Can I Nominate My Own Fic?

Yes! Nominating your own fic means that everyone knows the author actually wants their work to be read and commented on, so there are positives. Beyond that, I encourage people to not be afraid to nominate their own work, as I have done many times.

When Can I Nominate?

Once you have commented (or claimed an old comment on) an Entry in a currently-running Slate, you may nominate for the following Slate by DM, or by using the Google Form linked in the Comment Period thread. The end of the Comment Period (which is always on Thursday, 7PM EST) is the soft deadline. After this has passed you may nominate up to the hard deadline of the following Monday, 7PM EST, which is when the Voting Period is prepared to begin. But in the latter case, acceptance is not guaranteed.

What Can I Nominate?

Each Slate will have its own rules on length and completion status. Make sure to check those before nominating. On top of that:

1. For legal and job reasons of myself, any fic under the same account as fics that would be illegal to publish in the nation of Australia (a certain subset of pornographic material) are not allowed to be nominated. This is the only requirement based on factors outside of the actual fic itself, so if you inadvertently nominate a fic that violates this policy, I will take the time to discuss it with you and at the very least the option to nominate something else instead.
2. You must have read everything that you are nominating. You do not need to have already commented.
3. Entries may consist of multiple fics, as long as they are related to each other in some way (sequels, thematic similarities, etc.), have the same author, and meet the other rules. After all, the border between two fics being separate and being two chapters if a single fic is arbitrary.
4. Though fics that are M-rated and fics that deal with sexual themes are allowed to be nominated, fics that could be described as “pornography” or “erotica” are not.
5. Fics that are entrants in contests that have not yet finished judging are not eligible.
6. Fics that deal with heavier themes in a serious way are welcome! Remember that the community votes on the nominations, so if the community feels up for reading stories with those themes, then they will go on the Slate.
7. Authors may request that their fics (or a subset of their fics) not be nominated without their consent (if you wish to, DM this account). However, no authors have done this yet, so don't worry about it for now.
8. Fics that have already appeared on a Slate within the past 48 weeks are not allowed to be nominated. They should appear in the bookshelves of this group.
9. All material nominated must have been published at least 4 weeks before the beginning of the Slate it is being nominated for. This date will be noted in each Comment Period thread and Nomination form.

What Happens If I Nominate Something That Breaks The Rules?

If done before the soft deadline, you will be contacted by me and given a chance to nominate something else by the hard deadline. If done after the soft deadline, I will still try to do this, but there is less of a guarantee.