Frequestly Asked Questions

What kind of writing is published here?
Where do I send my writing?
What is a header?
What information to I need to put in my header?
What's a spoiler?
What about editing?
Are there any examples I can see?

I publish any short story, poem, essay, or other writing that deal at least tangentially with L. J. Smith's writings. You do not have to use LJS's characters to qualify. For example, you might set a story in the Night World, as many writers have done.

Where do I send my writing?

If you want to submit a story, you will go to Thea Harman's submission page, and if you want to submit a poem, you will go to Nick Armstrong's submission page.

What is a header?

A header is a block of information that preceeds for work, especially if it is a story. Poems or fragments may not need elaborate headers.

What information to I need to put in my header?

The first items in your header should be the title of your story/poem/whatever, your name (or the name you want the story posted under), and your contact information if you want that given out. I reccomend giving your e-mail address so that people can write you with comments.

After that, you should have a disclaimer. A disclaimer is a statement to the effect that LJS and her publishers own the rights to whatever it is you have borrowed, and that you are not making any profit from the borrowing. You may also point out what characters are of your own invention.

You may also provide a summary of your story. This is a good idea so that readers can get interested enough to read on.

Include warning for anything that may offend some readers. Examples would be sexual content (label it R or NC-17), child abuse, rape or other touchy subjects.

After your disclaimer, you should ALWAYS (with fan fiction) give a spoilers notice.

What's a spoiler?

A spoiler is a warning to let people know what books you might spoil for them if they haven't read them. The rule is that if you, in your writing, mention anything from a book that was not contained on the front or back cover, you need to include a spoiler. (ie. SPOILERS: Secret Vampire, Spellbinder) You may think that *everyone* has read the book, but some peole are overseas or new to L. J. Smith.

What about editing?

Edit your work before sending it. This work is yours, and it has your name in it. You should take the extra couple of minutes to make sure it looks the way you want the world to see it. Thea and Nick do not have the time to do all your editing for you.

What if I have my own archive?

Well you can send the link to Sylvia, who will get it posted on this page, ASAP. You may not link to this archive though. Please link to the Night World's main page instead.

Thank you for reading this FAQ.

The Awakenings page is created by Cassie Blake, and maintained by Sylvia Weald, Nick Armstrong and Thea Harman.