What makes you click on a story? - Comments

I like single-word titles. Especially if the word in mention is attention-capturing in itself; ie "James" or "Infinite". I also like when the title and the short summary contradict each other; ie "Infinite" and "I am the end." (From my own story, Infinite).

I also appreciate when people take the time to edit and post an actual cover, and not just a stock photo. Shows dedication, to me, since I rarely see it, and rarely do it myself.

Oh, and then there's aliens. I like aliens. And time travel.

Honestly, I have to disagree with some of the other commenters when it comes to the short summary. I don't like vague or overly-intriguing short summaries; I like straight-forward, brief summaries that just give you an actual straight-up explanation of what you're going to read. "New twist on new-kid-at-school cliche. Slash." is an excellent short summary, in my opinion, as is "Robert Downey Jr. x OFC, AU." It's probably especially important with fan fics, but I just like to know exactly what I'm clicking on.

Titles are important to me, too, but not hugely so. I won't click on titles that are anything like "I'm in a Vampire Boarding School for Boys and I'm a Girl!!!!>!" I won't do it. That's usually the only kind of title that'll keep me from clicking on a story, though. Otherwise, some intriguing titles might make me click even if I wouldn't usually, but that doesn't mean I'll actually read if I don't like the long summary. I usually prefer short phrases or one-word titles, and paradoxes are especially intriguing.

For the long summary, the main thing I look for is spelling and grammar. I don't mean that in a nit-picking kind of way; I'm fully aware that people make mistakes and that English might not be someone's first language. I don't care about errors, but I care about what comes off as a lack of giving a damn. If no capitalization is attempted or if the grammar is just so bad that it's straight up confusing, I won't read the story. Otherwise, I give people the benefit of the doubt. The next thing I look for is any clue as to whether I'm going to hate the main character. Anything about abusive past relationships, or anything that in the summary is already pointing out how beautiful but totally modest the main character is... I'm out. Like, I just broke my backspace pressing it so quickly kind of out. The summary itself doesn't have to be long and it doesn't have to be short and vague; I think summaries can work both ways.

The layout? If I can't read it, I'll switch to the default, so I don't particularly care about that. But a neon background, neon text, or a layout with a million pictures will make me stop and strongly consider if I want to read the story. It won't make me click out, because I can always switch to default, but it will make me question if the story is going to be quality, admittedly. I usually prefer simplistic layouts.

Story Cover? Eh, it's not the be-all-end-all. If I'm looking for a fan fiction and I'm scrolling quickly through the different options on the story page, the story cover plays a huge roll, because I'll stop specifically if it's an image of the person I want to be reading about. Original fiction? Fancy covers or intriguing images might catch my eye, but it's not nearly as important to me as in fan fiction.

...Maybe that's just me.

I know I shouldn't do things like this, but I usually look at the genres first. And then I look at the layout. (If I hatehatehate the layout I won't read it - the fact that I do that makes me feel horrible), I look at the title and the summary and if I like all of those, then I read it. I also sometimes scan the story to see if it contains good grammar.

I take the short summary, the summary, and the layout. If the grammar is good and the layout is readable I will definitely look into reading it.

• The title (if it is interesting and unique)
• The short description (has to be interesting)
• The summary (has to be detailed and interesting)

Then I read the story!

I look at the stuff my friends rec, and definitely the short summary. Also, the tags help too.

The title. Thats what catches my attention 95% of the time. Since many of the times, I choose a story from what other people recommend or I choose a story from the picture and rating. Picture is a huge thing for me also.
I would say for me its: title, rating/picture

I didn't realize how important the short summary is for people. That's good to know. For me I have to be in the mood for reading, which actually doesn't happen very often. But when I am in the mood I check out what my friends are recommending or writing. Then I usually open a whole bunch of them at once, read the first chapter, and then decided whether or not I want to keep reading it.

If it has a good cover, title and short description, I'll click on it. From there I check out the long summary and scroll through a couple comments. If it's relatively short I'll usually read through it, but if it ready has 50 chapters I usually just leave.

Vague descriptions are an automatic click-back, as are definitions of words as descriptions. That makes me suspect it to be a gushy romance of some kind and I like extremes: psychopaths, aliens, demons, the supernatural, etc. I generally only read R+.

The short description. Not even a catchy one. "Original slash" and I'm there. Cover doesn't really matter, it's just usually a picture. If a layout is good, I'll usually give the story a chance. I like short long summaries. If you can cryptically get your point across in one sentence, I love you. I'll look at all the numbers for a story by clicking Info. Comments and Recs are one thing, but a high count of subscribers or readers tells me a lot more. If there are a lot of subscribers, that tells me people thought it was so good they want to know exactly when the updates come. If it's a friend or someone who recced me, I'll look more at what someone recs because you can only see titles and I'd lose days if I clicked on them all.

I look through the stories section a lot, and what I really look for are great descriptions. If I like that, then I'll click on the story and actually start reading it.

Also having people recommend the story helps a lot too.

I always look at the stories that people rec but I will click out of them if they summary and layout don't appeal to me.

Well, I usually take note of the short summary; if it's grammatically correct and interesting, I'll check it out. Then there's the long summary which I check too. I'm fine with any kind of layout except for those kind of layouts which have unreadable font and neon colored backgrounds (my eyes are sensitive).

A good summary is completely drawing a reader in just by using words. I absolutely dislike when I see "please read" or something like that as a summary. It's not really right in a sense.