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The Official 2007/2008 F.A.Q.!
Hello hello, and welcome to the 2007/2008 xmas_rocks exchange! Yes, we are soon to get underway, so let's get the tricky business out of the way first.

Behind this cut you will find a very important piece of information: our F.A.Q.

Yes, it's long.

Yes, some of it may seem (overly?) complicated.

But the reason for all the rules is to make the entire exchange run as smoothly as possible--for recipients, authors, and your moderator here. Please take your time reading through it all as there ARE a few changes, clarifications, and expansions since last year, based on problems that came up along the way that I'd like to avoid this time around. Also, the time periods for various steps have been expanded as we were in a bit of a rush last year, but now we're a lot more organized a lot earlier so we can take our time--more time for nominating, signing up, writing, and even for pinch-hitting at the last minute. Hopefully that'll mean more participants, more stories, and less pressure and angst for everyone.

Fear not, instructions will be repeated (with examples and more detail) each step of the way, but if you have any questions or concerns at this point in time, please leave a comment!

So all that said,

xmas_rocks
A Secret Santa project for rock band slash


Would you like to receive a story about one of your favorite rock pairings for the holidays? Would you be willing to write a story for someone else in exchange? Well, that's what xmas_rocks is all about. Read on for more details on how it all works.

The Exchange Timetable

Here's the quick summary of how the process will work with the important deadlines to remember. Each step will then be explained in further detail.

1. Thursday, September 13, 2007: Pairing/fandom nominations opened.
2. Thursday, October 11, 2007: Pairing/fandom nomination deadline.
3. Monday, October 15, 2007: Participation sign-up opened.
4. Saturday, November 3, 2007: Sign-up deadline.
5. Saturday, November 10, 2007: Story assignments mailed out (if not sooner).
6. Saturday, December 22, 2007: Story submission deadline (11:59 PM EST).
7. Saturday, January 5, 2008: All stories posted.
8. Saturday, January 12, 2008: Authors revealed.

How the Exchange will work

1. Pairing/fandom nominations opened (09/13/07)

During these four weeks, nominations will be accepted for what pairings, in what rock fandoms, will be eligible for the fiction exchange. This step serves three purposes:

a. To limit the number of requestable pairings to those of genuine interest

b. To allow the moderator to rule out any pairings that don't fit the particular theme of this exchange

c. To get folks thinking about what pairings from the nominations list they might be willing or interested in writing.

An official post will be made on September 13 opening nominations. Interested participants will comment with up to 8 pairings they would like to see eligible for the exchange. The requests should be made in the following format:

Band Name (Character A full name/Character B full name)

"Crossovers" will be allowed, and the format for requesting them should be:

Crossover (Character A full name, Band/Character B full name, Band)

Individual artists are eligible as well, just list them under crossovers. For example,

Crossover (Character A full name, Band/Character B)

For instance, one person's nomination list might look like:

The Beatles (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
The Beatles (John Lennon/George Harrison)
The Who (Pete Townshend/Roger Daltrey)
Crossover (Pete Townshend, The Who/Roger Waters, Pink Floyd)
Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl/Taylor Hawkins)
Crossover (Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones/David Bowie)

The moderator will respond to your comment either accepting or ruling out each submitted pairing. Once a pairing has been submitted once in a comment for the eligibility list, it does not need to be suggested again by any other participant. If any of your suggestions are not accepted, you may submit a request again, up to 8 accepted suggestions.

Nominating pairings does not commit you to participating in the exchange. It's basically a brainstorming step. But your pairings must be nominated during this stage in order to be requested later on!

2. Pairing/fandom nomination deadline (10/11/07)

This is the last date to get in your nominations for pairings. They must be received by 11:59 PM EST to make the final list.

3. Participation sign-up opened (10/15/07)

Official sign-ups for participation in the fic exchange will be opened on Monday, October 15. The complete list of eligible pairings will be posted on that day. You do not have to have participated in the nomination process to sign-up, and you are not limited only to the pairings you nominated yourself. You are only limited to the pairings on this list.

