I was going to write this in a way where it appeared everyone had the same view I did, but since I don't know how everyone feels about the situation, I will just write on my view of the situation.
Unlike some story sites, and I won't name any names because I am sure there are many. Big Closet gives you some control over how your story looks on the front page and whether or not it draws peoples attention. I, for one, am an author who likes it when I notice my read count soaring into the stratosphere and I do everything in my power so people click on my story and give it a go. I even changed my nickname and one of those reasons was because I felt my old one (Little Katie) gave off the impression that I wrote Adult Baby type things, which I don't.
One of the things that attracts me to a story is the title and I'm not just talking about the words used to name a work (though that plays a part). So here is my list of why I feel some titles are better than others. Remember this is just my opinion, others may not agree with me. I am not pointing anyone out in particular, so if your story falls into a category, I wasn't thinking about you. And also note, I am not saying this to be mean, but to perhaps help people get more out of their posting stories here. Just want to clear that up to begin with.
Title type one: This is the title where the first line of the story says the title and the second line says who the story is by. The title isn't centered, and there is nothing to make it stand out. I think doing this is probably a disservice to many great stories and I usually pass these. I think these stories are the ones that are the easiest to pass by because there is nothing to grab my attention. There is also an air of uncaring as if the author couldn't be bothered by doing something, anything to enhance there story. My feeling is that perhaps the author didn't put much effort into the story and therefore it continued to the title. (This is probably not the case and I am not stating it is, just my interpretation).
Title type two: This one is a lot better then the first and very easy to implement. This is where the title is centered and in large pink letters. The reason why it is easy to implement and maybe people don't realize it's available to them so they don't use it, is because it is built into the software. If anyone posting a story, or blog, or even a comment on the site looks above the box that they're typing in, you will see a bunch of letters (I'm assuming everyone sees the same thing I do and I hope I'm right.) These start with B I u C. One of those options is H. H stands for headline. All you do is highlight the title text and then hit the H button and everything is done for you except for centering (the c button) I don't know why H doesn't center, but at least it's there. It makes your story stand out more and increases the likelihood that I'm going to read it.
Title type three: I think this may be the most popular. This is the kind where an image is shown and the title is written either off to the side and other information may be given (such as episode or part, subtitle, synopsis, etc.) I notice that Angharad uses this for the bike episodes as do several others. I don't know where people get there particular pictures, but the web is full of free to use pictures that can help go along with your story. Since many of these authors get high read counts, I think it shows that it is a successful tactic.
Title type four: This one might not be for everyone, but it is the one I often use. I create a graphic with the title name in the art work. I use Paint Shop Pro and usually just add text to an existing picture and sometimes I manipulate the image to my liking. I suppose it depends on your level of comfort with graphic programs. I think this works well, because it shows that I put time and consideration, along with effort in choosing my title art work. It has worked well for me but I wouldn't say it was the best but it's in the top two.
I just say all of this, because I would like to see everyone get an enjoyable experience from posting their stories and nothing is more enjoyable (to me) than seeing a lot of people have read, commented, and kudo'd my story. So please take what a say with a grain of salt and use it for future consideration.
Comments
To Be Quite Honest
The titles really have nothing to do with how good a story is. I think, most people tend to give a story a read even if its by an unknown author so they can get a feel for what the author is. Most people stick by what they know and will usually read an author's work once, regardless of the titling. I do, however, teach all new authors how to work with the html code to produce titling that they would like and my work is on a lot of author's works on the site. Most people who know the authors I work with can spot my work in an instant.
Titling, also, is a personal thing. Some authors prefer plain titling and nothing glitzy, some like a pic, some don't. But, the titling is the author's choice for their personal touch, and should not be dictated in how they construct it unless it violates Erin's guidelines on maximums for the titling (Such as picture pixel maximum's of 400 x 600 roughly.)
Those who have little response and then do work hard and change their approach to writing rather than complaining have picked up comments, reads, and kudos and built up a fanbase. That is the approach the author should take.
The fanbase is so crucial to an author: The feedback, the comments, the reads, and the story requests. I watch with delight at how some authors are so close and personal to their fans. Its an absolute joy to watch and participate in.
Don't let a lack of reads get you down. Use your talent and change what you do until you figure out what works best.
In essence, readers select by the author and not a glitzy pic and title name in my book.
Quality of writing, rather than titling does determine an author's number of reads. Kudo's, comments, and a fanbase get built up naturally as it goes along.
Sephrena
as stated
As stated, this was only my opinion and the way I viewed things and my personal experiences. I have had titles go all different ways as I learned how to use the software and wanted to share what works for me.
