theydraggedmein asked:
First, apologies for the late response, we’ve been rather busy. We do try to answer these in a timely manner but it may not always end up that way when life happens.
Next, there is no such thing as a “less than bright” question! Every question is important and this is a good one.
The first check in for authors is simply to let us know where you are at (if you’ve even started, have an outline, already done, have a rough draft and waiting for a beta, etc.) and let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We do this a week before the draft submission as a way to see if there is anyone that intends to drop before draft and summary submissions and before art claims and we use this check in as a reminder as well. We know that some people get busy with life or forget things, or whatever else that may keep them from writing, so we like to give a reminder in a way of checking in to see where every one stands.
The Feb 21st deadline is draft and summary submissions. This is the time that you will be submitting a copy of what you’ve got so far with an outline for the rest, along with as detailed a summary as possible, major tags (if it is explicit please be sure to tag top/bottom), ratings, archive warnings, and characters and side pairings that appear. We ask for as detailed a summary as possible because this is the summary that will be posted for artist claims and we want the artist to be well informed before making selections, no one likes surprises in the form of unexpected squicks.
The 21st will also be your first opportunity to upgrade or downgrade your fic. If you signed up for a mini bang and found out that you’re actually going to be doing a Big Bang, now is the time to let us know, same if you signed for a mega bang and found out it will not quite meet those word count requirements, just tell us you need to downgrade.
We hope that this answered your questions. If you have any others please do not hesitate to contact us, remember, communication is key!