Here's some tips I knew on text (though I'm not good at it either)
* First donwload some nice font (e.g.
dafont.com
* If you're using a light color in text don't use a glow anymore, hence it must be opposite...
like this..
dark color text + light outer glow
or
light color text + black 1px stroke effect....
or
any color text + dual dark color gradient effect + light color outer glow...
or
any color text + dual light color gradient effect + 1px color black stroke effect...