Archive of Our Own

Welcome to dS Seekrit Santa!

This is a seasonal fannish exchange: you write a story or make some art or a vid or record a podfic; you get some art or a vid or a podfic or a story in return. So here's how it works. You sign up, telling us specific info about what kind of art, vid, podfic or story you want and what kinds of contributions you'll create. Lots of other people sign up, too. The Database makes matches between what everyone wants to receive and what everyone is willing to create. Then we send you an email with your assignment and send the other people emails with their assignments, and then you make your gift by the deadline, and all of the other people make their gifts by the deadline, and then it's Christmas Day and there are lots of presents to open! And nobody knows who created which gift, but there is always some fun speculation and usually recommendations. But on New Year’s Day, the creators are revealed and, well, it's fun!

Because it's an exchange, it's important to get your contribution posted ON TIME. Because it's a SEEKRIT exchange, it's important not to talk about what you made before the Big Reveal on New Year's Day.

Before you sign up, please keep in mind other challenges to which you may have committed for the holiday season, and make sure you have time in your schedule to devote to creating your contribution for dS Seekrit Santa. Likewise, once you sign up for dS Seekrit Santa, please remember to accommodate that obligation as you are tempted by fun, sparkly holiday challenges later in the year!

Please remember that your assignment is a holiday gift for a fellow fan, and treat their request the way you would like someone else to treat yours. Try to produce the best work that you can, and meet the deadline!

When does it start?
Sign-ups open on Friday, September 23. Signup Deadline is NOON CDT, Sunday 9 October 2016. We will send out all assignments by 11:59 p.m., CDT, Saturday 15 October 2016.

How do I sign up?
Go to the sidebar and click on the 'Signup Form' link. (You must be logged into AO3.) Fill out the form.

There's also an excellent tutorial on signing up to a gift exchange.

But I'm not an AO3 member?
No problem. Email us at [email protected] and we'll rustle up an invite for you.

How do I stay in touch?
You can email [email protected] with any questions.

The mods will post reminders and other important notices in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion LiveJournal and due South Seekrit Santa tumblr. Please friend or watch so you know what's going on!

(Note: all announcements will be posted on both platforms, but for posts intended as centralized comment-collectors, like the Dear Santa letters links post, the original will be on LJ.)

If we need to contact you individually, we will send you email. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will use the email address linked to your AO3 account (it's the only one we know!). It's important to check your email regularly to be sure you receive important information, like YOUR ASSIGNMENT!

What type of fanwork(s) can I request/offer?
You can request and offer any combination of stories, fanart (digital manips, drawings, paintings, icon sets, wallpapers, etc.), podfic and fanvids.

What if I want a fanwork about, or involving a one-off or minor character?
The collection's tag set has a fairly extensive collection of available options, but if you don't see what you're looking for, email the mods or leave a comment on the LiveJournal community. We'll add the character to the tag set for you.

What if my preferred pairing/threesome/moresome isn't on the list?
Email the mods or leave a comment on the LiveJournal community. We'll add the relationship to the tag set for you.

What about 'Dear Santa' letters?
If you want to give your Seekrit Santa some direction by including a theme, a plot, a location, bits of dialogue, etc., you may. We will post a master Dear Santa letters post in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion LiveJournal, where you can link to or paste your letter in the comments. You can also paste the link into your signup. HOWEVER, your Seekrit Santa is not bound by these optional suggestions, ONLY by your character and gift format requests.

You can also use the "Description" section of the Request form to include your Dear Santa letter in the request itself.

How do I post my story?
Log into AO3 and navigate to the dSSS 2016 dashboard (you can find this from your home by clicking on the "My Signups" link in the sidebar). Click on the "Post to Collection" button and proceed to post your work as per usual. When you get to the "Associations" section type "due South" in the "Post to Collections/Challenges" box and select "due South Seekrit Santa 2016." Enter your recipient's name in the "Recipients" box and post as normal. Instructions will also be posted on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion LiveJournal and Tumblr communities nearer to the deadline.

You can follow this nifty tutorial. If you have any questions or hassles, contact the mods.

How do I post art or a vid or a podfic?
Because AO3 can't anonymously host these types of fanworks at the moment, we will host them on the old dSSS server, courtesy of Sprat. More instructions will be posted on the LiveJournal/Tumblr comms closer to posting date.

I don't have a beta/can't find a beta.
There will be a beta-call post on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion LJ. Keep an eye out for it.

