#ofmdbb: answered questions

[ofmdbigbang]

Hi there! I’m thinking I might have to drop out of the Big Bang as a writer due to some commitment issues and I was just wondering how one is meant to go about dropping out of the event? Do we just send the mods an email or is there a separate form to fill out to say we won’t be completing our fic? (Sorry if this is a super obvious question, I checked the FAQ and couldn’t really find a clear answer so I just wanted to be sure I was doing it properly). Thanks in advance!

Hi! No worries about having to drop out now. Real life comes first, and it's much better to drop before making a committment to an artist.

To drop out, just email us (ofmdbigbang at gmail.com) with the email address you used to sign up, and we'll take you off the list.

[ofmdbigbang]

hi there! I signed up last week and haven’t yet received a welcome email. Just wanted to check to make sure I’m actually on the list!

We just got caught up with our latest batch of emails, so you should have it now! If you don't see it, search your spam/junkmail for an email from ofmdbigbang@gmail.com. Let us know if you didn't get it! We might have your email down wrong in our spreadsheet.

[ofmdbigbang]

Was there a confirmation email sent out when you sign up? I don't want to double sign up but I can't for the life of me remember if I did already!

We've been sending them out in batches, and we're back up to date now. If you haven't gotten a welcome email from us, either you didn't sign up yet, or there's a typo in your email address. If you want to send your email address or the name you signed up under we can double check if we've got you on our spreadsheet.

[ofmdbigbang]

hello! i've been thinking about joining, but i'm not sure if there's any guidelines around age (e.g, must be a certain age to join, if your able to request to not work with adults if you're a minor, and vice versa), and was wondering what the rules surrounding that are?

Thanks for your question!

To participate, you must be at least 13 (this is the minimum age for tumblr and for discord). We ask that participants under the age of 18 only submit works rated G(eneral) or T(een).

We do not bar adults and minors working on appropriate works together, as cross-generation friendships can be highly beneficial for both parties. On the other hand, if you are a minor and participate as a writer, we allow you to indicate whether or not your status as a minor appears on your story summary and if you're comfortable or not working with an adult artist. We also ask adult writers if they are comfortable working with minor artists.

[ofmdbigbang]

Are y'all sending gay slurs into participants inboxes? Cause if not, uh... someone's pretending to be you and attacking people because they don't like their content. just fyi

The mods for this big bang will not contact you via tumblr, and we are distressed that someone has been impersonating us in this way. Our first line of communication will always be through email. Anyone sending you messages on tumblr, anonymous or not, purporting to be a mod is lying to you. Do not allow them to discourage you from participating or asking any questions you may have. We welcome any and all questions to our tumblr, our email, or on Discord.

[ofmdbigbang]

Since there are so many more writers signed up than artists, what happens if your fic doesn’t get chosen by an artist?

Thanks for the question!

After a first round of art claims, if there are unclaimed stories, we will run a second round of claims for any artists who are able to do art for two stories. We will keep trying to find artists for any remaining unclaimed stories as best we can by recruiting more artists at that time.

However, as it says in our FAQ, we can't guarantee that all stories will have accompanying art. Unclaimed stories will be included in the posting schedule and promoted the same as those that have been claimed. If the number of unclaimed stories is small enough, we might be able to pinch-hit simple title banners for each remaining story to make sure that everyone gets at least a little bit of art.

[ofmdbigbang]

Will there be a way to request that the person you’re collaborating with is not a minor if you are an adult, and vice versa? Im not currently planning on writing anything nsfw but just for my own boundaries when it comes to not interacting personally w/ minors in online spaces, I’d prefer to work with another adult.

During the check-in ahead of art claims, you will be asked the highest possible rating your fic might be. We will be asking any minor artists not to choose fics with a Mature or Explicit rating. We have also added a question to the form asking whether you would be comfortable working with a minor artist. This information will be displayed with your story summary ahead of artist claims to signal minor artists not to claim your fic.

We will also be asking authors who are minors what they are comfortable with when it comes to working with artists who are adults, and will take that into account in the story summary as well.