About people giving author's chances; I don't know. I have had several people message me that the reason they never (and that is never as in not even once) read my stories was because of my screen name (LittleKatie) and they just assumed that I wrote AB stuff (which, though I've done a few age regression stories, I never had). So I think there is a little bit of marketing behind everything.
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
Yes, and thank you again
Yes, thank you! I do know how to write old skool HTML, but I probably would never have gone to the trouble of formatting it like that if you hadn't helped me out. Thank you so much. :)
not as think as i smart i am
Art
Sephrena,
Is the piece of art yours? I love the art.
Robin
RobinDiaz
That's a rather sad idea...
...that readers mainly go to authors they know, and offers little hope for new writers. I would suggest that whilst there may be some conservative readers like that, the majority are an eclectic mix who click on stories by many unknown authors.
Images have impact, as any publicity person will tell you. How many commercial ads do you see without a picture?
Whilst the picture catches the eye, an interesting synopsis is what attracts me to click on it. A misspelling in the synopsis is a total turnoff - if an author can't get that bit right, what chance for the rest of it?
It's not the title for me...
I will usually skip a story if the description isn't spell checked. If there are misspellings it shows me the author either doesn't know how to spell check or couldn't be bothered. If they miss the crucial descriptor of their story it shows me the rest of the story will most likely follow suit.
Admittedly sometimes this is just an accidental oversight. I do occasionally give the story a try regardless of its intro paragraph. In this case, I will usually scan through the text to see how it's been formatted. If paragraphs are odd lengths or the dialogue uses no contractions (which feels incredibly unnatural) I will call it a day on that story and move on. There's simply too much selection each day to not be picky.
glitz and glamor
While I more or less agree with you and use pretty much the same criteria (plus the title name itself) I don't usually add anything to make my chapters stand out. I write pretty much like you view a book.... I'll have a title page which contains the image (and I'm learning that I need to create my title page with all the wording, etc. over the image then upload that as an image).
The chapters.... well, they pretty much just stand as they are. I use both left justification and centering (more or less as my mind tosses a coin) for the chapter name (one, two, etc) and keep it the same (usually) throughout the story.
That sort of thing has been my editor's and publisher's domain; I'm rather busy just trying to turn out material which is readable much less trying to format it with all the why's and wherefores. (I do write for a lot of other people. I'd say my time is split maybe 98/ 2 with the two being BCTS.)
Of course the 98 part is divided up into a lot of smaller portions but you understand (I hope) what I'm getting at.
HTML???? Well, I know (more or less) what that's all about but don't practice in it. I have submission standards to which I must comply and that includes the word processing program which I am to use (there are three, or four if you count both M Soft programs) for different clients and none of them are HTML. (MSOffice - Word/ MS Word 2003/ Open Office/ WordPerfect 2007)
If, heaven forbid, I forget (seldom happens but....) and use the wrong one then I receive a stern reprimand and a request to resubmit in the proper processor format so they can work with it. Have I mentioned that clients can be nitpicky? They seem to have the opinion that they can dictate certain things just because they are paying money for my work. Wait a minute.... let me think about that a little more. Money's what I use to pay my bills, isn't it? Maybe....
Well, you get the idea.
Most of the material I have placed on BCTS has been written in haste (and it unfortunately shows it).
[a wee pause for a telephone interruption]
Got to go. It was another one of those unreasonable clients asking for some changes to one of the chapters I sent in. I've got to go find out what they're talking about and see if I can placate them.
Anesidora
editor's and publisher's domain
In the world of publishing, that's exactly the normal division of labour. writers write the words, submit the words for publication, and the editor and publisher make most of the decisions about exactly how to market and present the work. There's no need to apologise for not being a graphic artist, or a typographer, whose skill sets lend themselves to these sorts of things.
Almost every famous writer does exactly the same thing, offers up the words, then lets others think about the marketing. That's all fancy covers and artwork are, really, marketing, trying to entice a reader *without* words, and/or with a pithy "blurb" that entices and then draws the potential reader in so that they read those crucial first words.
If an author want to do it, that's fine, or even more than fine, if they have any interest in self-publishing, but it may be even better to let people who already have these skills do them for one. If cobblers should stick to their lasts, there's something to be said for wordsmiths sticking to their craft.
Even the basic layout of a book requires (or can be improved by) an expert touch, and how many authors want to take time away from honing their basic craft to fiddle around in other people's bailiwicks?
That said, there's a certain amount of courtesy shown by providing a basic built-in title and author, which can be easily done using the built-in "buttons" provided on the edit page.
Not every reader is well-connected to the Web, and we do have readers who can access the site only briefly, let's say, at work, and regularly copy stories for later reading. Having a built-in title and author means that the reader isn't forced to type these things in on their own.
Trust me on this, even professional writers provide a "cover page" for their "words-only" manuscript. It helps to ensure that people don't become confused.
