Adoptables, Writing an Artist's Description

A Good Description
Concerning adoption, a good description is always needed. It informs the purchaser about everything they need to know about the character and the adoption itself.



Basics of a Good Description:

Use proper grammar
A lot of deviants are *not* native english speakers and all the english they know is what they have been taught in school so try to use proper grammar. Talking and writing are not the same thing, 'your' and 'you're' do not mean the same thing and should *not* be written in the same way. Some mistakes or 'typos' can always happen, but as long as most of your writing is correct, the odd mistake is forgivable.

Use punctuation
Unless you're a writer working on a stream of consciousness, periods and commas are not optional. (And remember that the first letter after a period is always capitalized)

No walls of text
Writing every sentence after the other without leaving spaces ever so often is a good way to put off any potential customer. Walls of text are hard to read and are quite discouraging to a foreigner, even more so when proper grammar is not used. There is no word limit on an artist's description, so try using the 'Enter' key sometimes.



Main Contents of a Good Description

Adoptables' Name
Example: Wolf Adoptables
This tells people what the deviation is about, the species and the fact that the characters are for sale. Never, ever assume that just because you put a price in the description, people will instantly know that the character is an adoptable for sale.

Price and Payment Methods
Example: 80 points/ $1
Put it right under the Adoptables' Name, so people will know how much is it before reading the whole description. Having to search for the price is a put off and so is reading a wall of text to discover, at the bottom, that you can't afford it. If it's on top, a person is informed, and can choose to read your description or not.

If you accept something different than points or just paypal, say so near the price. There's nothing more discouraging than having someone say 'I want to buy' and then replying that they only send money with snail mail when you send them your paypal.

Adoptable Number and Status
Example: 1. Tropical Wolf (open)
This tidies your adoptables' status and informs the purchaser if his wanted design is still open or has been adopted. I prefer to put a /waiting for payment/ when someone has claimed the adoptable, this way a second purchaser can claim it if the first one doesn't pay in time. Leaving it open illudes the second purchaser but writing 'closed' and then not receiving payment puts you in the situation where no one considers that adoptable anymore because they all though it was sold.

Also, when payment is received, you should put in the owner's name, since they now have a right to the character and credit is always nice to give.

Species' Description (Optional)
If it's an original species, try to give as many information as you possibly can. Since the species is yours, it falls to you to inform people of what they are purchasing, about size, behaviour, diet habits and such of the species. You can't exactly be mad if someone made your species eat meat if you don't point out that they are vegetarians. Also, try to do a tidy list for this, and not throw everything together. You need to make it easier for your customer, not harder.

Rules
These are lists based on my own rules. They are in no way the 'perfect' set of rules, but they should cover most of the questions an adopter will want to ask. Since you might want to keep the phrasing simple, some people will ask you to elaborate. Be patient even if the question seems redundant.

Adoption Rules
- Claiming (Is it a 'first come, first serve'? Or is it a 'Fill this bio to adopt'?)
- Reservation (Will you hold the character until the adopter has the payment ready? If you say yes, don't whine if your purchaser takes months to pay you. You wanted the bike? Now ride.)
- Hold Status (How long are you willing to wait for payment before the adoptable goes back up for adoption? 8 hours? 1 day? 1 week?)
- Open for trade/price haggling? (Y/N And try to stick to what you wrote. It is unsightly to see a 'will-of-steel' that doesn't live to see the week and simply gives up.)
- Can be re-sold? What about refund?
- Art Credits (Is the purchaser allowed to repost your art? Even on other sites?)

Species' Rules (Optional)
- Breedable (Y/N)
- Open/Everyone can make their own (Y/N)

Credits
Example: Art/Lineart (c) : dev :
This tells the purchaser exactly who is responsible for the character they're buying and gives them a person to contact, should any 'permission' issues come up. Remember to separate the design from the lineart, in case you're using a free lineart.

Adoptables Journals Series:
Adoptables, Basics for Adopters
Adoptables, Basics for Adoptables Artists
Adoptables Tutorial
Adoptables, Writing an Artist's Description
Adoptables, Customs
Adoptables, Design Tutorial
Adoptables, Buying Adoptables
Adoptables, Pricing
Original Species Tutorial
Adoptables, Auctions
Adoptables, Original Species Confusion
Adoptables, I sold one, now what?