From now until January 11th, Support Stacie is accepting applications from Authors interested in donating their time to the Author Auction which takes place January 15-18, 2010.

What is the Author Auction? CLICK HERE for details.

To register as an author in the Auction, please download and complete This Form, then email it to SupportStacieAuctions@gmail.com. Our volunteer staff will post your auction listing – please do not attempt to do so yourself.

What Is Required From Registered Authors?

• You are donating your time to write a story according to the challenge issued by your winning bidder. You get to list your fandom and restrictions (E.g., slash vs. het, pairing, fandom, era, rating, etc.) and any stipulations you wish so that you are sure the challenge you are issued will not be something impossible for you to write.

• You will have 30 days from the time the author pays to produce a 2,500-word (minimum) story or, if the story is over 2,500 words, the first chapter of your story. Payment is due between January 18-February 8, 2010, which means your story (or first chapter) will be due between February 18-March 10, 2010, depending on when the bidder pays. If you are committing to write a longer story, we ask that you include in your auction registration form a realistic idea of how long you think it will take you to finish the fic. It is better to give a cautious estimation than to cause concern by failing to meet your own deadline. Please do not commit to writing a long story unless you know from past experience that you are always able to finish fics of that length without long delays between updates.

• You are obligated to finish this story and do it on time and in compliance with the bidder’s writing challenge. We will have accepted a donation on your behalf. If you think there is any chance you will not have the time or ability to write this story when the time comes, please do not register for the auction. All of the donations received are immediately used towards Stacie’s medical bills, so refunds are not an option if you are unable for any reason to write the story. This puts both us AND you, the author, in a very difficult position and undermines the integrity and reputation of our project. If you are having trouble completing the story, PLEASE communicate with us and your winning bidder! If you go MIA on us, you are causing us HUGE, HUGE problems. If you at least tell us what is going on, we can work on getting a time extension for you or see if the winning bidder will change their prompt to something your muse can better work with, or even get someone to pinch hit for you and take over your prompt. Just DO NOT DISAPPEAR on us, please!

• During the auction, we encourage you to stop by your thread, chat with your bidders, and enjoy the teasing banter that takes place throughout the auction. It helps encourage bidding and activity on your thread if you make an appearance and enjoy the camaraderie.

• Many authors will make Special Offers to encourage bidding. This is COMPLETELY optional! Examples of Special Offers include writing 100-word drabbles for all bids of $10 or more, offering matching donations, promising to write a longer auction story if the bidding exceeds a certain dollar amount, offering to bake cookies or create a graphic for the winner – the choice is up to you! Again, though, this is not mandatory and you are under NO obligation to make a Special Offer. Take a look at auction threads marked “Special Offer!” in the subject line, both in this auction and the past auction, for further examples.

• Once the auction ends, you will receive a cc of the email we send your winning bidder, confirming that they have won the auction and directing them to payment instructions. Please don't try to contact your winners to discuss their writing prompt until AFTER you get official confirmation from Support Stacie that they have paid.

• In order for you to have bidders on your auction, you need to make sure your readers know you have entered the auction. Thus, it is incumbent upon you to promote it as much as possible. You don’t have to do any soliciting at all – we just ask that you make sure you tell everyone possible that you will be in the auction. Mention it both in advance and during the auction. Talk about the auction on your LJ. Promote it on your fanfic site. Post about it in your fanfic community. Include an auction banner in your signature line. We have icons and banners available HERE which you are free to take and distribute.

• When you complete your story, you must deliver it to the winning bidder. Whether the story is publicly posted or not is a decision which the winning bidder gets to make UNLESS you have stipulated in your auction that the story must be allowed to be posted for others to see. We would appreciate it if you would also post a link to your auction story on the board so that we have one location where all the auction stories may be found. However this is entirely optional and may be decided upon by you and your winning bidder.

• Do you need special accommodations? We try to work with everyone’s restrictions. Let us know if you need a special stipulation added to your auction. If it will restrict your involvement too much, we might ask you to wait to join us until a better occasion. But it is also quite likely that little more is needed than a special note added to your auction to make your potential bidders aware of your particular requirement.

• Many authors like to use the auctions as a way to stretch themselves as a writer. One word of warning in this regard: Always provide yourself with an "out" so that you aren't stuck with a writing challenge that you aren't sure you can complete. If' you've never written from a certain character's POV, or if you've never written a certain ship, it may take you longer to complete the project, or you may need your winning bidder to provide you with an alternate challenge (based on your usual ship/POV) in case you find your muse unable to finish the story under those limitations. Just include a note on your application stating what your normal writing parameters are, and advise potential bidders that you may need extra time or a 2nd-choice writing prompt in case you're unable to write exactly what they request. (E.g., "I usually write Bella/Edward, but I'm willing to take challenges for any ship in this auction. I just ask that you be willing to allow me a bit more writing time and, if all else fails, be prepared to offer me a gen fic or B/E challenge as your 2nd choice in case my muse isn't willing to switch ships. )

• All proceeds from the auction go towards Stacie (Surname Withheld)’s ongoing medical expenses for breast cancer and ovarian cancer. These expenses include (but are not limited to) medication, hospital bills, doctor bills, radiation treatments, surgical procedures, and any other expense directly related to the Stacie’s cancer treatment. Authors and auction participants do not benefit financially in any way, directly or indirectly, as a result of the Author Auctions.

Have any questions? Leave a reply here, PM Gioia or Admin, or email us at supportstacieauctions@gmail.com.

Thank you!