THIS IS NOT THE SIGN-UP POST. Do NOT post sign-up comments here. I'm just posting the rules and the sign-up template ahead of time so people will have a chance to decide whether they want to participate and to think about their prompts.
Once again this year, I'll be working with a Mod Squad who will be in charge of handling the PR end of things; my job will be matching and mailing assignments, uploading gifts to the archive, and posting gift announcements. The M.E.S.S. Crew (Mod Elves of Snupin Santa) will be answering questions, fixing things, handling gift submissions, etc. so they will be your point of contact via snupin_santa @ yahoo.com throughout the fest.
Timeline of Events for Snupin Santa 2010: August 17-24 - Sign ups for Snupin Santa 2010 will be open. September 1 - All assignments will be distributed no later than this date. November 1 - Due date for first time participants. November 15 - Due date for returning participants. December 1 - Posting begins December 24-25 - No gifts will be posted. December 30 - Posting ends. January 7, 2011 - The master list of gifts and who created them will be posted, aka The Big Reveal.
SNUPIN SANTA 2010 RULES:
How This Works: Snupin Santa 2010 is a winter holiday gift exchange, meaning if you sign up, you will receive a gift and you will be expected to give one in return. If you complete your assignment, you will get a gift in return, no matter what. If you do not complete your assignment, you will not receive a gift.
To sign up, fill out the following template:
LJ/IJ name: Email address: 4-6 gift requests in order of priority: (see below for details) What medium you're willing to create: (stories, art, icons, vids, etc.) What content you're willing to create/you'd like to receive: (kinks, secondary pairings, dark!fic, romance, etc.) What content you aren't willing to create/don't want to receive: (squicks, secondary pairings you don't want to see, etc.) Are you over 18?: yes/no Have you participated in Snupin Santa before (this includes pinch hitters)? yes/no If you're a returning participant, from whom have you received a gift in the past?
All requests must be Snape/Lupin-centric, although you may request threesomes (or moresomes) involving Snape/Lupin as well as any slash or het secondary pairings you'd like to see.
To give you an example of gift requests: 1) I'd like a set of icons featuring Person X and Person Y as Snape and Lupin. 2) I'd like art for my story, "Snape/Lupin Epic Romance". 3) I'd like a story in which Snape and Lupin go on holiday to Transylvania and meet other werewolves; submissive!Snape adored, orgy with werewolves optional but welcome. 4) I'd like a story in which Moony claims Severus as his mate on the floor of the Shrieking Shack while Sirius and Regulus hide and watch together, possibly with wanking.
Sign-ups will be open between August 17-24. If you're going to be away during that week but you want to participate in the fest, please fill out the template and email it to snupin_santa @ yahoo.com asap. Do this ONLY if you are going to be unavailable between August 17-24.
There is no cap on the number of participants. However, August 24 is the absolute last day to sign up, and any signs ups after that will not be accepted.
On August 25, I'll begin matching requests. You should receive an email containing your assignment, i.e. the person you'll be creating for and their requests, no later than September 1. You won't get to choose whom you create for, but if you absolutely can't fulfill any of your recipient's requests, let me know asap, and we'll work something out.
This is an anonymous exchange, so do not reveal whom your recipient is and do not post your gift yourself! All gifts will be posted on the Snupin Santa archive, and gift announcements will be made on lupin_snape on IJ and LJ daily throughout December. Gifts will be posted in random order.
Do not post or archive your story/art/other gift elsewhere until after the master list of submissions has been posted and the names have all been revealed on January 7, 2011. After then, you can post/archive wherever you please, but until then, keep it a secret.
SIGN-UPS: 1. Do not write or draw any prompts that are not assigned to you. I realize reading through the sign-up comments will probably be tempting and inspiring, but if you take someone's request and start writing/drawing it without it having been assigned to you, it makes my job a lot harder, and it will screw things up for the Fest, so please don't do it.
2. Snupin Santa is not a smut-fest. If you want to write/draw something rated PG13 or under, that's perfectly all right. If you're under 18 and you'd like to participate, you are welcome to do so as long as you don't create or request any NC17 material.
3. Snupin Santa is a multi-media exchange, which means other media beyond stories and art are welcome! If you've been wanting a Snape/Lupin layout, this is the time to ask. If you have skills you want to share beyond writing and art, this is the place to do it. I'd like this to be a fest that a broad range of participants can share in and enjoy.
You may volunteer to create/ask to have created for you: ~a story based on a specific prompt ~artists may request a story based on one of their drawings ~art, either a new piece or one based on one of your stories or RPG scenes (you may request an illustration of the story in general or of a specific scene) ~a batch of icons (anyone volunteering to make icons should be willing to make at least 10 for their recipient's personal use) ~a LJ or website layout ~a fanvid ~an essay on the topic of your choice ~other types of graphics ~any other virtual creative endeavor you can think of
You may NOT request the following: ~art/graphics based on a story that you did not write ~art/graphics based on a RP you did not write ~a story based on art you did not create
In other words, if you didn't create it, it may not be used as a basis for a prompt.
4. Please prioritize what you want in numerical order, with #1 being your most desired choice, and try to provide at least one art prompt. If you don't want art, you can say so, but if you do want art or are at least open to receiving it, please make one of your prompts something an artist can work with. I can't guarantee you'll get your first choice, but it will help me when trying to match requests if I know what you want most.
5. Try to strike a happy medium between being too vague and too specific with your prompts. In other words, try to give the writers/artists some details to inspire them, but also leave them some room for their own creativity. If you've got a very specific plot bunny that you want written/drawn a certain way, you should probably keep it to write/draw yourself!