What do I do if I can't finish my assignment in time?
PLEASE contact the mods AS FAR AHEAD OF THE DEADLINE AS POSSIBLE, so that we can assign a pinch-hitter. It would be sad if someone didn't have a present to open on Christmas morning.

Can I sign up to be a pinch-hitter?
Keep an eye out for our "request for pinch-hitters" post in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion LiveJournal community (it will be announced on Tumblr as well, but volunteering is done on LJ so people can always find the complete list).

Size of Fanworks:
Stories must be at least 1000 words in length, per the AO3's word count.

Vids must be at least 1.5 minutes long.

Visual art is not as easy to quantify, but basically we want to see contributions equal in effort and time to a well-crafted 1,000 word story. So if you make icons, we're looking for sets of ten, rather than a single complex icon or ten unenhanced crops; if you are drawing a sketch, it should be reasonably detailed work.

Podfics must be of stories at least 1000 words in length. Cover art is not required, but is most welcome.

Quality Standards and Beta'ing:
dSSS has a traditionally high quality standard. If the mods consider your fanwork requires it, you may be asked to correct/rewrite your work or it may be removed from the challenge. Remember, this is a gift you're making for someone else: make it something you are proud of!

ALL gifts must be beta'ed! That is, you must have someone else read/look at/listen to your fanwork and give you feedback, in time for you to edit your work based on their feedback. Even if you don't usually use a beta as part of your creation process, we ask you to please respect the rules of this gift exchange and take the beta process seriously. (You don't have to follow all your beta's suggestions -- it's your work, after all. But please do your beta and your recipient the courtesy of seriously considering the feedback you receive.)

Fulfilling Your Recipient's Request:
You MUST make something that includes at least one of your recipient's requested characters or relationships. If you matched on a character but not on a relationship, please see your recipient's Request Details and Dear Santa letter and see if you can create something they would enjoy featuring the matched-on character. You are NOT required to include more than one requested character, nor to follow specific suggestions in Request Details or Dear Santa letters, but please DO honor "do not want" requests to the best of your ability. Remember, the goal is to make something that your recipient will enjoy, and to have fun making it!

Contributions do NOT have to have a holiday theme! In dSSS we only use the term "Santa" in its most generic sense of "Gift bearer." Please be aware that your recipient's Dear Santa letter may specifically request you avoid holiday themes.

Keep Seekrit Things Seekrit:
Assignments are confidential until creators' names are revealed on New Year's Day. You should not discuss your assignment in your Journals, Twitter, Tumblr, etc., or reveal details that might identify you as the creator. Please don't discuss your assignment at all with other participants in dS Seekrit Santa. Remember, this is a SEEKRIT exchange! Please keep your work a surprise for your recipient!

That means getting a beta for your work can be a bit tricky. Ideally, your beta should not be participating in Seekrit Santa; however, the main rule is the recipient of your gift should never serve as your beta. Please refer to the Call for Betas post at the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion livejournal community if you need help finding a beta, or if you can volunteer to help others.

What You Want Created For You:
You can make one to three requests of your Santa, each one specifying a different group of characters and relationships if you want. If you are requesting art, vids or podfic, please make sure to include AT LEAST ONE story request because, as yet, writers far outnumber visual artists and we want to make sure you have a non-art option, just in case. You will be matched on one character and one gift format (e.g., if you make a single request, and you ask for fic, Benton Fraser, Ray Vecchio, Frannie Vecchio, Denny Scarpa, Benton Fraser/Frannie Vecchio, you might receive a fic about Denny Scarpa and none of the other characters).

What You Are Willing To Create:
Tell us all of the characters, relationships, and categories (femslash, gen, het, slash, etc) you are willing to write, draw, vid, etc. If you say "ANY" we will take you at your word. You will get all of your recipient's requests, and must make a fanwork that matches one of their requests in format and at least one character.

Deadlines:
Signup Deadline is NOON CDT, Sunday 9 October 2016. We will close signups at this time, so be sure you've made all necessary changes/additions.

We will send out all assignments by 11:59 p.m., CDT, Saturday 15 October 2016.

Giftwork Deadline is 11:59 p.m. CST, Wednesday 14 December 2016. All works must be posted by this time. If you realize you CANNOT finish your assignment by the deadline, let us know as far ahead of time as you can—that way we can find a pinch-hitter for you.

HAVE FUN!!!!!