking of the plot so much as the hooks. What are the points in the story that will make people want to keep reading? Twists, important developments, or popular tropes — these are all things that you can put in your synopsis.
Let’s have a look at an example for the webcomic Light Within Shadow. This comic is incredibly exciting, well written, and stunningly illustrated. The story is chock-full of fascinating lore, the fighters use the power of the elements in really interesting ways, and the mystery of the main character’s past leads her into a web of conspiracy and causes her to clash with powerful monsters and dark gods. It’s super fun!
But the original synopsis doesn’t really communicate any of this.
Lysandra and her friends stumble into monster filled peril! Her need to regain her childhood memories has thrown open the doors to much bigger truths than she first thought possible.
The creator has taken point one of advice to heart: she’s kept it short. However, in doing so she’s sacrificed much of what makes her comic great. So, we workshopped the synopsis on the Taddy Ink Discord server, and came up with something that communicates more story.
Lysandra’s life is pretty great. She lives in a peaceful town, protected from the monster-infested woods by Varans — fighters who wield the power of the elements. Except, something still plagues Lysandra. Her childhood memories are gone, and her quest to regain them pits her against dark gods, plunging her friends into more peril than she could have ever dreamed possible…
This is pretty good! It tells us much more about the story… but it’s a little too long. It would work very well for a book blurb, but for a webtoon we might want to make it a bit snappier.
So, here’s the final edited version.
Lysandra’s life is pretty great. She lives in a peaceful town, protected from monster-infested forest by Varans — element-wielding fighters. Except, Lysandra’s childhood memories are gone. In her quest to regain them, Lysandra will anger dark gods and plunges her friends into peril… but will she find what she seeks?
Ending on a question acts as another plot hook, because you’re setting up a situation that the reader will want to find out more about. Instil in the reader the feeling of “what will happen next?” Kind of like a mini cliffhanger — by establishing a situation and then leaving the reader hanging, you’ll motivate them to read the comic to find the answers.
Give your readers what they’re looking for
As we went over in our thumbnail article, people are looking for different things dependent on genre. Romance readers want to know what the main relationship is, what the conflict points are, and if there are any fun tropes involved (eg: friends to lovers, there was only one bed, mistaken identity, etc). Mystery readers will want a bit of that mystery in the synopsis itself, so they know what kind of puzzle it is (ie: is it a Clue-style whodunnit, or more of a gothic drama?)
Action readers want amazing action sequences, which might seem difficult to communicate with words. But by establishing things like how the fighters fight (eg: the Varans in Light Within Shadow use elements to fight, much like in the show Avatar: The Last Airbender), as well as making it clear what influenced you (ie: if your comic is a riff on shonen manga) you can tell your readers that your comic has what they’re interested in.
Get to know your readers by getting to know your genre. Have a look at other synopses within your chosen genre. Do they make you want to know what the comic is about? How do they do that?
Let’s take a look at this fantastic (albeit slightly long) synopsis for the comic Cinderelle.
Giselle should support the royal engagement - she's the princess's best friend, after all! But it's hard to watch your love get married to someone else. What's a girl to do? Team up with the one other person in the kingdom not celebrating the marriage: a handsome rogue who wants the princess' fiancé dead. When Giselle learns the engagement is not what it seems, she's willing to get her hands dirty. Can a noble lady and a street rat stop this courtship from sailing?
This is so fun. It tells us the premise, as well as hinting that Giselle’s real love interest may not be the person she’s crushing on, but the “handsome rogue” she teams up with. This establishes that the comic is a story of unrequited love, as Giselle learns to love the person who’s better for her — even as she tries to win the favour of her first crush. There’s also a bit of an edge to it, which makes it even more fun: the rogue wants the fiancé dead, and the synopsis teases that Giselle isn’t afraid to “get her hands dirty.”
That’s plenty to go on, especially for a romance reader. We know what the core relationships are, where the conflict is, and we’ve got an idea of the tropes that will be employed. Even though the synopsis is on the longer side, it’s written in such a fun, engaging style that it’s not overwhelming to read. Which leads us to…
Be engaging
The style in which you write your webtoon synopsis has a big impact. You could follow all the previous advice — keep it short, list the plot hooks, and tease what readers are looking for — but without an engaging writing style, this could still feel like reading a laundry list of reasons why your comic is worth reading.
For example, this creator asked the Tapas forum for help regarding their webtoon synopsis.
This is a story about a girl who is living her life disguised as a boy. Since the age of 12, when her family was killed by a serial killer, she has taken on the identity of her brother, living together with her uncle and cousin as a custom arranged witness protection program. Seven years on she is suddenly recognized for the first time by an old childhood friend. At the same time she manages to get into a heap of trouble with the law. As her cover is slowly unraveled and she might be put in serious danger, she is also falling hard for a police investigator who shows a strange interest in her.
What happens when you are living a life based on lies. Living and making ends meet outside the law. Living as another person. What if even the love is based on lies.
Slowburn romance with all the trashy tropes. This is a novel disguised as a Webtoon.
This synopsis is far too long, and also gives too much info about what’s happening in the story. The creator got some good advice from the forum about shortening it and focusing on the main points.
Yet, although their new synopsis follows this advice, what it lacks is an engaging writing style.
Soohyun has been living her life disguised as a boy to hide her identity. When she gets into a heap of trouble with the law, and runs into a childhood friend, she needs to protect her secrets and stay safe. At the same time she is also falling hard for a police investigator who shows a strange interest in her. Slowburn romance with all the trashy tropes.
Romance/Suspense/Drama. This is a novel disguised as a Webtoon. Updates once a month.
The new synopsis is much better, but some of the flair from the original has been lost. For example, this section is quite fun and puts the reader in the character’s shoes: “What happens when you are living a life based on lies. Living and making ends meet outside the law. Living as another person. What if even the love is based on lies.”
I’d recommend putting some of that flair back in, and maybe sacrificing some of the plot points in order to do it. Honestly, I’d cut the stuff about the childhood friend. As the main hook here is the romance between the protagonist and the investigator, we can focus on that. Also, most of the last line can go: “Romance/Suspense/Drama. This is a novel disguised as a Webtoon.” Your readers don’t need to know these things upfront. But fun taglines like “can love be real if it’s built on a lie?” can really intrigue a reader.
So, let’s take a crack at this synopsis and see if we can make it more engaging.
Can love be real if it’s built on a lie?
After her family was slaughtered, Soohyun has been living in disguise as her brother. Which was going great for seven years… until she got in trouble with the law. Now she’s on a mission to protect her secrets. Seems simple, right? After all she already has a secret identity. But the cop investigating the case has shown a strange interest in Soohyun, and she can’t resist her attraction to him…
Slowburn romance with all the trashy tropes! Updates once a month.
This version a conversational tone, which proves that the creator can fulfil the promise of a romance with “trashy tropes”, while also communicating the hooks and intriguing the reader.
Get synopsis advice from webtoon creators
The best way to learn how to write a good webtoon synopsis is by reading what others have written, and asking for advice. Give your synopsis a first pass, then share it with others. Feedback can be super helpful, as it’s tailored specifically to your comic.
If you’re having trouble finding other creators to talk to, feel free to jump into the Taddy Ink Discord server! There’s a lovely community there, and with 400 members the server is very much going strong. We even have a book club, which you can submit your comic to in order to get specific advice from other creators.
At the end of the day, if you’re excited about your comic, others will be as well. And your synopsis is just a way for you to share your passion with others!