6. Please only list skills that you are strong in and are prepared to use for someone else. For example, if you don't feel confident in your skills in making icons, don't say "well, I can make icons, but they'll be crappy" in your sign-up. It'll be easier for me to match people if I'm given concrete info on what they're willing and able to do.
7. If you're under 18, you must answer honestly in your sign-up comment, because I'll be checking. Underage participants are welcome, but I need to cover my own butt and make sure no one underage gives or receives NC17 material.
New rules!
8. If you have received a gift based on a specific prompt in any previous fest, including Snupin Santa, you may not recycle that prompt. You may only recycle prompts that have not been used as the basis for a gift before.
9. Please provide a minimum of four prompts, preferably a mix of story/art prompts rather than all story prompts or all art prompts.
10. Please do not link to your likes/dislikes post if you have one. Because I print out the sign-ups for the matching process, it's easier on me if you copy/paste the content of your likes/dislikes post in a comment(s).
SUBMISSIONS:
ARTISTS:
1. Due November 1 for first time participants.
2. Due November 15 for returning participants (including pinch hitters from last year)
3. Images and icons may be sent zipped or unzipped. All graphic gifts - art, icons, banners, etc - will be uploaded to the Snupin Santa website to preserve the anonymity of the creator.
4. Do NOT put your name/user ID in the file name (i.e., don't name your image "rlssby[yournamehere].jpg"). I'll just have to change it in order preserve the anonymity factor. Please don't put your signature ON the artwork either until after the reveal in January.
5. When submitting your gift, please identify your LJ name and include header info: title of the piece(s), rating, notes, and/or any warnings at minimum. IDENTIFY YOUR RECIPIENT IN THE EMAIL.
6. All gifts should be sent to snupin_santa @ yahoo.com.
WRITERS:
1. Due November 1 for first time participants.
2. Due November 15 for returning participants (including pinch hitters from last year)
3. You may submit your story in .doc, .txt, .rtf, or .docx format OR you may share it via Google Docs. Do NOT send .html files. All gifts should be sent to snupin_santa @ yahoo.com.
4. Stories should be at least 1500 words in length; there is no maximum length.
5. When submitting your gift, please identify your LJ name and include header info: title, rating, summary, notes, and/or any warnings at minimum. IDENTIFY YOUR RECIPIENT IN THE EMAIL. Please don't identify your beta readers in your header info since it might jeopardize your anonymity.
6. Tag your own HTML code for bold and italics. Do not simply bold or italicize in the document without using the code ( < i > and < b > without the spaces), because I'll send it back and ask you to include the code. I won't have time to go through the entire story and do it for you.
MISC INFO FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS:
1. If you'd like to include an accompanying piece of music or soundtrack, feel free to send me the mp3 files or a download link to include in the post. If you send the mp3s rather than download links, you'll need to send them to scribbulusink @ gmail.com instead of the Fest address.
2. You may fulfill as many of your recipient's requests as you like, although fulfilling more than one is not required. For example, if you want to write a story and include some icons, draw a comic, or create 2-3 images, that's perfectly fine. There is no limit on how much you can give.
3. The moderators reserve the right to return work that does not fit the requests of the recipient; does not adhere to the recipient's want/do not want lists; does not show evidence of time, effort, and/or thorough editing put into the work. If your work is returned to you, you will be given extra time to revise and resubmit your work.
4. If you absolutely can't finish your submission in the time between receiving your assignment and the allotted deadline, email me, and we'll work out a (short) extension. I will not give more than one extension, and I will not give lengthy extensions.
If I haven't received your submission or a request for an extension by the deadline, I'm not going to chase you down. I'll post a list of the participants whom I haven't heard from in lupin_snape. If I don't hear from you after I've posted the "Pointy Stick Post of Shame", you'll be dropped from the exchange, and your assignment will be given to a pinch hitter. I'll repeat if necessary with the extension deadline.
If you don't send in your assigned gift, you won't receive yours; it will be given to someone else, and you won't be allowed to participate next year. Yes, I do keep track. I also reserve the right to refuse sign-ups from participants who have been problematic or unreliable in the past.
THE ARCHIVE:
If you have an account at the Snupin Santa archive, your story/art will be switched from the Snupin Santa account to your account at the end of the fest, which means you will have autonomy over your story/art at the archive.
After the story/art has been switched to your account, you can receive feedback notifications via email, so you'll know about comments left months after the fest is over.
All Snupin Santa gifts from 2005-2010 are in one place, neatly organized and easily searchable.
Adult material automatically gets click-through warnings, so minors can't accidentally access the material.
The archive is protected with robot web crawler blocks, so the site itself can't be found through Googling. Links to the site are another matter, so please be careful about not linking in unprotected places. I had to turn off anonymous commenting because someone linked in an unprotected place to a piece of art on the archive, and the art got flooded with over 4000 anonymous spam comments.
You don't have to visit the archive to find out when new gifts have been posted in December because I will post announcements with links to the gifts on both LJ and IJ this year. You can click on the link and go straight to the new gifts.
Most importantly, let's have fun and make this a holiday season filled with Snape/Lupin-y goodness! :D
And one last thing: I would like to do what I've done at the end of the Fest both years, which was provide RL/SS icons for the exclusive use of the snupin_santa participants as a final gift for everyone involved. So if someone with icon-making ability would like to help me out, please email me at snupin_santa @ yahoo.com asap. Thanks!