Nothing attracts readers to your story like a good banner. It is an immediate visual representation of what can be found within your story, and is eye-catching as well. But the entire subject of banners can be a little confusing to new authors. Putting a banner into your story is a 3-step process:
- 1. Create a banner
- 2. Host a banner at an offsite location
- 3. Insert the banner into your story summary
1. Create a Banner - visit the link Creating and Hosting Images/Graphics/Pictures
2. Host a Banner - visit the link Creating and Hosting Images/Graphics/Pictures
3. Inserting the Banner into your Story
A reminder on our rules on banners:
-- banners may be no larger than 700x110 pixels (width x height)
-- banners may not include links
-- banners must be rated 12+
-- banners are only permitted in your story summary and may not appear in any chapter summary (more on this in a moment)
Once you have the URL of your banner, it is time to insert it into your story shell. Important: Do NOT enter a banner into the "chapter" summary! Banners can ONLY be entered into "story" summaries. This can be done by taking the following steps:
1. Log into your account in the Archive.
2. Click on Your Account
3. Click on Manage Your Stories
4. Locate the story you wish to enter the banner into, and click on Edit Story next to the story title.
5. Click into your text box at the EXACT PLACE where you want your banner to be (usually at the beginning of the box). You will know you have done this correctly when you see the flashing little curser line.
6. Click on the Insert/Edit Image button in the mini-tool bar at the top of the text box (this button looks like a little mountain with a sun over it).
7. A text box will pop up. Paste your URL into the space provided, and click on OK.
8. Click on Save Story Info.
Your banner should now appear in your story summary. Remember! Inserting a banner into your story summary is considered as "editing" your story. Your banner may not appear immediately into your published story, because it will need to go through the queue for validation first.
Problems?..... read Problems with Images/Graphics/Pictures
