With only just barely two hours left until the official deadline, I'd like to take a moment to address something that is so often an important topic on everyone's mind:
reviewing & commenting ; rules & guidelines
(borrowed heavily from the dmhgficexchange @ LiveJournal) (x)
While reviewing should never be an obligation, I ask that all participants take the time to review the gift that was created for them, even if all they write is, "Thank you, I really appreciate how hard you worked on this." (Is this common sense? Common courtesy? I certainly hope so, but I would rather state it clearly now, rather than be surprised later.)
As for the rest of the gifts that arrive on your dash: I ask that you leave a review or comment because a story or piece of art has compelled you to say something--because something about it inspires you--not just because you've set yourself a reviewing quota or, again, because you feel obligated.
What you are obligated to do, however, is to show every respect to the artists, authors, community members, and other reviewers and participants. No matter what.
There is no right or wrong "style" of reviewing. Be whatever kind of reviewer you want to be. Give constructive criticism if that's your thing. Squee and flail and smash your keyboard in joy if that's your thing, that's always a lot of fun. Be somewhere in the middle, or maybe don't even review at all. There is a place here for everyone.
It's okay, even encouraged, to question the author/artist about their creation and choices. If you really love something about a fic or piece of art, or conversely, really dislike something about it, asking the creator why they made that choice is a great way to go about it. They will certainly have answers and be happy to discuss it, and you may be surprised at what you learn.
Ultimately, this is a gift-exchange first and foremost. Constructive criticism has always been a part of these events and will remain so, but gift exchanges also aren't normal circumstances. Participants are given a predetermined creation period and an assignment of varying degrees of difficulty. Some participants have had some significant and unexpected hurdles to overcome but have still found a way to submit their gifts. Everyone who has submitted a gift in someone else's honor has already achieved something. Please be mindful. ♡
If there is a disagreement along the way, then it lies with you all to try to sort that out maturely, and to keep the disagreement respectful. Do not resort to personal attacks or passive aggressive remarks.
Above all, be kind and thoughtful in your review. Bend over backwards to be respectful. If you choose to offer constructive crit, use the sandwich method (i.e. good thing, not so good thing, good thing). Consider that other people might not place value on the things you value, or they may see characters differently. Give the benefit of the doubt and try not to jump to conclusions. Remember that praise makes people feel good but ultimately isn't lasting. The best kind of reviews provide insight and boost confidence.
Please understand that your review remains whatever you want it to be. I am simply asking you to keep these points in mind. :)
Thanks for reading, and please keep those submissions coming!
The strict due date for all COMPLETED gift submissions is Friday, October 18th @ 11:59pm EDT.
Submission rules & guidelines can be found here.
We already have our first official gift submission!
Posting will begin Saturday, October 19th @ 6:00pm EDT.
IMPORTANT: If for any reason you think that you may not be able to complete your gift creation on time, please message me or e-mail therentyoupay at evenlymatched [ @ ] gmail [ . ] com as soon as possible.
EDIT: I just made a slight edit to the submission rules & guidelines regarding fanfiction submissions. I forgot the most important part--that if you choose to post your gift outside tumblr first, that you link to that source in your tumblr submission! I guess that's what happens when you try to write up all of this late at night with a glass of wine what.
Believe it or not, the due date for gifts submitted as part of the evenly_matched The Coldest of Nights Tahnorra fic & art exchange is only days (hours?) away!
This is an important reminder to participants that your gift is due on or before Friday, October 18th @ 11:59pm. You ARE expected to submit your gift on time. And now, finally, what you have all been waiting for…
EVENLY_MATCHED ; submission rules & guidelines
Firstly, please ensure that your gift creation is accompanied by the following header. Please do not remove any points, though you may add additional categories if you wish (i.e. Word Count).
The Author/Artist's Notes is where you can feel free to share whatever you'd like about your journey in creating this gift, whether you'd like to explain your interpretation of the prompt, speak directly with your gift recipient about your hopes of their enjoyment regarding your creation, or simply describe how you've fallen, drowned in a puddle of feels, and can't get up. If you feel that some of your explanation may lead to some unfortunate spoilers, however, (fic writers, I'm looking at you), then feel free to save the sharing of those thoughts for an additional End Note.
Please be mindful of labeling your Warning(s) appropriately, should there be any need. Triggers will be tagged on tumblr & livejournal accordingly, but they should also be included in your header, first and foremost. Your Disclaimer can be as simple as, "I don't own."
If you are writing fic, please keep your Summary brief but meaningful! If you would like further clarification on this matter (or if you would like any help!), please e-mail therentyoupay at evenlymatched [ @ ] gmail [ . ] com.
