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 Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:34 am
Summaries: Reel in Your Readers...
As of May 28, 2012 Fanfiction.Net increased the max number of characters for story summaries from 255 to 384. This was a great and useful update. But does having a longer summary equal more readers? No, it does not. Often times, short summaries work best. Usually, when readers are browsing the archives they look for brief summaries that give the who, what, where and when (the 4 Ws). Usually, if you've got those, then you're golden! Remember: Your summary is your reader's (or possible reader's) first introduction to your story. Its their first impression and the thing that decides if they click the title link or keep browsing. You want to have a good summary.
This thread is is to help you improve your summaries so that you're conveying maximum information minimum effort. Please, do not hesitate to ask questions or post your own summaries for critique and advice.
Some quick Dos and Don'ts of Summaries:Don't:
* Put "summary inside" as the summary.
* Fill the summary space with a disclaimer.
* Say you are "bad at/suck at summaries."
* Give away the climax or conclusion!
* Use chat speak.
Do:
* Give the who, when and where, but not the why.
* Or, give the who and why, but not the what.
* Be clear on the pairings and/or triangles.
* Spell names (characters, places, things) correctly.
* Type correctly.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:41 am
Examples of Bad Summaries Quote: Miss Viktorya Faire has had a hard life; doesn't know her real family, had amnesia, adopted, in a assassin group...Life has hit an unexpected turn as she will be given a trial that no one could foresee...OcXWally or... OcXConner...I don't know
Why is this not a good summary? This talks about the author's OC and only the OC. There is no mention of what the reader can actually expect out of the story besides a romance between the OC and one of hte canon characters, AND the author hasn't even decided which canon character their OC will be paired with. Quote: There is reason why man does not tamper with the power to create life. To create, one must destroy. "It's the way of men to make monsters, and it's the nature of monsters to destroy their makers." -Dr. Frankenstein
Using quotes from classic literature is all well and good, but your summary should not be composed ENTIRELY of the quote. You do still need to let the reader know a little bit of what they can expect from reading for you fic. If you're gonna use a quote to establish a theme or tone then juust add a little sentence at the end that says something like, "In which character loses faith." Or, "Kon goes back to the lab that created him." Just something to give the reader an idea of what you're doing.
Quote: The phantom becomes a father following the strange events of Christine and Roua... Roue... Raouel... whats-his-names wedding. Hmmm... Following my Sweeney Todd fanfic it seems like I'm obsessed with daddy-daughterness... please read, this is my favorite movie/ musical of all time, dis shoulda happened INSTEAD OF LOVE NEVER DIES! GOD I HATE THAT SEQUEL! Enjoy! (thank you!)
This one really gets me. The author can't even be bothered to get a character's name right (a main character, I might add), then spends the other half of her summary talking about a completely different play! The only reason multiple works should be mentioned in a summary is if its a crossover. This fic was not a crossover. This author would have been fine if she had just taken the time to look up Raul's name and ended her summary at their wedding, not launched onto a tangent.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:42 am
Examples of Good Summaries
Quote: M'gann reflects on her relationship with Conner. Post SuperMartian break up.
This is short, to the point and tells the reader exactly what to expect from the story without giving away the conclusion. Quote: Long fic. A story detailing Andy's training during those 10 years between Jeff's death and the beginning of Fatal Fury. R&R
Here you are given the who, when and what with the where being subjective. The reader will know almost exactly what they're getting into without any of the actual story being given away.
Quote: The choices are obvious: Run or die. The real question is which will be easier? With men on the hunt for "France's Most Wanted Man" and his sharp accomplice, can Erik and Meg figure out who wants them dead, maybe finding love along the way? An E/M Epic.
This gives the reader a clear picture of what to expect from the story without giving away the conclusion. The setting, premiss, and pairings are clear so that the readers knows exactly what they're getting into.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:35 pm
I think we should use this thread as also a feed back thread for those that may want help to improve summaries on stories in the chance their story doesn't get noticed enough.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:07 pm
magus_dark_sorcerer I think we should use this thread as also a feed back thread for those that may want help to improve summaries on stories in the chance their story doesn't get noticed enough. Agreed. That is an excellent idea. I shall update the first post.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:13 pm
Also, just because this came up in the actual ff.n forums, you NEVER want to fill your summary with a disclaimer, that goes in the actual story at the top of the page right above the title/chapter heading. And NEVER EVER put "summary inside".
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:48 pm
I also think that the words "I suck at summaries" should be avoided.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:59 pm
yep seen that. its one of the worse things put might as well put a road block if you do.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:19 pm
Mitsuki Horenake I also think that the words "I suck at summaries" should be avoided. Exactly! But there are a lot sometimes. And sometimes they're the most popular... gonk
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:20 pm
xXxIsammiXxX Mitsuki Horenake I also think that the words "I suck at summaries" should be avoided. Exactly! But there are a lot sometimes. And sometimes they're the most popular... gonk Sometimes, we have to deal with what we have to. I think I wrote a chapter about this, though...can't remember.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:00 am
First post has been updated with a quick list of dos and don'ts.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:24 am
Sometimes you could end up giving away too much in a summary. Like if you have an angle of your character that you want to remain a mystery, don't spell it out in the summary. I've seen it done the story content has the mystery but the summary give the answer and it's pretty... defeating.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:21 am
I have found that I have a great deal of trouble coming up with brief summaries for my AU fics. I want to explain to much of the alternate universe and so have no space left for the actual Who, What, and Why.
Any advice?
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Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:43 am
One of my biggest pet peeves when browsing the archives for something to read are when I will find a really interesting sounding summary, but then the author has to ruin it by adding something like "give it a chance".
To me it shows a certain lack of confidence or security in their writing and that annoys me. It also sends up a huge red flag that if they are insecure in their writing that they'll probably also respond rudely to critique. I used to try and still read fics that said "give it a chance", or "its better than it sounds" in the summary. But now I just don't waste my time on them anymore. Its not worth the aggravation of having to tip-toe around the authors fragile self-esteem.
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Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:28 pm
Thank you for the advice. heart
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