HOW TO CLAIM YULETIDE PINCH HITS

Yuletide is a gift exchange for fanfiction writers. For more information, see rules/faq on AO3 and announcements on Dreamwidth.

What is a pinch hit?

A pinch hit is a writing assignment that needs a writer. A pinch hitter is a writer who takes on that assignment and writes it for a deadline, as a gift. A pinch hitter is also a superstar.

In Yuletide, each assignment contains 3-6 fandoms for a writer to choose from. A pinch hitter commits to writing a complete story of at least 1,000 words in one of those fandoms, using their recipient's chosen character(s). If the recipient has specified characters, all of them must appear by default but the recipient may give other options using additional tags. If the recipient has not specified characters, at least one character from the year's tag set must appear. If that fandom has no characters in the tag set, the writer is expected to explore the world generally, using existing characters or not.

Worldbuilding can also be used in the same way as a character tag - see more details here. If something about your recipient's requests seems to contradict those guidelines, please discuss with the mods.

To post a pinch hit, you need an account at the Archive of Our Own, http://archiveofourown.org.

We really count on pinch hitters - please don't take one on unless you're sure you can fulfil it. If you default on a pinch hit, we generally ask you to complete a story before signing up again, similar to if you were a signed up writer defaulting on your assignment.

How to claim a pinch hit (version 1)

Join this group as a member, with email setting "Notify me for each new message". You need a google account to do this. [NB: the warning that 'other members can find your email' is not accurate - anyone who gets a reply from you can see your email, but the only account to which replies can be sent is yuletideadmin@gmail.com. Ordinary members will not see these replies.]
Watch for emails
Reply to the email that contains the pinch hit you're interested in
Include your AO3 name when sending your reply.

How to claim a pinch hit (version 2)

View this group online (https://groups.google.com/group/yt-ph for future reference)
- OR view it through an RSS feed on your preferred platform (see https://groups.google.com/forum/#!aboutgroup/yt-ph), then click through to the google group
Click on a pinch hit you're interested in
Select the drop-down menu at the far right of the message and choose to send a private reply (don't worry, this is the only type you can send, so there is no danger of accidentally sending it to everyone)
Include your AO3 name when sending your reply.

How to claim a pinch hit (version 3)

View this group online (https://groups.google.com/group/yt-ph for future reference)
- OR view it through an RSS feed on your preferred platform (see https://groups.google.com/forum/#!aboutgroup/yt-ph), then click through to the google group
Click on a pinch hit you're interested in
Send an email to yuletideadmin@gmail.com that includes the number of the pinch hit you want and your AO3 name.

In most cases, the first person to claim a pinch hit will be given it.

If you don't get a reply from us after claiming, the pinch hit is not assigned to you.
If you do get a reply from us that confirms your claim (usually within minutes, at a maximum, a few hours), the pinch hit is yours and you should see it shortly in your AO3 assignments list.

Due dates

All automatic emails from AO3 confirming an assignment will show a deadline of 9am UTC 18 December. However, your pinch hit may be due later.

Pinch hits #1 through 108 are due 9am UTC 18 December. (See time for you | See countdown | See PHs tagged with this deadline)

Pinch hits sent after the default deadline (numbers #109 through 141) are due 9am UTC 20 December. (See time for you | See countdown | See PHs tagged with this deadline)

Pinch hits sent after the main deadline (numbers #142 and up) are due 9am UTC 22 December. (See time for you | See countdown | See PHs tagged with this deadline)

Additional deadlines will be added here for pinch hits with later deadlines.

If you're not sure when your pinch hit is due, check with the mods.

When a pinch hit is claimed, we will change the tag it displays from Unclaimed to Claimed.

See all unclaimed pinch hits:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!tags/yt-ph/unclaimed

See all claimed pinch hits:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!tags/yt-ph/claimed

Prompts from this year's pinch hitters: https://yuletide-admin.dreamwidth.org/108824.html

If you have questions, please ask the Yuletide mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com.

All clear!

Yuletide Admin