Hello there, this is a post addressed to everyone out there in the
FFML, but for the moment, it's specifically aimed towards those who
have sent a fic to the FFML within the last few days.

My name is, as the alias goes, Mark Doherty, and I have(rather
foolishly) volunteered to run a new service that is aimed towards
helping all the FFMLers in 
a)Getting their fiction read and 
b)Helping you choose which fics might interest you.
Also, there will be a nice side-bonus, in that 
c)Public Requests for recent fics SHOULD(we can hope) lessen, because...

I shall be running the Weekly Synopses List, which shall be a compilation
of story summaries of fanfics that have been posted to the FFML over the
last week, each written by the author of the fic. I am only an EDITOR, or,
as I prefer, a COMPILATOR of these summaries, this shall NOT be my 
personal reviews/opinions (except for my summaries for my own fics of 
course). It is intended that this list will try and serve the three goals
stated in the previous paragraph, focussing on the second goal.

The idea is that when you write a story and send it to the FFML, you
also send me a summary/synopsis for that story. I then take the
synopses sent to me, and compile them into a weekly list, which I
shall post to the FFML so that people can use it to choose which
fics might interest them.

Why? Because there are a lot of fics released in a week of the FFML,
and this is a good way to get your story read instead of put into an
Unread folder for the next 6 months. It helps everyone, it helps the
writers, it helps the readers, it helps keep the 'Please send me X
since I seemed to have missed it' spam down, since those people can
just check the Synopses Lists and email the authors directly.

But in order for this to work, I need the authors to send me their
story synopses. I am open for business, I'm ready to go, it's time
to start sending me your story summaries for your recent fic postings.

I've sent a message at the same time as this one, which is just an
empty form to fill out with your synopses. Please make sure there
is a [S] or [Syn] or [Synopses] tag in the subject header when you
send your summaries to me, and please send them only to me, not to
the FFML.

Don't wait, don't put it off, it's only 5-10 lines out of your time.
5-10 lines! For that investment, you get what all of us writers want,
a greater chance to have your fic read. 

Here is an example of a synopsis, in the format I would prefer it to be
sent:

*************
To: <mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au>
From: <mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au>
Subject: [Syn] Summary for A Complicated Cure
***
Name(or Nickname): Mark Doherty
Email: <mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au>
Prev. chapters site(web address?): http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzhdoher
Name of story: A Complicated Cure
Series: Ranma 1/2
Genre(eg lemon, dark. This is optional): dark, comedy
Date/time sent to FFML: 10 pm, 25 May 97

Summary: Life has never been kind to Ryouga Hibiki. After the failed wedding
of Ranma and Akane, things have just gone downhill for the lost boy. First, 
his relationship with Akari has broken apart, leaving him with no-one to love, 
no-one but Akane, a woman seemingly beyond his reaches. But recently, Akane 
and Ranma's relationship has dramatically worsened, to the stage where Ryouga 
could actually have a chance with her. But his curse stands in the way, with
it he there is no hope of her loving and trusting him. And so he is ecstatic
when 
he finds a barrel of Jusenkyo water, and he immediately uses it on himself,
believing that any curse would be safer around Akane then the pig one. Pity the 
barrel was full of water from the Spring of Drowned Akane.

*********

(BTW, no the above fic does not exist. It was what I originally was going
to write for my first fic, but I decided against it. If anyone wants to
use the idea, they are free to.)

Ok, I admit the above summary isn't really right, since it goes over the
78 character limit, making it more than 10 lines. It's just an example, 
alright?

Initial questions about the format of the Synopses form:

Q.Are any of the questions optional?
A. Yes. Three questions are optional, but they all help get your fic read.
The optional questions are a)Prev. chapters site, b)Genre, c)Date/time sent 
to FFML.
All other questions should be answered, otherwise people would have undue
difficulty knowing which fic is yours.

Q. Why is there a date/time question?
A. The FFML sends out up to 200 messages a day. Even in as short a time
as a week, that's a lot to slog through if you're backtracking to find
a fic. Putting in the date it was sent, though optional, is a good idea
if you want people to find it. Also, if you've sent a couple of different
drafts of a story recently, this can tell people which is the most recent
update.

Q. Genre? What exactly do you mean by that?
A. Some people avoid or go for stories in certain genres. Lemons(sexual
content) should always be labelled as such, not everyone here is of
legal age. People often tend to read certain types of stories first.
Some like to read the dark ones, some go for the parody types first,
others seek out comedy, or drama. Every genre has its fans, so you're
only helping yourself and them by answering this one.

Q. That Series Question. Actually, my story is a mega crossover, what do
I put for that?
A. Just list whichever series play an important part, preferably in order
of importance. 

Q. Can I post a summary for a friend? 
A. Yes, but I shall send any summary not sent from the author to the
authors address, asking if that summary is acceptable, and I will not
add it to the list until I get an affirmative reply from the author.

Q. Just how strictly will you enforce the formatting rules?
A. If you go over, I'm afraid I'll have to send you a request to trim
your summary down, if I don't enforce the rules, the summaries will
degenerate into overly lengthy pieces, and then no-one would read
the Weekly List. Think of it as a challenge to your writing skills.

Q. What do you get out of this anyway, hmm Mark?
A. The satisfaction of knowing I just shot the small amount of spare time
I DID have after slogging through the FFML. :P 

I'm doing this because I think it has to be done, more and more fics are 
coming through the FFML all the time, and I can't decide whether a fic will 
be readable on its title alone. And so, when Mousse Lee postulated this 
idea, and Gary Kleppe seconded it, I(in a moment of insanity) decided that 
someone had to do it, and that it may as well be me.


Any further questions, just email me. And for those who have released a fic
to the FFML in the last week, get those synopses to me pronto!

************  
Mark Doherty  -  mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au
My fanfics are at http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzhdoher

"Kawaii must die."