Nominations for Rose and Bay Award: Webcomic Category
Nominations are now CLOSED. The voting period is February 1-29, 2012. Vote for webcomics!
Nominations are now open for the Webcomic category of the Rose and Bay Award. This award honors excellence in creative crowdfunding, and this category recognizes superlative artwork and writing in the field of webcomics which combine visual and textual elements of storytelling. Everyone is encouraged to make nominations and, later, to vote. Icons and banners are available to help spread the word. Please read the complete details below, and then make your nominations in a comment on this post.
NOTE: The 2011 winner, Khaos Komix by Tab Kimton aka khaoskomix is not eligible for nomination in 2012.
What Is the Rose and Bay Award?
The Rose and Bay Award focuses on a growing business model known as "crowdfunding" or "cyberfunded creativity," which directly connects creative people and patrons of the arts online. This award recognizes exemplary projects and enthusiastic patrons. It spans six categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. (Other Project includes any cyberfunded creativity that isn't art, fiction, poetry, or webcomic -- or that spans more than one category.) The categories and their handlers are listed below:
Art: jenny_evergreen
Fiction: jenny_evergreen
Poetry: ysabetwordsmith
Webcomic: ysabetwordsmith
Other Project: lilyayl
Patron: lilyayl
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2011.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2012.
The voting period spans February 1-February 29, 2012. (Leap Day provides an extra day this year.)
Award Rules
1) In order to be nominated, a project must be "cyberfunded creativity" aka "crowdfunding." That means it must be creative material marketed directly to an audience online, with money involved somehow. There are many variations of this business model; all are welcome; and if you're not sure a project qualifies, you may ask.
2) In order to be nominated, at least part of the project must be visible online without charge. If the project is normally visible only to paying subscribers or the like, and the creator wishes for it to be eligible, then s/he may offer temporary or partial access for voting purposes. (If the available material is temporary and/or partial, it needs to say that at the top of the screen, to avoid annoying visitors who might otherwise think they're about to see a complete piece.)
3) A project or person which wins one year is not eligible in the same category for the next year. After that, it is eligible again. The 2011 winners are therefore not eligible for the 2012 award season, including Khaos Komix by Tab Kimton aka khaoskomix in Webcomic.
4) This award goes by calendar years. So in order to be eligible for this round, a project must have been active on or between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.
5) For the 2012 round, nominations will be made in comments to this nomination post. A nomination consists of the project title, creator name, award category, a link to the project page, and a summary. The summary should include several sentences describing the project's content (theme, characters, plot, etc.), presentation (media, frequency, etc.), and crowdfunding approach (money handling, audience interaction, etc.) See "5 Steps to Crowdfunding Success" for a discussion of key features that identify a crowdfunded project. Example:
Project Title: Wonderful Webcomic
Creator Name: A.J. Muse
Link: http://wonderful.webcomic.com
Category: Webcomic.
Summary: "Wonderful Webcomic is a new (March 2011-current) black-and-white webcomic about two left shoes, a magical butterfly, and their efforts to rescue neglected children. It updates weekly on Mondays. This project is funded by donations; there are thresholds at which additional black-and-white strips may appear (on Wednesdays and Fridays) and another for a monthly full-color, full-page spread. A monthly poll asks readers to choose a favorite bit character to reappear; other questions vary. Watch for the hardcopy edition planned for publication in summer 2012."
6) You may nominate a maximum of three projects per category. You are not required to make that many nominations or to cover all the categories. Please make each nomination in a separate comment; that way, if a problem occurs with one nomination it will not affect any others. You may not nominate your own project.
7) Nominations for the Webcomic category will be collected by ysabetwordsmith.
8) Participation is voluntary. If a creator wishes to withdraw their project from any category, or a patron wishes to withdraw from the Patron category, simply contact the category handler. In case of withdrawal, the person who made the withdrawn nomination may then nominate another project or patron instead.
