Community Profile

Generalities

What is History Exchange?

History Exchange is a fic exchange for historical RPF. Participants sign up to write a story of at least 500 words. In return, they receive a story of at least 500 words.

General schedule:

Nominations: Late May

Signups: Early June

Assignments go out: Early June

Posting deadline: Early July

Story reveal: Mid July

Author reveal: One week after story reval
Please check the schedule tag for exact dates.

How does History Exchange work?

History Exchange happens in four stages: Nominations, Signups, Assignments, Reveals.

During Nominations, people use a form on the AO3 to submit the names of five historical people they would like to read RPF about, under the catch-all "Historical RPF" fandom.

During Signups, people use a form on the AO3 to sign up to request and offer to write stories about people from the nominated list. Participants must offer and request multiple combinations of people to allow for better matching. But they are only required to write one story of at least 500 words. In return, they will receive one story of at least 500 words.

After signups, participants are matched up based on what they offered and requested, and Assignments are sent out. Participants have at least four weeks to write a story of at least 500 words.

Stories must be posted to the History Exchange challenge on the AO3 by the deadline, where they will automatically appear as anonymous "Mystery Gifts" for the recipients.

Then, the stories are revealed, with author names still hidden.

Afterwards, the author names are revealed.

History

Who qualifies as a historical person?
Anyone who died prior to 2000 and who has an internet page about them. For people whose date of death is unknown, the date of their last known appearance must be prior to 2000.

Does it work if I wrote the Internet page?
Yes. As long as you can make a case that the person really existed.

How historically accurate do I have to be?
You don't.

Specifics

I don't want to sign up for the challenge, but still want to participate. How can I do that?

You can be a beta reader, cheer people on in chat, write Treats for any requests that catch your eye, or join the pinch hitter mailing list.

Can I change my mind about my nominations after I submit them?

Yes, but nominations will be approved or denied as they come in, to allow for a quicker sign-up date. As long as your nomination has not yet been approved or rejected, you are free to edit it.

Dear Writer letters

"Dear Writer" letters are letters posted to journals or other spaces that give your writer a bit more information about why you picked what you did, what your likes and dislikes are, more detailed prompts, and so forth.

Like the "optional details" field, letters are entirely optional. You don't have to write one, and you're free to ignore your recipient's letter while writing your story.

People who choose to write a letter can put the link in their signups, so their authors can find it easily.

Offers and requests

You have to request at least three combinations of one to three people you wish to receive fic about. You may not request more than five combinations. You may not have more than two requests with an overlapping character.

You have to offer to write at least five and up to ten people. You can also offer "Any" characters, but that really means any of the nominated characters, in any combination.

Can I change my mind about my signup after I submit it?

Yep! You can change your mind at any point during the signup period by editing your signup form. You can find your signup form on your AO3 profile page: click on "Signups" in the left-hand navigation pane.

I'm only comfortable with one or two of the people on the list. Can I just offer/request those?

Sorry, no. For the matching to work, it's necessary to have a wider range of offers and requests. Otherwise, there's not enough flexibility in the system to match everyone.

What are the details on my sign-up?

The details on the sign-up are any details you'd like to see in your gift fic. These details are optional to include, and are optional for your assigned writer to follow. The only thing your writer is required to follow are your fandom and characters.

What can I put in my details?

Anything you like. This is where you'd put characters who weren't nominated, any crossover information, plot ideas, kinks, et cetera. But again, remember that these details are not required. It's ultimately the writer who decides what goes in the fic.

I didn't get my assignment – what do I do?

It's possible that your spam filter ate the emailed assignment. Log in to your AO3 account and click the link for "Assignments" in the left-hand navigation pane in your Profile; your assignment should be there.

If it's not there, either, please contact the mods immediately.

Can I switch my assignment?

Assignments can't be changed under most circumstances. If the matching was in error on AO3's part (rare, but it could happen), let the mods know ASAP. Otherwise, you're free to contact the mods anyway, but the answer will probably be no.

Can I write a story about any of my recipient's requests, even if I didn't sign up for them?

Sure! As long as you write a story for one of the fandoms they requested, you're good.

Can I write more than one story?

Sure! First you have to write a complete story of at least 1,000 words in one of your recipient's fandoms, using the characters they requested. After that, you can write as many stories as you want, for your recipient or for other people.

Am I guaranteed to be the only person writing a story for my recipient?

No, there's no way to guarantee that. Most years at least one person has two officially assigned authors, simply to make the matching work.

Beyond that, everyone is free to write as many stories as they want, for whoever they want, as long as they write their assigned story first. If your recipient has a request that catches someone else's eye, they may get an extra story or two.

Will I get more than one story?

Probably not.

Do I have to tag my fic with "Historical RPF"?
You can, but you don't have to. If you believe tagging some other way will fit your story better, do so.

Posting

How do I post my story?

Go to your Assignment page on AO3, which you can find under the "Assignments" link on your Profile page, or on the History Exchange subcollection page as "Your Assignment". You should see two buttons at the bottom of your assignment: "Post to fulfil", and "Default".

Click "Post to fulfil", and you'll be taken to a posting form. This will automatically post your story into the current year's challenge. It also has your recipient's name already filled in. All you need to do is fill in the rest of the form, preview it to make sure it looks okay, and post.

If you're posting a Treat, you won't have an assignment or "post to fulfil" button. Instead, go to the current challenge page on the AO3, and click on "Post To Collection" under the challenge title. This will take you to a form with the challenge collection name already filled in. Fill in the recipient's name manually, then fill in the rest of the form, preview it to make sure it looks okay, and post.

Can I post my story before the deadline?

Sure! The posting form opens shortly after assignments go out. You're free to post whenever you want.

Can I edit my story after it's posted?

Yes, the AO3 allows editing at any time.

Can I add author's notes?

You can, but they will be visible as soon as the stories are revealed. Be careful not to put anything here that would give away your identity.

Defaulting

What if I can't finish my story?

If you can't finish in time, you can default. This lets the mods know they need to find a pinch hitter to write a story for your recipient.

To default, go to your Assignment page on AO3, which you can find under the "Assignments" link on your Profile page, or on the History Exchange subcollection page as "Your Assignment". You should see two buttons at the bottom of your assignment: "Post to fulfil", and "Default".

Click the Default button, then click the confirmation on the popup that appears. The mods will be notified and will find a pinch hitter to fulfil your assignment.

What happens if I default?

Whether you get a penalty for defaulting depends on how and when you default.
No-show default: If you default by simply failing to post your story, without using the Default button or writing to the mods in advance, you will be banned from future exchanges.

Pinch Hits

What are pinch hits?

Pinch hits are assignments that the original author has had to default on, or rarely, assignments that couldn't be matched to any authors. As people default, pinch hits will be sent out to the mailing list.

Do I need to be signed up to be a pinch hitter?

Nope! Anyone with an AO3 account can sign up to be a pinch hitter. If you want to be notified of pinch hits, please follow this dreamwidth community.

How do I claim a pinch hit?

To claim an available pinch hit, simply respond to the post with your AO3 username and the pinch hit you are claiming.

Deadlines for pinch hits will depend on how late they go out. Last-minute pinch hits tend to get a little extra time.

How do I post my pinch hit?

Go to your Assignment page on AO3, which you can find under the "Assignments" link on your Profile page, or on the History Exchange subcollection page as "Your Assignment". You should see two buttons at the bottom of your assignment: "Post to fulfil", and "Default".

Click "Post to fulfil", and you'll be taken to a posting form. This will automatically post your story into the current year's challenge. It also has your recipient's name already filled in. All you need to do is fill in the rest of the form, preview it to make sure it looks okay, and post