The complete rundown of the MEBB (cause people asked for it)
First things first. You can sign up as both artist and author. You can sign up as a beta reader even if you are not participating in any other way, but you can also sign up as a beta reader if you participate. To particpate as a beta is an option in both sign ups.
So because this is a chronological breakdown of it, please read it all no matter if you are author or artist.
BETA READERS: SIGN UP FROM MAY 1ST TO JUNE 17TH
Now beta readers are hard to come by, but most stories will benefit from it. You can sign up as beta via a link that is live from may 1st till june 17th. You will get an email from me to all the beta readers, just like if you sign up as author or artist, but the beta readers are a separate list. Like authors and artists, you should sign up with an email (can be the same if you participate in other categories) that you check regularly and that you are okay with me giving to someone. Once I received your sign up I will send you a welcome email from the masseffectbigbang@gmail.com account so please take me off your spamfilter, and I will always write MEBB in the subject line. It is not binding to be a beta reader, so you can chose to not take any of the stories I present you with.
CHRONOLOGICAL RUNDOWN OF THE MEBB FOR AUTHORS, ARTISTS, BETAS AND PINCH HITTERS:
A link will go up where you (the authors) sign your email and handle, this handle will be the name which I use to address you throughout the entire MEBB. The email you sign up with has to be one that you are comfortable with me giving to the artist who will be your collab partner. Once I received your sign up I will send you a welcome email from the masseffectbigbang@gmail.com account so please take me off your spamfilter, and I will always write MEBB in the subject line.
From you sign up till June 17th you write your 10k big bang, I cannot stress this enough! You have to not give away anything from your story, but you can say that you participate in the MEBB of course. I will check in on you around halfways and hear how it’s going, and again around the end. I will not give you a date on this like I have done earlier years, because really all that means is grief for me, you and everyone.
The mid-checkup is just to hear how it’s going with your story, and I would appreciate that you answer my email.
The end-checkup is to ask you if you need a beta from the MEBB or if you have your own. I do absolutely think you should find your own beta if you can, because we usually don’t have that many in the MEBB to go around. If you need a beta then I will ask you to describe your story, the average: rating, pairring/characters, warnings, quick rundown of plot. I make these into a list and send them to the list of beta readers via email, and let them choose which story they want to beta if any.
A beta form will look like this:
Pairring/main characters:
Warning & rating:
Summary:
Author’s note: (what do you feel like that the beta needs to know)
Also at the end check up I will give you the form you fill in for the artists, you will return this list to me at June 17th the absolutely latest, if you fail to do so, I will just not include your story snippet in the line up.
Your story must be finished at June 17th, I will not give you a extension. With finished I mean the actual story have form (and is min 10k), but you can still edit it, so use the time the artists work to make small edits and get your story betaed. You are obligated to send your full story to your artist collab partner as soon as you get one. If it is a “rough” draft so be it.
All snippets sent to me by the end of June 17th (I will check the world clock, so don’t worry about timezones) will be uploaded in a random list with a number assigned to a public post at livejournal. I always recommend authors not to follow this post because I remove snippets as they are chosen by an artist. And experience tells me that there is no bigger chance if you are at the start of the list than at the end of the list, so don’t worry about that either.
A snippet form will look like this:
Pairring/main characters:
Warning & rating:
Summary:
Snippet: (Excerpt from the actual story, you can read the excellent tips and tricks that potionsmaster uploaded to get a better idea of what it is)
When artists sign up I will post a link to a post in livejournal where all the snippets are posted. A snippet are a quick rundown of the premise of a story, like pairring/characters, warnings, rating and a snippet, the snippet is a piece of the actual story which is scrubbed for all actual plot points. There will also be a link to your sign up form, and so when you sign up you will chose three numbers that represent a story, you will list those in your form in the order you wish them. So the story you want the most is 1st choice. You have to chose three different stories so I have a little wiggleroom when I assign you to an author. I will always attempt to give you your first choice.