Sign-ups will be accepted as screened comments on the sign-up posting, viewable only to the moderator. You must comment with all of the following information in order to participate:

*Your writing name/pseudonym
*lj username (if you have one)
*email contact address
*requested pairings to receive
*pairings you are willing to write
*a link to some recent (within the past 2 years) example of your writing. If friends-locked, please email the moderator a sample directly!

You must request 3-5 pairings you are interested in receiving. They cannot all be from the same band. We want to make sure there are enough possible matches available, and to accomplish this all participants must be flexible in both their wants and their willingness to write. You will only receive one story, but it will be off your requested list.

You must be willing to offer to write at least 4 pairings from the eligible pairing list--though you will only have to actually write one of them. You can, and are encouraged, to offer to write as many pairings as you realistically think you know well enough to write. This will make the assignment process easier. We strongly encourage participants to offer to write in at least 2 different bands (or at least to offer a crossover or two). Remember that you will only have to write one story, but you need to offer to take on 4 or more from the list in order to ensure we can match requests with willing writers.

Why are we asking to see a sample of your writing? To ensure that those signing up are at least somewhat active and experienced authors already. Writing an xmas_rocks story should not be your first attempt ever to write a piece of fiction. We also want to ensure that participating authors have at least a basic understanding of grammar, formatting, punctuation, spelling, etc. We may ask an author to work with one of our team of beta-volunteers if there are any concerns about meeting these basic requirements.

Those who defaulted on last year's exchange are NOT eligible to participate and sign-up this year. You defaulted if:

a. You disappeared after receiving your assignment and never let the moderator know you wouldn't be able to complete your story on time--or let the moderator know anything at all.

b. You let the moderator know ahead of the deadline that you wouldn't be able to complete your assignment on-time, but you did not complete an Unfulfilled Request Challenge story to make up for it.

Since no one submitted any Unfulfilled Request stories this past year, basically anyone who did not complete their assignment last year is ineligible to participate this year. If you have any questions about your eligibility to sign up, please drop me an email at sidewinder72@earthlink.net.

The mod will acknowledge receipt of your request and/or if any necessary information is missing. Sign-ups must be received by Saturday, November 3. This will give the moderator enough time to make sure there are matches for everyone and work out assignments. If by some chance no one is available to write the pairings you have requested, we may have to ask you to add more requests to what you are interested in reading. Hopefully this will not be an issue. To increase your odds of a better match, we suggest that your requests include at least one more common pairing/fandom, and not all obscure or rarer ones. And get your friends and writers in your favorite band fandoms to sign up!

4. Sign-up deadline (11/3/07)

Sign-ups must be received by 11:59 EST on this date.

5. Story assignments mailed out (11/10/07)

Story assignments will be mailed out by Saturday, November 10. You will receive your assignment via email.You will then have six weeks to write a story that meets the requirements listed below.

To preserve the "Secret Santa" aspects of the exchange, please do not talk about the specifics of your assignment publicly, such as in your livejournal or in comments here. Please do not POST your story, as you are working on it or once finished, in any other community, archive, personal fiction page, etc--whether under community-lock or not! This rule must be followed until after the author reveal on January 12, 2008, or else your submission will be considered invalid and a new submission required (either from yourself or a pinch-hitter.)

6. Story submission deadline (12/22/07 11:59 PM EST)

All submissions are due on or before December 22, 2007 by 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time. Submissions must be received via email to sidewinder72@earthlink.net. Please keep them in plain text (.txt) or rich text (.rtf) format only. Email subject line should read "Secret Santa Story" so that I can assure all stories are received and not filtered into junk mail.

There will be no extensions. We must enforce this deadline so that, in case of anyone defaulting and not submitting a story, we have two weeks to attempt to get a replacement story ready for the recipient now left without a gift.