9) Voters are strongly encouraged (though not required) to browse the nominees before making a final decision; that's what the links are for, and the purpose of this award is to promote the splendor of crowdfunded projects. If you don't have time for that, better to vote on the ones you know than just skip the whole award.
10) Voting will take place via LiveJournal polling in the crowdfunding community, open to all. Polling is by popular vote, with checkboxes; you may vote for all of the projects in a category that you admire. (There may need to be more than one poll question per category, and runoffs, if the number of nominees is high. LJ has a limit to how many options there can be per question in a poll.) You may not vote for your own project, nor yourself as a patron.
11) Winners will be announced after the polling is completed.
Where To Find Webcomics
While there is not yet a website that focuses exclusively oncrowdfunded projects, there are several that gather various types of webcomics. If you want to participate in this award category but you're not sure what projects to nominate, look for places to browse through different projects so you can find some that you like.
How You Can Help
As a relatively new award, Rose and Bay depends on your enthusiasm to make it a success. Here are some ways you can help that happen:
1) Make some nominations. Leave yours in a comment to this post, and watch for separate posts to appear for the other five categories.
2) Mark the voting period on your calendar. Make sure you come back to this community in February to cast your votes.
3) Promote the Rose and Bay Award by blogging about it, emailing your friends, posting it on social networks, or any other method you can imagine. Boost the signal on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other social networks you frequent. Everyone is encouraged to spread the word as far as possible whether you are a creator, a patron, or a curious bystander.
4) If you're a patron or audience member, highlight your favorite crowdfunded projects from 2011 and direct people back to the award. Are you following other patrons whose tastes match your own to see what they sponsor or recommend? Mention them too! This makes it easier for people to find eligible nominees.
5) If you're a creative person, let your audience and patrons know which of your projects are eligible for the Rose and Bay Award, including a link to the relevant nomination page(s). Do you have an "honor wall" or other place acknowledging your patrons? Mention that too! Let your fans know there is a way for them to honor your project and the patrons who make it possible.
Nominations are now open for the Webcomic category of the Rose and Bay Award. This award honors excellence in creative crowdfunding, and this category recognizes superlative artwork and writing in the field of webcomics which combine visual and textual elements of storytelling. Everyone is encouraged to make nominations and, later, to vote. Icons and banners are available to help spread the word. Please read the complete details below, and then make your nominations in a comment on this post.
NOTE: The 2011 winner, Khaos Komix by Tab Kimton aka khaoskomix is not eligible for nomination in 2012.
What Is the Rose and Bay Award?
The Rose and Bay Award focuses on a growing business model known as "crowdfunding" or "cyberfunded creativity," which directly connects creative people and patrons of the arts online. This award recognizes exemplary projects and enthusiastic patrons. It spans six categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. (Other Project includes any cyberfunded creativity that isn't art, fiction, poetry, or webcomic -- or that spans more than one category.) The categories and their handlers are listed below:
Art: jenny_evergreen
Fiction: jenny_evergreen
Poetry: ysabetwordsmith
Webcomic: ysabetwordsmith
Other Project: lilyayl
Patron: lilyayl
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2011.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2012.
The voting period spans February 1-February 29, 2012. (Leap Day provides an extra day this year.)
Award Rules
1) In order to be nominated, a project must be "cyberfunded creativity" aka "crowdfunding." That means it must be creative material marketed directly to an audience online, with money involved somehow. There are many variations of this business model; all are welcome; and if you're not sure a project qualifies, you may ask.
2) In order to be nominated, at least part of the project must be visible online without charge. If the project is normally visible only to paying subscribers or the like, and the creator wishes for it to be eligible, then s/he may offer temporary or partial access for voting purposes. (If the available material is temporary and/or partial, it needs to say that at the top of the screen, to avoid annoying visitors who might otherwise think they're about to see a complete piece.)
3) A project or person which wins one year is not eligible in the same category for the next year. After that, it is eligible again. The 2011 winners are therefore not eligible for the 2012 award season, including Khaos Komix by Tab Kimton aka khaoskomix in Webcomic.
