The Metachat Book. As some of you may recall I did a little survey a while ago to test if folks here were interested in contributing to and buying a Metachat book. Well there seems to be a lot of interest! I've prepared things at my end and I'm now ready for your submissions. For more info, read on →[More:]

What format will the book take?

It'll be a complete mix of everything and anything that people want to submit - much like the site. There are no pre-arranged subjects, categories or headings - if there are going to be any divisions in the book, they'll be worked out after all the submissions are in. All articles will be credited to usernames. In the back of the book will be a section where every contributor gets to put their real name alongside their username (if they wish to reveal their secret identities) along side a two or three paragraphs about themselves and any thank yous or whatever else they like.

This is important:

I want to keep as much of the book as much of a secret as possible prior to it's printing. It'll be much more fun if it's a surprise! If you're contributing then please keep quiet about what you're submitting - no hints, no tasters, no angling for opinions.

What can I write?

The idea is that this book will be mix of all sorts of things so you can write pretty much anything you like. Stories, poetry, haikus, reviews, annecdotes, lists, receipes, etc are all acceptable. If you want to do drawings or graphics then read the specs below.

Do I have to write original material?

No, you don't. If you have something you've written for another purpose and would like to submit it then that's fine. Be sure that you're only contributing an article you have the copyright for.

Any restrictions?

We need to be cautious about copyright as the book may not be printed if it contains copyrighted material (the printers are apparently quite strict about this). This includes not just copyrighted articles but also copyrighted characters. If you have any doubts on this issue then please contact me.

Can I submit more than one article?

Yes.

I want to do lots of crazy font stuff. Is that OK?

Don't bother doing fancy font stuff and expect it to go in as it is. If you want to get clever with typfaces you'll have to do them as graphics. This is due to limitations with the printing process.

Length

The article can be as long or as short as you like but anything longer than a short story is too long. I know that's fairly arbitrary so if you're worried your article might be too long then just ask me and I'll let you know.

File formats

You can submit the file as a text file, rich text file or html. If you have your submission in the chosen format of your word processor then please save as RTF before submitting. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then just submit the file how it is and we'll try to work it out from there.

What about images?

All images should be black and white.

Maximum 300 dpi
Maximum width: 4.75 inches
Maximum height: 7 inches

That makes the maximum image size 1425 pixels wide by 2100 pixels high.

You should save images as RGB - CMYK and Greyscale don't print properly.

Try to make your images high contrast and avoid too much detail. We won't get much of an opportunity to fix any print problems so please try and play it safe.

What about proof reading?

I'm not much of a proof reader so if anyone out there is good at this sort of thing and can dedicate the time between now and the deadline then please contact me.

Where to send it?

Just email it to the address in my profile. It'll help if you put the word metachat in the subject line so as to avoid the spam filters.

When is the deadline?

The deadline is October 31st - Halloween! Please try and submit your article well before that if you can.

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I'm sure I haven't covered everything so just ask any questions here.