To tell the truth, of all the things about writing, I find writing summaries the most difficult.  Apparently I'm not the only one, but nothing turns me off a story faster than 'I suck at summaries, but the story is really good'.  So, I'm wondering how others feel about the subject.

How much should you give away in the summary?  How long should the summary be?  Would it be okay to ask your beta to help you come up with the summary?  What makes the summary interest you or what turns you off completely?

Whoa! That's a biggie.  I suck at summaries too. Somehow "Spike and Buffy are in it and stuff happens" just doesn't do it.  LOL  I don't have an easy answer. Certainly summaries are where you pull the readers in, so they are important. Having said that - I'm not sure I know how to do it.

I think you need to provide enough information that a reader won't be disappointed or annoyed to find that the fic wasn't what they expected. Time frame, I think, for sure. Main characters. Pairings, if appropriate. I guess pick the most important thing about the plot - time travel, Buffy gets turned, Spike loses his soul - whatever and mention that.  I wouldn't give it away, if the story has a twist at the end, but I'd say enough to provide some idea of where it's going to go.

I would definitely ask a beta for help if you are having trouble with the summary.  And anyone else whose opinion you value.

A summary that is full of errors of any sort turns me off. I will assume that the story is also.  Mostly, I go by when it's taking place and how interesting the plot sounds to me.  So I guess that means you want to provide enough of an idea of the plot that readers want to know what's going to happen.

Somebody else should answer this. I'm hopeless.  *g*

Hmm, pretty much what Patti said, though I have one suggestion that might prove helpful.

I don't think it is always neccessary to really summarize your whole story in the summary, even if the name suggests it. If you just give your readers a quick look at the beginning of your story, that's usually enough to awaken their interest; all the twist and turns that might happen later in the plot, aren't really important at this point.

After all, you only want to provide enough information that people will open the story and start to read, the summary doesn't have any influence on whether they will continue after the first chapter - that depends on the story itself. As long as the summary doesn't mislead the readers on what to expect, then what you put in there stopps to matter as soon as they start reading the fic. And by not telling the readers what will happen later in the fic, you don't give out spoilers either.

Of course you can also have the summary focus on a later point in the fic, especially if you have several plot-lines. Most fics start with an idea, so it might work to just summarize that idea instead of the actual fic. You want to wite a fic in which the Mayor doesn't get destroyed and takes over Sunnydale, say so in the summary instead of focusing on how exactly you are protraying that world in your story. In combination with Warnings, Genre and Pairing, that should be enough to let a reader know whether they want to give the fic a try or not. (Of course where you put Warnings, Genre and Pairing depends on the site where you post it. On here it is seperated, on a different site you might have to put the pairing into the summary.)

Just look at the blurb on a book's dustcover, it never gives you any details, just the genaral idea of the story.

And always, always make sure the summary is well written. I've seen many authors neclect spelling in a summary, despite being meticulous about it in the story. They forget that if a reader doesn't like your summary, he/she will never look at the fic to begin with.

But since we're talking summaries anyway:

Your idea to ask the beta for input (maybe not to have them write it, but to discuss it with them) is fab, everyone should consider that. There is nothing worse than a summary containing shit like "summary sux, but story is great, believe me", or personal comments from the author "Spuffy, coz they are just sooooo cute together". Comments like that almost always sound childish, no matter what the author's intention was, and they have stopped me from reading more than one story. And please everyone, spellcheck and proofread your summaries, when I see a summary with the character-names not capitalized, chances that I will bother to read the fic are nill.

Sorry for the rant there at the end, I've been nosing around ff.net a bit the last few months, and the horrible summaries on there have really been bothering me. As far as I'm aware, no one here does anything like that, so don't worry, just had to get that off my chest. ;-)

Asking your beta for input is a great idea. After all, your beta is there to help you with your writing, and the summary is the hook you use to draw people into your story. So, really, that brief paragraph is very important.

However, I agree with Dia. I don't feel it's necessary to outline your whole plot in the summary. One or two lines is enough. And while there's nothing wrong with a different summary for each subsequent chapter, I wouldn't use this method myself. We all tend to have at least one or two surprises up our sleeve with our plots, and I feel that providng an individual chapter summary might allow readers to guess the plot twists too early. But that's just me. Like you, I tend to have a hard time writing summaries. :)

I know I have a hard time writing summaries, like most people here. I've tried putting a different summary for each chapter on two of my WIP's and let me tell you it is a pain. I personally don't recommend it. I like being able to find a small section of my story and use that as my summary. I know this method doesn't always work, but when it does, it saves you the trouble of trying to think up a summary.

And if you have a beta when you're ready to post, getting their imput is a great idea. I wish I'd had a beta for all of my earlier stories.

I find it a lot easier to say a couple words for a chapter, then put up the initial summary when I first post a fic. I often wonder if my summary is good enough to get the story attention....it drives me nuts, LOL. "People aren't commenting because my summary is boring! Aaaaaah!"

Try not to look at the summary as needing to be the sum of your piece; look at it instead as product packaging or a book blurb (as Diabola said). Product packaging markets the item, tells you about the product and stirs up interest. It makes you want to rip open the package and dive right in.

What do readers really need to know before starting your story?

Type of fic: time travel, all human AU, episode stealer, that kind of thing.

Pairing: If there are any other pairings included and especially if Buffy and/or Spike are temporarily involved with anyone else.

Rating explanation: If a story has an R or NC-17 rating due to a sensitive subject like torture, rape, child abuse, etc. Some readers will want to avoid these.

About the story (the summary proper): I always like when authors set up the first conflict or explain what the concept of the story is, the "what if" that first got the author started writing that particular story. Eg. What if Buffy and Spike both got sucked into the dimensional portal at the end of "The Gift"? The summary should be a teaser, and a teaser can be short and sweet, or longer with more detail. Do what comes naturally for you.

Also, see what other authors you like are doing. Go to your favorite fanfics, ones that you know the story well and then see how the authors have described their works. Experiment with styles and see what fits you and your story best.

Good luck!

I agree with Guest Nell about writing a different summary for each chapter.  It's very helpful in keeping track of where you are.  You only have to put a couple of teaser lines (no plot giveways UB).