PINCH HITTERS:
In the sign up form is also an option to sign up as a pinch hitter, you should only sign up for this if you think you can take on more than one story, and actually you can take on as many as you want, just know that you are obligated to treat them all the same, and you should produce the same for all authors. Sadly I have never run a MEBB where there were no need for pinch hitters, so the more of you that sign up for it, the better.
When the sign up is finished (july 2nd) I will first email the artists who have their second or third wish on the pinch hitter list and give you a day to get back to me, but please keep an eye on your email account around that date. You can always decline, the author won’t know so you’re not hurting anyone.
So around June 4th I will email all pinch hitters with the list of stories which are left, and needs an artist partner still, you then just email me back if you wish to take on any of these, and from there the procedure runs as had you picked it first. As always it’s first come, first serve.
I will email you and the author in a co-bbc email, and explain a little about what the expectations are. I expect the author to email you their story within the next few days, and I expect you to read it. Also I expect that you and the author email each other and keep in touch, you can send the author drafts of your work, and also the author should let you know if they make edits which mean anything to a scene in the fic.
The email will look a little like this: Hello ARTISTNAME you chose fic number 6, the author of that is AUTHORNAME. bla bla bla
Should your author not email you the fic, please email me and I will try and hunt them down. Same goes for the authors, should the artist not answer your emails, please let me know. Communication at this stage is really important.
But then you get to work, you must create one piece of art (traditional or digital or both). Also you must make a banner (from your piece of art) with the exact dimensions of 540px wide by 250px tall, where you will add the name of the story, and the name of both you and the author. How the layout looks is entirely up to you, but we recommend that it's written in a font that is easy to read. If you are not an artist per se, you can also create a playlist (on for instance 8tracks), the requirement is then a playlist of 8 tunes and cover art. (+banner)
I will check up on you midway in your process just to hear how you’re doing.
I will email you and the author both like a week before the 4th of August. I will ask you if everything is finished. If you took on more than one story to do art for, I will give you as much extension as I can, so I will assign you a date to post which is late in the posting process. But I need to know this a week before.
Roughly August 3rd you will all have your date which I will email you both, this is the day you should upload your story and art, not before not after. This year I chose to have a unrevealed Ao3 challenge, which means that the author can upload at any time, and just make arrangements with me on when to reveal it. Also same date the artists art can go live on any and all platforms you wish.
The artist should send the author the finished art & banner so the author can include this in their upload. The author should link back to the artist from the story. If you make a playlist, send the banner and a link.
Once your story is up on the correct date, I will take the banner and link and post it on Tumblr, G+, Livejournal & facebook and see if I can’t give you some exposure, this is why it’s imperative that the link to the artist is at the beginning of your story, and also under the art.
I will always email you like the day before your upload date and hear if you need any help, again it’s really damn important that you check your email.
IMPORTANT STUFF:
The artist own the art, but it also goes with the story, so the author is allowed to post the art with the story if they crosspost it to for example ff[dot]net and use it as cover. But should the author leave the MEBB prematurely and there is art done, the author has no claim what so ever to the art, even if it’s a rendering of their custom character. Luckily I never did have that problem, but just in case it should arise. I have once allowed an artist to upload art without the story for the MEBB, because it’s important to realise that the art is not secondary, it’s also the artists MEBB, and they are just as important. Would be the same to let an author post without art.
Also it’s important for the artists to know, that if your art is the size of a screen, A03 and wordpress just to name those automatically resizes it, but if the author resizes your image it is what it is, I suggest you resize your image yourself to a manageable size.
I cannot stress enough how important it is that artist and author communicate, and that we all show some good manners, as in don’t offer advice if you are not asked to do so. We are all doing out best, and also this is supposed to be a fun experience with an awesome outcome.
Once the MEBB is over, the artist can of course sell prints of their artwork, and they don’t owe the authors a thing, though recognition is always good etiquette.
Remember to give credit to author/artist, but also to beta readers. I need no credit though I know many does it, and thank you, but it isn’t necessary - i’d rather have a nude picture of Fassbender
:P
-Azzy