Frequently Asked Questions - creator questions
What are the requirements for creators to participate?
Anyone 13 or older (we cannot collect any information on minors under the age of 13, including email addresses).
If this goes well, we will repeat this tzedakah drive in future years. At that time, we may have people restricted from signing up as creators due to previous defaulting.
For legal reasons, we will not allow creators under 18 to offer, create, nor request “explicit” fanworks.
Anyone is allowed to participate, Jewish or not. We are fundraising for Jewish organizations.
Any digital fanwork you’d like!
Written fanfic or poetry, visual art, podfic or music, fanvids, and fan labour including but not limited to betaing, translation, or other specialized expertise. Other great fan labour options are sensitivity reads and Jewishness checks, from culture to practice.
Creators will be asked to identify their offering as one of the five categories and then subcategory within. For example, someone might sign up for “written fic” and offer “fanfic remix,” or sign up for “fan labour” and offer “betaing.” Other necessary information should be added to the comment box.
If you are unsure what category your work falls into, please contact us!
Be realistic about what you can create: there are six weeks between the workable prompt deadline and the fanwork due date (Rosh Hashanah). Fanfiction will be in two categories: “under 5k words,” and “more than 5k words.” You may, of course, go over 5k if you committed to the smaller category.
Donation minimums are €5.
You can list up to five fandoms.
To protect our community, we reserve the right to reject some offerings in specific cases. Something like the story described in this Forward article will be removed.
What should I expect from a signup form?
We will request information similar to an exchange as well as some auction-specific information. Inability to provide this information may prevent you from participating in the auction.
This information includes, among other items, an email address, how you want winning bidders to contact you, a portfolio, organizations you are fundraising for from our list, fanwork creation on offer, highest rating you will create, fandoms, any boundaries on what you will not create, and anything you particularly do want to create.
How do I list what I will and will not write?
You will be able to list these as part of your signup. You are under no obligation to create something that makes you uncomfortable. You will also have the opportunity to list any ships, characters, themes, or formats you are particularly interested in creating.
Be aware that a very specific and narrow offering is likely to receive fewer bids. Being as broad as you comfortably can be will make your offer attractive to more bidders.
How many fanworks can I offer?
You may offer up to two auctions. This is our first time running this, and we want to keep it achievable. Please be conservative in what you commit to, as not following through makes for a bad experience. We encourage you to sign up for only one auction if this is your first time participating as a creator.
If offering multiple fanwork auctions, fill out separate forms.
A bidder has won my auction offering! What do I do now?
We are so excited for you! Please hold off on any actions until you receive an email from us confirming proof of donation from your winning bidder. We will put the two of you in contact. This may take a week or more.
Bidders have varying reasons for not completing a donation immediately, and have until the donation deadline. From our end, we are a small group of volunteers doing this in our spare time as tzedakah. We want to take the time to do it all right. Thank you for your patience.
What information is shared about me?
Aside from your public auction post, the only information we share is the email address you sign up with— you may provide an alternate email address for contact when you sign up. We encourage you to sign up for a free email address that protects your privacy.
If I have multiple bidders, can I just have them all donate and make a fanwork for each one of them?
Not at this time. We may revisit this policy in the future.
You are, of course, welcome to do what you like outside of this auction, but we expect you to complete your auction offering on the Fandom Does Tzedakah timeline.
Why can I only offer five fandoms per offering?
This makes your offer easier for bidders to find, and easier for mods to track.
Do I have to be well-known as a creator to sign up? What if I receive no bids?
Absolutely not, we welcome and encourage all to participate.
We will promote low-bid offers during the bidding period. To make your offer more attractive, be clear but as broad as possible with your offer. Being too vague, inflexible, or undetailed makes you confusing to work with. You may also be offering within small fandoms, or fandoms that didn’t know about this tzedakah drive.
Even if you receive no bids, we appreciate the work you have done and offered. It’s hard work and scary for new creators. Thank you for signing up.
I’m already planning or working on something very similar to my bidder’s prompt, or am doing something similar to complete another challenge. Can I use that for my auction item?
No, you must create an entirely new fanwork for your bidder that is solely for this auction. Your fanwork must be something made as a specific thank you for your specific bidder.
Below are examples of what this looks like in practice.
A writer has an old work in progress story they started posting a while ago, but at this time have no plans of finishing, nor of writing anything similar to that storyline. They are under no obligation to continue writing something like that as their charity gift. If their bidder requests a story along those lines, it is up to the writer to reply and politely explain their request for the bidder to ask for something else.
A writer is currently writing a multi chapter story about the friendship of two characters in a fandom. Their bidder is allowed to request a completely new story about these characters, with a very similar plot to the multi-chapter story that already exists. The bidder is not allowed to ask for the direct new chapter of the story.
A creator has an unpublished completed work. Their bidder just happens to request a work along these lines. The creator is definitely allowed to post this as their charity gift.
My bidder donated more than their winning bid. Am I obligated to scale up my offering?
Only if you wrote your initial offering as such, and only to a feasible scale. It is so nice of your bidder to donate more, and if you want to do a more elaborate or longer work you may do so but are under no obligation.
The exception is if you offered something like “x words per y$,” and this only to a scale you can actually commit to. Contact us if you need help determining your offer and limits thereto at fandomdoestzedakah AT gmail DOT com.
What is the fanwork completion deadline?
Rosh Hashanah, for a new year’s sweet treat. If you believe you will not be able to make this deadline, contact us immediately at fandomdoestzedakah AT gmail DOT com.
Can I create one fanwork for multiple offerings if my bidders request similar things?
No. You committed to multiple offerings, each tailored as a thank you gift for a specific bidder.
Can I use a generative AI or LLM to create my fanwork?
No. Any evidence of AI use will result in a permanent ban from creator signups.
What should I do if I have problems with my bidder?
Contact us so we can try to help as soon as possible. Many people are flexible, but there is always the chance of unreasonable expectations. We are happy to mediate and try to help find a solution.
No! It is legally very important you not call this a “commission,” and neither the creator nor Fandom Does Tzedakah are receiving or handling money at any point. Referring to a “gift” as a “commission” will get your work taken down on AO3.
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