7. All stories posted (1/5/08)

The archive of stories submitted will be opened on January 5, 2007, at a URL given upon that date. You will be able to browse all stories by recipient name and by fandom. Feedback forms on all stories will allow you to leave comments and thanks either anonymously or signed on the stories.

8. Authors revealed (1/12/08)

On January 12, 2007, the names of the authors of each fic will be posted in this LJ as well as in the archive. You may also then repost the story (or stories) you wrote wherever you like.

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FURTHER QUESTIONS, RULES, DETAILS, ETC.

WRITING REQUIREMENTS
What are the story requirements?

The story you write must be at least 1,000 words in length. Of course, it can be longer than that as well. It cannot, however, simply be several shorter unconnected pieces (for instance, ten 100-word drabbles would not be acceptable.)

Your submission must contain the requested band fandom and pairing as the main focus of the story. Other characters or bands can be included, but please try to keep the primary storyline about the characters your recipient requested.

We also request that your story meet basic standards of English grammar, punctuation, and spelling. We strongly recommend the use of a beta-reader or editor to review your story before submitting it. The moderator does not want to have to proofread and request corrections on multiple pages of typos at the last minute. We will try to have a team of willing betas in place to offer their services for this if you need one.

Does the story have to contain graphic sex?

No. Certainly you are welcome to include erotic content, but it is not required. However, please don't submit simply a "gen" story - there should still be a slash relationship featured as this is a slash fiction exchange.

Can I request a story without offering to write one?

No. This is an exchange process. If you want to receive a story, you have to be willing and able to write one yourself.

Can I request femmeslash, or het?

Femmaslash (F/F), yes. Het (M/F) fiction? No. This is a slash (same-sex relationship) fiction exchange only.

Can I write more than one story?

We may need "pinch hitters" willing to write more than one story if any participants pull out or fail to submit a story on time. Just watch the community for any requests for additional stories to see if your help is needed.

Can I request a specific storyline or idea, along with my pairing?

You may suggest certain things you'd like to read, but your author will not be required to include anything beyond the specific band and characters you requested. Suggestions can be placed in a "Dear Santa" post that will be opened after assignments are given out. Some authors appreciate the guidance of knowing what kind of stories you like to read, or if you have any particular ideas in mind, but do remember that following these suggestions are not mandatory.

Can I request that a story NOT include certain elements? I really don't like stories that include X, Y, or Z.

If you have particular strong likes or dislikes (rape, deathfic, schmoop), you may include them in your "Dear Santa" responses. We will encourage authors to take these points into consideration, as certainly no one wants to receive a gift that is more upsetting than pleasing.

GENERAL QUESTIONS & RULES
Who can participate in this fic exchange?

Due to the mature content to be expected in much of the fiction, this exchange is for adults only. By signing up to participate, you are confirming that you are 18 years of age or older. Also, as mentioned earlier, you must show that you have some experience writing fiction already, and that you had not defaulted on last year's exchange.

What bands and artists are eligible for this fic exchange?

This exchange is for rock music bands and artists, both new and classic. Basically, if it's an artist you'd hear classified in general as Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Rock or Heavy Metal, then your suggestion will probably be accepted. Pop/dance/Top 40 artists will not make the cut.

In other words, The Beatles? Yes. Backstreet Boys? No.

The moderator will have the final word on whether a nomination will be accepted, though suggestions can be opened for discussion or debate during the nomination process.

I signed up for the exchange, but I'm not going to be able to complete my assignment.

If this is the case, please let the moderator know as soon as possible. We will attempt to find a substitute writer to fulfill your assignment, but the more time we have to do this, the better.

If you default, please be aware that you will not be allowed to participate in next year's exchange.

I hated the story I received!

Unfortunately, sometimes we receive a gift that we do not care for. Common courtesy, however, dictates that in such situations the polite thing to do is accept the gift graciously and leave the matter at that. Please do not flame or trash the story you receive, even if it is not to your personal taste. If, however, you genuinely feel like your gift did not meet your basic request or satisfy the basic requirements of the exchange, you may discuss the matter with the moderator.