4) This award goes by calendar years. So in order to be eligible for this round, a project must have been active on or between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.
5) For the 2012 round, nominations will be made in comments to this nomination post. A nomination consists of the project title, creator name, award category, a link to the project page, and a summary. The summary should include several sentences describing the project's content (theme, characters, plot, etc.), presentation (media, frequency, etc.), and crowdfunding approach (money handling, audience interaction, etc.) See "5 Steps to Crowdfunding Success" for a discussion of key features that identify a crowdfunded project. Example:
Project Title: Wonderful Webcomic
Creator Name: A.J. Muse
Link: http://wonderful.webcomic.com
Category: Webcomic.
Summary: "Wonderful Webcomic is a new (March 2011-current) black-and-white webcomic about two left shoes, a magical butterfly, and their efforts to rescue neglected children. It updates weekly on Mondays. This project is funded by donations; there are thresholds at which additional black-and-white strips may appear (on Wednesdays and Fridays) and another for a monthly full-color, full-page spread. A monthly poll asks readers to choose a favorite bit character to reappear; other questions vary. Watch for the hardcopy edition planned for publication in summer 2012."
6) You may nominate a maximum of three projects per category. You are not required to make that many nominations or to cover all the categories. Please make each nomination in a separate comment; that way, if a problem occurs with one nomination it will not affect any others. You may not nominate your own project.
7) Nominations for the Webcomic category will be collected by ysabetwordsmith.
8) Participation is voluntary. If a creator wishes to withdraw their project from any category, or a patron wishes to withdraw from the Patron category, simply contact the category handler. In case of withdrawal, the person who made the withdrawn nomination may then nominate another project or patron instead.
9) Voters are strongly encouraged (though not required) to browse the nominees before making a final decision; that's what the links are for, and the purpose of this award is to promote the splendor of crowdfunded projects. If you don't have time for that, better to vote on the ones you know than just skip the whole award.
10) Voting will take place via LiveJournal polling in the crowdfunding community, open to all. Polling is by popular vote, with checkboxes; you may vote for all of the projects in a category that you admire. (There may need to be more than one poll question per category, and runoffs, if the number of nominees is high. LJ has a limit to how many options there can be per question in a poll.) You may not vote for your own project, nor yourself as a patron.
11) Winners will be announced after the polling is completed.
Where To Find Webcomics
While there is not yet a website that focuses exclusively oncrowdfunded projects, there are several that gather various types of webcomics. If you want to participate in this award category but you're not sure what projects to nominate, look for places to browse through different projects so you can find some that you like.
- The Belfry Webcomics Index
- ComicFury
- DrunkDuck
- Fantastic Female Comics Creators of 2011
- KeenSpot
- Top Web Comics
- Web Comics Nation
- The Webcomic List
- The Webcomic Overlook
- Webcomics Guide
How You Can Help
As a relatively new award, Rose and Bay depends on your enthusiasm to make it a success. Here are some ways you can help that happen:
1) Make some nominations. Leave yours in a comment to this post, and watch for separate posts to appear for the other five categories.
2) Mark the voting period on your calendar. Make sure you come back to this community in February to cast your votes.
3) Promote the Rose and Bay Award by blogging about it, emailing your friends, posting it on social networks, or any other method you can imagine. Boost the signal on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other social networks you frequent. Everyone is encouraged to spread the word as far as possible whether you are a creator, a patron, or a curious bystander.
4) If you're a patron or audience member, highlight your favorite crowdfunded projects from 2011 and direct people back to the award. Are you following other patrons whose tastes match your own to see what they sponsor or recommend? Mention them too! This makes it easier for people to find eligible nominees.
5) If you're a creative person, let your audience and patrons know which of your projects are eligible for the Rose and Bay Award, including a link to the relevant nomination page(s). Do you have an "honor wall" or other place acknowledging your patrons? Mention that too! Let your fans know there is a way for them to honor your project and the patrons who make it possible.