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
K.T. I like stories
with a synopsis and pics/images,best. But in truth, enjoy reading all types.
May Your Light Forever Shine
How to do it
I just had my most recent story taken down because I couldn't even transfer the story from MSWord to BCTS without quotation marks disappearing and the title loosing all formatting. So your thoughts may be right but some of us can't do it better.
Rami
RAMI
MS Word
is particularly awkward, because it insists on using "Windows Only" special characters, particularly "smart quotes," but other characters can be problematic as well.
In your "Preferences," turning "smart quotes" (and other "smart" replacement characters for what one actually types) can be a huge help.
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
You do have a point
My first story was just uploaded with no fanfare, no pictures, nothing special. It received some hits and comments, and I was pleased. I kind of threw it out there to see if my writing style and subject would find a good reception. It got plenty of positive comments, messages, and kudos - enough that I decided to double-down and write a longer and more detailed story.
For my second, and most popular so far, I found a cool picture that I thought would enhance the story. I can't say for sure if it led to the massive increase in reads, but I am sure that it helped in some way.
Our lovely and talented Sephrena stepped in and showed me how to spice up my teaser area and it really made the story stand out on the front page. I think that helped get it more attention, and I do appreciate her guidance and support!
Now, if my story was rubbish, no amount of pictures or fancy formatting would save it I am sure, so I must be doing something right!
I look at the teaser / title stuff as you would book covers in a book store. If you are not a known writer, every bit of help that you can get to catch a reader's attention can't hurt - but you'd better have something for them inside once they open that cover and start reading!
Hmm
This is an interesting point, as I often find myself drawn to certain stories through titles, then content. I'll still sample some questionable titles from time to time, but most of the time my favorites have a catchy title or the synopsis is really good. Or if it's by one of my favorite authors I'll read it anyway. But you know, to each her/his own :D
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
My What An Odd Little Group.
I don't often read the Titles, but simply look at the author and read the first page. Any who have read, "Battlefield To Crib" will know that I absolutely blew it on the Title, and since I have no delusions about my importance, I haven't changed it, nor would I have any idea what to change it to. I will admit that the story is very odd and offbeat, however. :)
Gwendolyn
Dave Barry on Titles
In his idiot's guide to writing a best seller, North Korean dictator Dave Barry explains how important choosing just the right title can be to your novel's marketability. He gives three examples...
A bad title: THE DEATH CORPSE
Lackluster, saying nothing much, a title like this is almost sure to land your labor of love in the remainder bins...
A good title: THE DEATH CORPSE BY STEPHEN KING
Notice how a slight change in wording can virtually guarantee your book a place on the best seller list!
An even better title: THE DEATH CORPSE BY STEPHEN KING (WITH NAKED PICTURES OF PAMELA ANDERSON!)
Hope you find this advice from a real professional as helpful as I have,
Laika
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
My too sence
I am a person who posts stories on this site and enjoys reading stories posted. I have several issues with what I post. One is what to call or title the story. I don’t put much time or effort in the title. My second issue is how to end a story. I have received much criticism on that point. The third issue is the actual posting. When I copy paste the format of my story is totally modified. I have to go through line by line and reformat. Lastly, I have a poor command of the English language. I have received much criticism on that point. I spend my time trying to get the English correct.
I did work on an image for one story. I asked how to add an image, and a person was kind enough to tell me. I couldn’t place or size the image how I wanted in the title. I find computer programs very frustrating. A person must have the correct answer to an unknown question. With paper and pencil, I can do what I want, other then post here.
With all that said, I agree with you. Marketing is half the battle. The other half, 90 percent, is a good story.
Robin
RobinDiaz
Okay, here's the thing
Some of us aren't computer literate, mainly me. I have no idea of how things are supposed to work. I'm lucky to just to post a story and after changing it from word to html I post and then find out there are no spaces between the paragraphs so I have to do it manually. Needless to say changing type or adding a picture is pretty much beyond my skill set. I have to agree with Sephrena, if the story is good it doesn't make a difference what the title looks like, Arecee
My opinion
I have seen pretty covers wrapped in tinsel and bows that make a book stand out only to find that once the wrapping removed I have a brick. Others I find the cover makes no sense but find a gem of a story. Example "The Caves of Steel." If you've ever seen the original cover it wouldn't make much sense.
I have many times became frustrated as I went to look for the summary on what the story's about only to find it talking about the author or other reviews about said author only to find squat on what the story was about in the first place. Hence I never read the book. There have been many others that I've tried to read because I got suckered into the storyline only to find it wasn't to my taste.
Be it a good cover or no cover, good summary or poorly written one it will always be up to the reader to decide if they wish to read the book or not.
Ibi