#2. POSTING YOUR GIFT
This part was honestly the trickiest for me to figure out and, truthfully, it's still a bit of a work in progress. Whereas I have always participated in exchange tests that function solely on one social medium (usually LiveJournal), we are at a point in fandom functionality where fanfiction and fanart are commonly posted in a number of different places, including: FFNET, AO3, LiveJournal, and even tumblr.
I have debated over the easiest way to facilitate this posting process and, for our first exchange, here is what I've decided. Some details may be slightly different than what you may have first read in the Terms & Conditions, and those points will be amended as soon as possible. For now, here are the steps you should follow:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
How to Submit Your Gift to EVENLY_MATCHED :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Make certain that your gift is complete and fully prepared. For example:
If you are submitting fanfiction, this means that your creation has been thoroughly proofread and beta'd by at least one other person.
If you are creating fanart, perhaps you would like to add your watermark or signature.
You have filled out your gift header appropriately and have added any points you deem necessary. You have definitely provided the correct rating and warning(s), and have added a brief disclaimer for your fan creation.
Wait until the earliest acceptable point at which you may submit, which gift begins Tuesday, October 15th @ 8:00am EDT.
The next part may seem a little tricky, but I'm hoping that it turns out to be simple! Your steps for submission depend on where you choose to host your work.
If you would like to post your creation to any site that is NOT tumblr, including DeviantArt, FFNET, or AO3:
You are totally encouraged to do this! However, there is a bit more responsibility on your part, because you are still held to anonymity until your gift has been (later) posted officially by the evenly_matched tumblr. Thus, please read over the following instructions carefully.
First, go ahead and post your work to the site of your choice, but adhere to the following:
- Do not include the name or url of your recipient anywhere in your post.
- Please include its participation in the evenly_matched Tahnorra Fic & Art Exchange, The Coldest of Nights.
- Please include one of our PARTICIPANT banners in the description or your profile, if possible!
- If you have your own style of formatting your creation headers and/or, I encourage you to use it here. You may, of course, still feel free to use the official creation header listed above.
Again, do not mention who the gift is intended for anywhere in the description. Not yet. Once your gift submission has been posted to evenly_matched and officially appears on your dashboard, then--and only then--may you add in the name or your gift recipient to
your outside site.
Continue on to the next steps below:
If you would like to post your creation directly to tumblr, or if you have already completed the first steps of posting to NON-tumblr sites and are ready to move on to the OFFICIAL SUBMISSION process:
(1) Visit http://evenly-matched.tumblr.com/submit. From the drop-down menu, you may select Text or Photo.
(2) Please use the following TITLE format:
"Gift Title" [RATING] for @GIFT RECIPIENT
(3a) FANART: Upload your fanart creation. (If you have uploaded it to another site first, please link!) Copy and paste the official header into the text area. Accept the Terms of Submission. Submit!
(3b) FANFICTION: Copy and paste the official header. Clearly insert the words [[READ MORE]] where a line break should be, in between your header and your content, so that I can back in and add a [[READ MORE]] when I edit your post before official posting. Either (1) copy and paste your fanfiction into the textbox, below the divider or (2) link to the outside location. Insert any additional End Notes. Accept the Terms of Submission. Submit!
You are allowed (and encouraged!) to submit story banners with your fanfiction gifts. You can see examples of story banners here.
(4) CONGRATULATIONS! :D You did it!
#3. REGARDING SUBMISSIONS
Submissions will not be posted immediately; in an attempt to ride out the wave of this glorious fest for as long as possible--to extend the Tahnorra high, and to give all gifts their moment in the spotlight--posting from the official evenly_matched tumblr will be spread out over the course of the following week!
All submissions to the evenly_matched tumblr will be scheduled for official posting in the order that they were submitted! Official posting will be limited to 2-3 gifts per day.
#4. THAT'S ALL!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read over all of this information carefully! I know it seem like a lot to read, but it is important. And besides, imagine how long it took to put it all together, ha ha, ha... haaaaaaa. Really, though... Thank you!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ ALL OF THIS MATERIAL OVER THOROUGHLY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS, PLEASE E-MAIL THERENTYOUPAY AT evenlymatched [ @ ] gmail [ . ] com.
Thanks all. :)
More information regarding Contest Categories, voting procedures, and prize banners.
Tips and guidelines for leaving reviews, the Reviewer Award, and how to accept your gift graciously.
Looking ahead: possible themes for the evenly_matched Winter 2013-2014 Fic & Art Exchange.
I'm sure everyone has been working hard on their exchange projects and are anxious to get posting, but we still have aaaaaall the way until Thursday, October 17th put the final touches on our gifts. Until then, here are some things to mull over.
