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Beginner's Guide to AO3 Exchanges
Nov. 12th, 2024 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fangfrenzymodHello! Hopefully this post will help you get your bearings! AO3 exchanges can be pretty daunting when you first start participating, so I hope that this guide makes them a little less so.
First, I recommend checking out the Exchange Glossary. I'm going to use a lot of exchange-specific terms in this post without defining them, so you should familiarize yourself with the terms on this page before reading this.
Now, we'll go through the exchange process step-by-step, so you get an understanding of how everything works!
During nominations, you suggest fandoms and characters to add to the exchange's tagset. The tagset will usually be linked on whatever platform the exchange is sending out announcements with. Click on the link to the tagset, then the "Nominate" button to fill out your Nominations page. Fill out the forms according to the specifics of the exchange, and then you're done! Just know that nominating for an exchange does NOT sign you up automatically. When the time comes, you'll need to fill out a sign-up as well.
During signups, you choose fandoms and characters from the tagset that you want to write about (Offers), as well as fandoms and characters that you would like to receive a gift fic for (Requests). Sign-Ups are located in the Exchange's Collection, not the tagset. For your Requests, you can fill out optional details with DNWs, a link to a letter, or certain tropes or prompts that you like. You don't have to, but filling out optional details is key to helping your creator know what kind of fics you like, so you can receive a gift that you're both happy with!
After sign-ups close, the moderators of the exchange will match all of the participants with requests that they can write for. You'll receive someone to write for, and someone else will (hopefully) receive you! The reason I say "hopefully" is because, sometimes, not everyone's requests will be matched with a creator during the process, so the mods will put out some initial pinch hits for those requests once matching is done.
After you've received your assignment, you can start writing! Make sure to take your recipient's DNWs into account, because most exchanges enforce them. Make sure you finish your work before the deadline!
When the writing period is over, sometimes not everyone will have finished their work on time. Exchanges usually plan out a little bit of time before the collection opens for everyone to see, so that pinch hitters have time to fill in for the people who defaulted and make sure everyone gets a gift.
After all of the pinch hits are in, the collection will open so everyone can read the fics people wrote! Make sure you leave a comment on the fic someone wrote for you, as it's considered polite to do so.
After a little while of authors being anonymous, exchanges will usually reveal who wrote which fic. After that, the exchange is over!
Overall, the process isn't too difficult once you get a hang of it. The hardest part is usually signing up, because it's a lot of forms and menus. But after you get it all sorted out and you start writing, that's where the fun of exchanges happens!
I hope this little overview helped you learn the general process of exchanges. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
First, I recommend checking out the Exchange Glossary. I'm going to use a lot of exchange-specific terms in this post without defining them, so you should familiarize yourself with the terms on this page before reading this.
Now, we'll go through the exchange process step-by-step, so you get an understanding of how everything works!
1. Nominations
During nominations, you suggest fandoms and characters to add to the exchange's tagset. The tagset will usually be linked on whatever platform the exchange is sending out announcements with. Click on the link to the tagset, then the "Nominate" button to fill out your Nominations page. Fill out the forms according to the specifics of the exchange, and then you're done! Just know that nominating for an exchange does NOT sign you up automatically. When the time comes, you'll need to fill out a sign-up as well.
2. Sign-Ups
During signups, you choose fandoms and characters from the tagset that you want to write about (Offers), as well as fandoms and characters that you would like to receive a gift fic for (Requests). Sign-Ups are located in the Exchange's Collection, not the tagset. For your Requests, you can fill out optional details with DNWs, a link to a letter, or certain tropes or prompts that you like. You don't have to, but filling out optional details is key to helping your creator know what kind of fics you like, so you can receive a gift that you're both happy with!
3. Matching
After sign-ups close, the moderators of the exchange will match all of the participants with requests that they can write for. You'll receive someone to write for, and someone else will (hopefully) receive you! The reason I say "hopefully" is because, sometimes, not everyone's requests will be matched with a creator during the process, so the mods will put out some initial pinch hits for those requests once matching is done.
4. Writing
After you've received your assignment, you can start writing! Make sure to take your recipient's DNWs into account, because most exchanges enforce them. Make sure you finish your work before the deadline!
5. Pinch Hit Period
When the writing period is over, sometimes not everyone will have finished their work on time. Exchanges usually plan out a little bit of time before the collection opens for everyone to see, so that pinch hitters have time to fill in for the people who defaulted and make sure everyone gets a gift.
6. Collection Opens!
After all of the pinch hits are in, the collection will open so everyone can read the fics people wrote! Make sure you leave a comment on the fic someone wrote for you, as it's considered polite to do so.
7. Author Reveals!
After a little while of authors being anonymous, exchanges will usually reveal who wrote which fic. After that, the exchange is over!
Overall, the process isn't too difficult once you get a hang of it. The hardest part is usually signing up, because it's a lot of forms and menus. But after you get it all sorted out and you start writing, that's where the fun of exchanges happens!
I hope this little overview helped you learn the general process of exchanges. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
