TIP #001 — PRESENTATION

TIP #001 — PRESENTATION

TITLE

the first thing a reader sees is the title right? so the name and style must be attracting. if the title is too messy and too much things are squashed onto the title readers will tend to avoid it. one symbol is usually enough and most people like to type in ALL lower case or ALL capitals. i guess it has become a trend amongst affers. you can either put one symbol or 1-2 characters, typically chinese, korean or japanese. also writing the title in a forgein language like french has become an ideal option, though if the phrase is too long it would not be good. if your title name sounds somewhat professional or enticing people will most likely go for it. just do NOT go overboard with the prof. name as it may be disturbing to see a random and confusing word that even the dictionary doesn't have. you must keep the name of the first half of the title ( symbol and title name ) simple and not all over the place. BUT it doesn't really matter when you put 'apply open' because you probably need to include the deadline and a short message. 'apply open - deadline --/--/-- ! wants you to apply asap!' is an appropriate way of writing it. however, do not go overboard with the message and make it 3 lines long! you may see that kind of thing on roleplay titles, but it isn't very suitable for an apply fic. 'apply now' is also just as fine. short and simple is the best way to create an attractive title!

FOREWORD + DESCRIPTION

your foreword's presentation is the most important aspect, if peole do not find it attractive, then the chances of a reader applying is lower. if you are not confident with your layouts, then you could always scout for some good story/chapter layouts and profile layouts can work too. also, try not to squash everything together, it will look un-welcoming, like your title, it should be short and simple! eg. put the description of the fic & authors note on the foreword/ description and put the rules in another chapter. the colour scheme of your story is extremely important as you wouldn't want to have really dark and gloomy colours for a rom-com fic right? the same goes for your layout, a sad layout in a rom-com fic is a no-no. also, DO NOT make the font too bright or it will be impossible to read. pictures are not nessacary, but if you use them, they must flow with the layout and colours. sometimes you can just filter it 'black & white' but depending on the picture, it will usually turn the layout a bit gloomier.

APPLICATION

the application's layout has to be simple and easy to apply in. it must match the design of your foreword / description or it will look a bit out of place. not everything has to be the same but the font and title would be best be the same. eg.