Our rulebook

Policy and Procedure Manual for LI_SciFi

The Official Rulebook of an Unofficial Group

Review Draft

Originally submitted January 9, 2006

Prospective and Provisional Membership section updated May 22, 2006

ORDERING PRINCIPLES

The group is comprised of writers who are serious about having their speculative fiction widely disseminated, read and appreciated. We respect each other professionally and take each other's opinions and insights seriously. We adhere to the following rules in order to make the most of the limited time we have together as colleagues. Anyone habitually violating protocols harms him/herself in the act of doing so; no further sanctions need to be specified. We are resolved to maintain a cordial, constructive group dynamic. This dynamic is by necessity informal. As such, the rules governing the group must be applied with leniency and flexibility.

MEETINGS

LI_SciFi meets the first Sunday of the month at the café in Book Revue on New York Avenue (Rt. 110) in Huntington, NY. The meetings are scheduled for 7-9 p.m. An alternate time or location may be selected on an exception basis by consensus. The Yahoo group moderator will ensure that an automatic reminder is sent to all group members one week before the next meeting.

MANUSCRIPTS

Submissions must be posted as a message to the LI_SciFi Yahoo group list as a rich-text format (*.rtf) attachment that can be read by any word processing application. As a back-up, the content of all attachments must be copied and pasted into the body of the message. If for any reason a list member cannot read the attachment, s/he will be able to read the story in uncoded form. It is not required to submit stories to the group in generally accepted manuscript format; the financial and ecological demerits of double spacing and wide margins must be considered. Still, writers are advised that manuscript format is the only template accepted by the mass-media community and speaks to an author's professionalism when a final draft is ultimately submitted to a reputable publisher. Word count may not exceed 12,000.

DEADLINES

Deadlines operate on a sliding scale. All work needs to be sent out at least 72 hours in advance, that is, by 7 p.m. the Thursday before the monthly meeting. Any submissions ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 words must be sent out by 7 p.m. the Tuesday before the monthly meeting. Anything longer must be sent out at least one week before the monthly meeting. The deadline is established as a courtesy to fellow writers and reviewers. As such: All members must express sincere gratitude to any author who submits work prior to deadline. The group recognizes that many factors, some of which are out of the authors' control, can cause delays in submission. The group further recognizes that the only consequence of missing a deadline is an affront to the aforementioned courtesy; although this is serious in its own right, there is no likely financial impact or public trust issues at stake. Missing deadline by a day will be tolerated providing it does not become a habit. Although missing a deadline by a day may be tolerated, waiting until the day of the meeting to hand out hard copies will not. No submissions distributed the day of the meeting will be considered by the group.

CRITIQUE PROTOCOL

The last member to arrive will be the first to have his/her work reviewed. That member will flip a coin and, if it comes up heads, the order of review will pass clockwise around the table. If it comes up tails, the order will pass counterclockwise. Each reviewer will have six minutes to review each manuscript. The author whose work is being reviewed will not defend her/his work during a critique. Once all other members have reviewed the work, the author may have up to three minutes to respond to the group's comments. Until then, etiquette requires the author to remain silent. Members in general must speak only in turn during critique sessions. The only exceptions will be exclamations of "ditto" (agreeing with another reviewer's comment), "anti-ditto" (disagreeing with another reviewer's comment) or "mega-ditto" (strongly agreeing with another reviewer's comment). A member who receives a manuscript for review from another member should make every effort to provide a critique. If the intended reviewer is unable to make the meeting, the author would appreciate it if the intended reviewer replies electronically with comments. This courtesy is a recommendation and can only be advised, not required. If a reviewer has more than six minutes of comments on a story, s/he may take another minute to wrap up. A review can only exceed that seventh minute with the consensus of the group.

PROSPECTIVE AND PROVISIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Prospective members may be nominated by any current member. All prospective members must submit a writing sample electronically. Members will determine if the prospect has the appropriate writing talent and skill level to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the group. Providing the prospect has the appropriate writing ability, s/he will be provided with a work, not to exceed 2,500 words, to critique in order to determine her/his ability as a reviewer. Providing the prospect has the appropriate reviewing ability, s/he will be added to the Yahoo group and invited to the next two meetings as a provisional member. At the first meeting, the prospect will give and receive critiques as would any other member. The prospect will then be asked to incorporate the group's comments in his/her work and resubmit it in advance of the next meeting. At the second meeting, the prospect will only give critiques. Rather than receive critiques, the prospect will be reviewed on her/his ability to incorporate the group's comments into the originally submitted work. The group reserves the right to accept/reject any prospective member based on meeting participation, writing and reviewing ability. Within one week after the prospect's second meeting, the members will reach consensus on whether the prospect's candidacy for membership should be accepted or declined and notify the prospect of the decision. If the prospect's candidacy is accepted, s/he will be invited to the following meeting as a full member with all rights and privileges. If the prospect's candidacy is declined, the communication will be made with tact and sensitivity. The individual will be encouraged to keep writing and, perhaps, to apply again in the future once certain, specific weaknesses have been addressed. The group reserves the right to modify and change these rules at any point during the processs.