Hello There!

*WordCount is off to a great start. Our introductory article (poor math aside) received some wonderful support and enticed several new watchers, and a few "unknowns" earned some well-deserved recognition for their prose. All-in-all, mission accomplished!

In fact, we've even started our first contest! Please be sure to show the article some and support, and remember to enter.

A special "thank you" goes out to $lolly for our new subscription, `youthculture for working tirelessly behind the scenes to see this project really take off, and `StJoan for creating our wonderful avatar.

But now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

*WordCount is looking for staff! However, before you rush off to write your "Take me, please!" comment, kindly review what it is we're looking for and make sure all of it is something you can handle. (I promise it won't be too terribly taxing.)


Staff Requirements

As a part of the *WordCount staff, you will be required to submit at least three (3) prose deviations, per month, that you would like to see featured. Yes, that's right: only three (3) per month.

But there's a catch! (You knew there had to be.)

*WordCount is interested in featuring prose from all the relevant literature categories on deviantART. As such, we'd like our staff to choose a "specialty area" where at least two (2) of their monthly suggestions must come from. So if you really love reading Biographies and can't stand Fantasy, this works out pretty well for you; we're not going to make you read something you're not interested in. Reading should be a fun, leisurely activity.


Specialty Areas Available


Fiction

Children's
Fantasy and Historical
Horror and Mystery
Humor and Satire
Occult and Spiritual
Romantic & Erotic
Science Fiction
Sociopolitical, Philosophical, and Transgressive
General Fiction
Life Stories and Perspectives
Theatre & Scripts

<sub>Why didn't you include Fan-fiction?

At this time Fanfics dominate the prose gallery browse features on dA, and we feel they receive enough exposure and enough of a following on their own without any help from us. However, if you do come across an exceptionally well-written piece of fan-fiction, we will certainly consider featuring it in our monthly article.</sub>


Nonfiction

Biographies
Journalism, Historical, and Editorial
Essays, Satire, and Philosophical
General Non-fiction
Reviews


What if I like one part of a category but not the other?

These are tentative separations and we are certainly open to suggestions, but for now we'd like you to act as if these are the categories that Will Be. If you really love "Horror" but hate "Mystery", I'm sure we can work something out.

Can I choose more than one category?

Absolutely. If you like to read prose from several of these categories, we have no problem with that. However, we would like you to list your "top two" categories in case there is interest from other parties as well.

What if I find something I like outside of my category?

That's not a problem at all. You're only required to find two (2) deviations from your category per month, and you only have to submit three (3) suggestions, total, per month, so that leaves you room to suggest different things. If you find 15 deviations that month that you absolutely love, as long as at least 2 of them are from your category, you're gold: suggest them all!

What if I searched and searched and nothing from my category looked good?

We'll deal with that when we get there. If you've made an honest effort and nothing seems remarkable that month, we're not going to force you to feature something you don't like. However, if less than three deviations becomes habitual (say, for 2-3 months in a row), then we might ask you to pick it up or step down.

Are you really featuring that many pieces every month? That's a lot!

It is a lot, and the answer is "No." The administration will look through all the staff suggestions and choose pieces to "officially" feature each month. The suggestions not chosen won't be forgotten, though, so don't lose hope! They may be saved for a future issue.

Well how do I get in that group?

Start as regular staff, get your suggestions in, show a commitment to the project and to prose (as well as impeccable taste), and we'll go from there.

All right, I think I can do this. Where do I sign up?

Please submit an application, as a note, to the *WordCount account. Be sure to follow the format and instructions.

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Staff Application Format


Note Title: APP: [insert category here]


Please include the following information in the body of your note:

A brief, relatively honest blurb about yourself
A reason (or two) why you'd like to be on staff
Which categories you're interested in and why (please list them in preferential order)
Two deviations from each of your desired categories that you would choose to feature

For example, if you are choosing "Biographies" and "Occult/Spiritual", you would include two examples for a Biography feature and two examples for an Occult/Spiritual feature.

For each deviation featured, please be sure to include the title, author, and a link to the actual deviation. Do not include a link to the writer's gallery.

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Is that it?

Yup, that's it. Please make sure you have your applications in by 11 May 2007. Any applications received after that date will not be considered at this time.

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If you don't want to be a staff member but still want to send feature suggestions, please feel free to note the acount or post your suggestion(s) here.


_{There are less than 1,000 words in this article: honest.}