Participants are expected to treat each other with respect and kindness. We recognize that cross-generational collaborations could be rewarding for both parties, and we will allow them according to each participant's comfort level. If any misbehavior occurs, we invite participants to report this behavior to the moderator team as soon as possible. At our discretion, we will decide as a team what consequences that participant will face.

[ofmdbigbang]

I looked over the rules and FAQ but didn't see an answer -- are explicit/NSFW art and fics allowed in this exchange?

If it's allowed on AO3, it's allowed in this big bang! Just make sure to tag appropriately and keep our warnings policy in mind.

[ofmdbigbang]

The rules mention that fics for this big bang have to be beta-read. I run an Our Flag Means Death beta-reading community: https://ofmdbetacommunity.tumblr.com/.

You're welcome to make use of it for the big bang, to help coordinate matching authors with beta-readers.

Thank you so much! This will be a great resource for those of our authors and betas who don't use discord, as well as for those of us who are also writing non-big-bang fics!

If anyone wants to sign up as a beta reader (and get access to the participant discord), you can click here.

[ofmdbigbang]

Hey! I was wondering how the bang was being promoted. I see most ofmd fandom stuff on Twitter but I haven't seen anything about the bang on Twitter. I feel like fics aren't getting the number of hits and kudod they could be getting. Are writers allowed to promote their own fics on other platforms? Thanks!

Sorry, this main mod isn't very familiar with twitter. If you have ideas for how to promote the big bang as a whole there, please let us know!

Since we're still in the blackout period, if you want to advertise your individual work on twitter, please link to the relevant tumblr post, not directly to AO3. This helps direct traffic toward the other participants' work as well. Thanks!

Edited to add: You can use the hashtag #ofmdbb2022 in your tweets to coordinate with other participants in the big bang!

[ofmdbigbang]

hello! would fanbinding be an acceptable form of art for this bang? i'm interested in signing up as an artist if so!

Hi! We've decided that fanbinding wouldn't work out logistically for this big bang. Writers aren't required to finish their final draft until a few days before posting starts, which would give an artist very few days to do their entire fanbinding project.

At this time, we're going to say no.

Thanks for your interest!

[ofmdbigbang]

When can we expect to know our posting date?

During the final check in (September 15th-20th), you will request posting dates that will work for you. We haven't decided how many stories will post per day, but we're likely to have a 2+ week long posting period. We'll do our best to assign posting dates in a way that works best for everyone.

[ofmdbigbang]

Hey, quick q- I’m an artist for the bb (on anon bc my main is associated with my real name woops) and I wanted to know where the artist claims will be posted? Like will there be an email or a link on the discord? Thank you! Looking forward to it!

You will be getting an email shortly!

[ofmdbigbang]

I’m a writer and I’ll be going out of town the day after posting starts, and I’ll likely have limited internet. Will posting slots be requestable so I can try to get a spot on the day before I leave?

Posting slots will be requested as part of the final check-in September 15th — 20th, so the earlier you can check in then, the better. We'll work with you as best we can to get you a posting slot that will work for your schedule!

[ofmdbigbang]

hello! when it comes to posting time, will we be able to post multi-chaptered fics chapter by chapter over a reasonable period of time (say a week or two) or will we have to post them all at once?

We need you to post them all in the 24 hours before your posting slot. We understand that this can result in less reader engagement, but it is only fair to the other participants. We hope that being part of the big bang will bring more readers to your fic to offset the effect of posting all on the same day.

[ofmdbigbang]

On the second author check in you guys mentioned "Major imagery" and i was just wondering what exactly you meant by that? Thanks!

"Major imagery" is meant to mean scenes or other visual motifs in your fic that you think would be good for an artist to use in their art. Do you have a major scene that happens at a lighthouse? Do you bring back the red silk cloth? Is Blackbeard's modified/"broken heart" flag important in your story?

Anything like that which you think an artist would be drawn to when making art for your fic.

That being said, this field is optional, so if you can't think of anything in particular, feel free to leave it blank.