I've been posting stories for a while now and have found a few tricks that seem to help. I don't mean to tell you what to do, of course, but I've had viewers and eventually publishers say that these helped get them reading.


1) Post in .txt format.

You might have some nice formatting in your .pdf or .doc files, but .txt files display as part of FA. Do not underestimate how awesome this is. It might seem like a minor detail, but it often makes the difference between a first-time reader skimming through the story or deciding they don't want the hassle of downloading/opening in Word/deleting.

Also, try doing a find-replace on tabs into line breaks. This will make it much easier to read your stories, since FA ignore tabs and turns your story into an all-consuming text-blob!


2) Always have a story icon.

The furry fandom (and the internet in general) is a very visual place. Even if you just throw a title over an image from Google, you'll immediately stand out. The default Story icon not only doesn't give the reader much of a feel for the work, it can also imply that you didn't care enough to make a preview. An interesting and pretty preview is a great way to show readers you care about how your work looks.


3) A little BB Code is a good thing.

Don't overdo this one, but you can do some neat formatting with FA's tags. Check it out here: http://forums.furaffinity.net/misc.php?do=bbcode


4) Commission illustrations.

Again, you don't have to go nuts here, but a nice pic from an artist here on FA can certainly help. Be sure to ask them to include a snippet from your story and a link to it in their posting of the pic, so you can draw in more viewers. Artists will almost always say yes, especially if you link back to them in return. :)

Also, you can paste stories into the comment box of picture submissions. And try doing the find-replace trick mentioned in #1 here. It really helps.


5) Comment on other people's work.

Sometimes you have to give before you receive. :) Also, have a nice avatar to make people curious.


6) Organize your stories into series.

The [PREV, FIRST, NEXT] code is your friend. Honestly. Just copy the submission number from the URL and past it into position. If you don't have a next chapter yet, just use - to gray it out. Here's an example of how I use this code: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6773794 (It's at the end of the story.)

In place of FIRST enter the submission code of the first story/pic. In place of NEXT enter the submission code of the next story/pic the follows the submission your are currently on. In place of PREV enter the submission code of the story/pic the directly precedes the submission you are currently on.

For example:
[PREV, FIRST, NEXT] = [-,111111,222222] If this is the first post in a storyline,
[PREV, FIRST, NEXT] = [1111111, 1111111, 333333] For the second.
[PREV, FIRST, NEXT] = [222222, 1111111, -] For the third and newest post.

For stories in the same universe that don't directly tie into the main plot, at least post a link with an explanation.

This will help readers find more of what they already enjoy without scouring your gallery.

Also, consider having themed preview icons for series. Even just some color-coding can help people spot them.


Anyway, hope this helps. Feel free to take a peek at my gallery to see how I've dealt with some of these issues. (And thus we find trick #7: shamelessly promote yourself!)

Your fellow author-
Tempo


EDIT: Other ideas welcome! :D
Thanks to  Snikch for bringing this up!