Rules

[hermionemods]

Hermione Big Bang Rules

First rule: read the rules. No, seriously.

1. Fics must involve Hermione Granger in a central role. They do not have to be written from her point of view, and she doesn't have to be the only central figure, but it needs to be the case that without her, the fic would be a very different thing. If you aren't sure if your fic is about Hermione or has Hermione in a central role, please feel free to ask.
2. All fics must be at least 20,000 words, and must be complete and written for the fest (pre-existing WIPs only at the discretion of the mods; nothing previously posted),in order to be included in the fest's second phase. Inclusion in the second phase means being eligible for art and presence in the master list. Signing up for the fest doesn't absolutely commit you, but we do want you to sign up only if you think there's a good chance you can write a 20,000-word fic in the time allowed.
3. Sign-ups will include a fairly general indication of what you think you will write. This doesn't bind you, but we'd like to know if you change your mind in any significant way, because we may be trying to line up likely artists, and if you change from HP-verse het smut to a gen crossover involving spaceships and three-armed pink ogres, it'll likely make a difference.
4. Drafts of fics must be in by July 3, 2009 and must already be a complete fic and meet the minimum word count. We recognize that some authors wind up adding a lot of words in the editing process, so it's true that a fic that is 19,689 words at that point will probably be close enough, but we'd rather you not push on that. We also recognize that some authors may already be well past the word count but not quite to the finish line; we will work with those authors on a case by case basis, depending on factors such as how much is left to write, how clearly the author knows how to get there, and how long the existing work is.
5. Subject matter and rating are up to the author (with the exception of rule #1; this probably goes without saying). There are only two things that are really not allowed: underage characters in sexual situations (because we do not want to find ourselves in hot water over perceived underage smut), and RPF (real person fiction). Outside of that, there are no limitations on pairings, fandoms, kinks, ratings, settings, etc. Crossovers are allowed, although if you want to cross over with a particularly obscure other source, we may ask you to bring a fandom-familiar beta with you and possibly to suggest a likely artist.
6. All fics must be beta-read. If you have a beta you already work with, that's fine, but please pick someone who is going to tell you the truth about not just typos, but actual problems with the story. We want to wind up with excellent fiction, and that's going to mean accepting serious feedback. Regardless of whether you have your own beta, most likely we will assign a second one from the community pool.
7. Despite the beta-reader rule, all fics will be reviewed by us (or, if this is so wildly successful that the four of us can't hack reading that many fics, by us and individuals we ask to help us). If finished work still has serious problems which are not matters of artistic preference (e.g., major style inconsistencies), we reserve the right to reject the work and/or ask for revision. We will, of course, make every effort to catch serious problems early, to make things easier for everyone.
8. Artists will be assigned based on rough drafts. That means if in the editing process you find you are eliminating scenes or altering them so dramatically that an illustration of that scene would make no sense, you will need to contact us. Art will in no case be of a higher rating than the fic it accompanies, but may be of a lower rating, as artists will be allowed to determine which scene(s) they illustrate.
9. As with fic, art will need to be good-quality. We don't expect this to come up, but reserve the right to ask for revision if something really doesn't suit the tone of the fic it illustrates or needs work.
10. Final copies of fics must be in by September 6, 2009. We aren't interested in being impossible, but will need time to make sure everything is coded and looks right, so we just won't be able to accept fics right up to the moment the archive goes live. That said, if circumstances that are truly unique and impossible to foresee (circumstances such as the existence of finals week, the annual move back to college, or the writing of the annual report are neither impossible to foresee nor unique, yes?) should mean you are looking at a delay of just a day or two, we'd like to hear what's going on. We want to meet both the goal of having an archive that looks good, and the goal of having more long Hermione fics.
11. Fics will be posted with accompanying art, though what constitutes artwork will be variable, and may be comprised of one or more of a number of media. Some examples include traditional drawings and paintings (created using traditional or digital methods), graphic art (manips, for instance), vids, soundtracks, photography, or any other art approach our artists want to use. We hope to be able to assign more than one artist to the longest fics we have, and artists may choose to illustrate one or more fics; other than that, art will be assigned to artists by us, based on artists' preferences about what they're willing to draw/create (in terms of pairings, kinks, and tone).
12. Fics and accompanying visual and multimedia works will be the property of the archive for the initial posting period. This means you can't post your fic to your own website or LJ until the fest ends on September 30, 2009, and you also can't post pieces of it as you go. No one but your betas and others within the fest as needed should see it before it goes live, and then it will be exclusive to the archive until September 30. This doesn't mean they aren't your work, and we'll post them with your name on them, but we'll have exclusive posting rights for that period.
13. Authors must be at least 18 if they plan to submit or read adult fiction. At least to start, artists must be 18, since fiction they are illustrating may be adult; if underage artists wish to participate, we will have to wait to see if there are gen works for them.
14. Authors and artists should avoid overt character-bashing in discussing stuff being worked on. This is a multi-pairing event, and while it's unavoidable that some will love a pairing others abhor (and in fact, it's not just unavoidable, but a healthy part of having a diverse group involved), and there is no rule that you have to love everyone all the time, it's not supportive of the creative process to be told what you're doing is inherently icky/gross/disgusting. If you have questions about this, give a holler, but mostly not liking is fine; going out of your way to say you think X is gross is probably not.
15. We think we've covered the important things, but if something else comes up, we reserve the right to append a new rule. If we do so, we'll tell you; it won't be a secret.