More specific guidelines regarding the submission process will be sent out this weekend! (Including: the preferred "Author/Artist's Note" format, where and how to submit, and the preferred methods of sharing your gift with the world, when to tell your gift recipient who you are, etc.) In the meantime...
Whether you are a perfectionist who will still be tweaking every piece of diction and punctuation right up until that Thursday evening, or you are one of the creators already rearing to post, you should know:
The strict due date for all COMPLETED, BETA'd (for fic) gift submissions is Friday, October 18th @ 11:59pm EDT.
The earliest acceptable point at which you may submit your gift begins Tuesday, October 15th @ 8:00am EDT.
Posting will begin Saturday, October 19th @ 6:00pm EDT.
- You should not submit your gift unless you are absolutely certain that it is complete, beta'd, polished, and ready to post. (In other words, please do your absolute best to submit your gift only once! Avoid sending edited version after edited version at all costs.) Again, more instructions regarding the actual submission process will be coming to you this weekend.
- You should maintain gifting anonymity until otherwise told to do so! Keep the spirit of sexy secrecy alive. ;)
- You should also ENJOY YOURSELF. ( And just think--we are about to get a fresh wave of new Tahnorra fanart and fanfiction. ♡ ♡ ♡ )
COMING SOON:
Instructions regarding gift specific submission expectations.
More information regarding Contest Categories, voting procedures, and prize banners.
Tips and guidelines for leaving reviews, the Reviewer Award, and how to accept your gift graciously.
Looking ahead: possible themes for the evenly_matched Winter 2013-2014 Fic & Art Exchange.
Also, if you haven't picked up your Participant Banner yet, make sure you take one for the road! ;)
Thank you again, everyone, for being a part of evenly_matched's first fic exchange! Whether you are one of our devoted participants, waiting at the ready as a pinch-hitter, or simply following along on tumblr or LiveJournal, I am so glad that you are here. I think many of us will agree that Tahnorra can sometimes be a hard ship to sail these days, and it warms my shipper heart to see so many adoring fans coming together in honor of two of the sassiest, sexiest characters we know. And love. ♡ ♡ ♡
I wish all of you luck as you enter the final stretch and, as always, encourage you to please send any and all questions, comments, & concerns my way!
Warmly,
♡ therentyoupay
We now have beautiful participant banners for our evenly_matched Tahnorra fic & art exchange, "The Coldest of Nights." Now you can proudly display your participation in the Autumn 2013 exchange on your blog!
A huge thank you to Yuki119 for letting us use her beautiful fanart and a huge thank you to themomentyoudie for putting it all together! (As well as creating our header and our two promotional banners as well!)
Also, please remember to save these to your own computer and host them on your own image-hosting account, either via LiveJournal, tumblr, Photobucket, TinyPic, etc.
We still have just a little over a month until the submission deadline, but time is sure to move quickly! Instructions regarding posting will be coming in early October, but in the meantime, I know you'll continue working on your gifts until they are polished pieces! :)
Thanks for everything, everyone! And, as always, please feel free to ask any question you might have.
A participant asked: Are we allowed to put author's notes on our evenly matched pieces or are they simply submitted as is?
Yes. You can also feel free to explain a bit more about your interpretation of the prompt in your Author's Notes when you eventually post, as well. More details on the exact requirements for posting will come much later, when we are nearing the end of the exchange.
Just a friendly reminder to all participants that this is an anonymous exchange! :) Please keep the details regarding your gift and your identity as gift-giver a secret from your assigned recipient! Your hard work will be revealed in good time. ;)
All evenly_matched applications for the Autumn 2013 exchange, "The Coldest of Nights," have been reviewed and matched with an anonymous artist or writer. Assignment e-mails were sent out earlier this morning to the e-mail addresses listed in your registration form. If you have not yet received your assignment, please send a message directly to evenlymatched [@] gmail [.] com.
More instructions on how to officially submit your gift will be sent later, as the final deadline approaches! However, please keep the following mind as you create:
SUBMISSION RULES: (These rules apply to participating writers/artists during exchanges as applicable.)
• All fics must be beta-read. Basic spelling and proper grammar make a fic much more enjoyable to read. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be readable.
• All fics must be at least 1000 words in length and COMPLETE. All work must be newly created (do not submit a story or piece of artwork you wrote/created previously).
• Work must be the original creation of the participating writer or artist. Borrowed words and images must be credited and kept to a minimum. Evidence of plagiarism will result in removal of work and membership and institution of a permanent ban.
IMPORTANT DATES:
• Creation period: August 18 - October 17
• Strict due date: October 18
• Posting starts: October 19
