DOs:

• Be Active: this is a great way to get attention. It will give you visibility, create relationships on this site, give authority to your name, highlight your writing style, and in general it can make you more well-known and well-respected. This is especially so if you review others’ work, because good and/or constructive reviews will make people think you are helpful and nice and will probably make them more likely to return the favor.

• Be creative with your summary: One option is to put a quote in from the story - it shows your writing style (which can immediately interest the reader.) Another option is to pose a question or teaser in your summary, such as

~~

Nia is used to her beautiful sister, Lara, attracting the attention of others.

When a rant on her Youtube grabs national attention, she is thrust into the spotlight and her simple life becomes anything but.

Alienated and insecure, will she accept the perks of the attention, with all the pain he brings, or will being once bitten make her twice shy?

~~

• Check your grammar and spelling: Use full sentences, make sure there aren't any spelling mistakes, and/or word omissions. Sounds simple, but it's not at all uncommon to see such errors in the summary.
  

• Carefully think about your banner: This should stay the same, at most, going under minor reconstruction. Consider the size of your banner (e.g. how many page lengths must the reader scroll through to pass it?), the images you portray, and the phrasing of your summary. Do they accurately depict your story? Some quick pointers:

Not showing the OG's face --> Readers rely more on their imagination

Using a poorly drawn/childish graphic --> immature tone for your story

Using a highly sexual graphic --> very sexual/smut-like tone for your story

Using a celebrity's image --> readers will apply his/her personality and their own opinions of the person

No graphic --> readers are more likely to miss updates

DON'Ts:

• Post massive banners in your summary: You may think that this will get more eyes on you, but in all likelihood they will be eye rolls. Just as "something" is good, "too much" is bad. If your banner is massive, it can easily become obnoxious to those scrolling through the front page, as people will have to scroll more simply to get past your banner. I've seen some "summaries" run the length of a 1,000 word chapter. That's not a summary - it's an annoyance. This effect is made worse when the banner is animated in any way. For instance, if it flashes, or sparkles, or has some kind of choppy animation on it, it’s going to start really rubbing people the wrong way. Yeah, it captures the attention of potential readers.  It also usually annoys them for that specific purpose.

• Keep changing your summary and/or banner pic: People strive on consistency. We also often look for the familiar when scrolling through the "Most Recent" page.  Changing things up constantly makes that difficult....it also looks like you are trying really hard to get attention. Just as in dating, that's a turnoff in writing.
  

• Mentioning your fic(s) in each review you post: We get it. You are proud. Be proud. Just also know that people can click on your username and look up the fics you have written. People will ask if they are interested. Yes, being active is a great way to get attention, but constantly mentioning your own work can come off as pretentious. 

• Be too vague: You know that search bar at the top right? Well, it's useful for searching stories by certain terms. However, it is rendered useless if you are incredibly vague in your summary. Similarly, being vague in your summary doesn't help potential readers get even a grasp of what your story will be about. How will it be different than the rest? What stands out about it to you? Think about those questions when you write your summary.

• Be too specific: Keep the summary relevant to the story, but don't give an outline as to how the story will go. It may be known as a "summary", but consider it more as the front and back jackets of a book.  Those do not mirror an actual story summary or prologue.