What & why are swaps, in more detail than above?
Fic In A Box allows participants to split their 10k assignments up into multiple gifts – ten 1k fics, or five 2k fics, and so on. We also allow pinch hits to be picked up in 1k increments. In this way, you can think of every full 10k assignment as actually being made up of smaller 1k assignments, since each gift needs to be 1k or more unless certain length opt-ins are selected.

It's definitely fun to make a bunch of small works for the same person, but it's also fun to make a bunch of small works for a whole bunch of different people. Especially because there might be requests out there that you could make 1k for, but not a full 10k.

Swap requests let you tell the mods, "Hey, I actually don't want to do all ten of my 1k assignments for the same person, can I trade some wordcount in?"

For example:

• After sign ups end you might find that your initial assignment is for X. You know you could create a full 10k for X, but maybe they haven't opted into any extra mediums, and you wanted to do some art for FIAB.
• Looking around the requests, you see that A, B and C are all requesting art mediums you can do for fandoms/relationships you're interested in.
• You submit a swap request form telling the mods:
  • You'd like the following swaps:
    • 1k for A
    • 3k for B
    • 1k for C
  • You need at least 2k for B because you want to make them a comic at least that long.
  • You want to keep at least 7k of your initial assignment for X.
  • You don't want more than 3 recipients total.
• The mods get a whole bunch of swap requests like the one above and then do a huge spreadsheet puzzle to figure out who can actually swap what.
• In the end, you will either get an email letting you know we couldn't make any of your swaps happen…
• …or you will get an email with telling you about your swapsignments, which might be any of the following:
  • You've kept 7k of X, and now have 1k of A & 2k of B
  • You've kept 7k of X, and now have 1k of C & 2k of B
  • You've kept 7k of X, and now have 3k of B
  • You've kept 8k of X, and now have 1k of A & 1k of C
  • You've kept 8k of X, and now have 2k of B
  • You've kept 9k of X, and now have 1k of A
  • You've kept 9k of X, and now have 1k of C

What happens if I don't submit any swap requests?
You will get your initial assignment email from AO3 and that will be your full and only assignment. You'll need to make 10k worth of gifts for your recipient. This is a perfect fine and normal way to participate in Fic In A Box! Swaps are completely optional.

Why are Swaps open when I don't know what my initial assignment will be yet?
Some people know they'll want to swap no matter what their initial assignment is. Other people will be traveling for the rest of sign ups, or only rarely have access to the internet, so they wouldn't be able to submit any swap requests if we only had them open after sign ups close.

The instructions below ask for usernames for swap requests. Can't I just tell you what fandom/ship/medium I'd like to swap for?
We have to handmatch swap requests, so it's too complex/time consuming for us to figure out which users are requesting the things you want to make for you. The big swaps puzzle spreadsheet we use only shows wordcounts and usernames.

If you really don't want to look through all the requests to find ones you really like, then you can select the "I would like to be able to swap to anyone I might be matchable to on AO3" checkbox and make your AO3 offers as broad or narrow as you'd like. Please remember swaps aren't guaranteed, so you shouldn't offer anything you can't make 10k for.

How do I find requests I'd like to submit swaps for?
Since the AO3 requests summary is terrible, use the Automagic App (link) to search requests!

I just want to make lots of stuff for lots of people, but I'm not picky about the details. What's easiest?
Use the google form to tell us the following:

• I want to be assigned a total max of 10,000 words after swaps.
• I want to keep at minimum none of my initial assignment.
• I would like to be able to swap to anyone I might be matchable to on AO3
• [Either skip the "I would like to swap to one of the following people:" question or input a list of usernames if you have them]
• My swap assignments should be a max of 1k each.
• I would like at most 10 recips after swaps, including my initial assignment.
• [Skip the last question, probably]

You may keep 9k of your initial assignment and get a 1k new swapsignment, or you may keep none of your initial assignment and get ten new 1k swapsignments for different people, or anything in between. Do not make AO3 offers for anything you can't make 10k for.

I'm extremely picky, can I give you a specific max swap wordcount for every swap I request?
Yes, and we're glad to have you do so! The last question on the answer form lets you give this kind of granular detail, as well as any other miscellaneous info you think we need to know.

How do I increase my chances of getting one or more swapsignments?
Getting swaps is mostly about luck, since you can't control what other people are or aren't willing to swap, but the more usernames on your swapsignments list the higher the likelihood that at least one of them will have word count available to swap around.

I definitely want to keep a full 10k assignment, can I still participate in swaps?
Yes, in two different ways!

1. If you don't want to make more than 10k but you'd be happy to swap your initial assignment for a full 10k assignment to someone else, you can tell us:
   • I want to be assigned a total max of 10,000 words after swaps.
   • I want to keep at minimum none of my initial assignment.
   • I would like to be able to swap to anyone I might be matchable to on AO3
   • [Either skip the "I would like to swap to one of the following people:" question or input a list of usernames if you have them]
   • My swap assignments should be a max of 10k each.
   • I would like at most 1 recip after swaps, including my initial assignment.
   • [Skip the last question]
2. If you're sure you'll be able to make 15,000 or 20,000 words before works are due, you can tell us you want 15k/20k total after swaps and you want to keep all 10k of your initial assignment, then fill out the rest of the swaps form however you'd like.

I'm not signed up, can I submit a swap request and get a swapsignment?
Yes! Please do, in fact. There's more information about this below under the header "Swaps for Non-Participants"

Your AO3 username exactly as it appears on your sign up.
If you aren't signed up, note that the numbers below are assuming you're signed up so you will need to adjust accordingly.

What is the maximum number of assignments you would like?
This is the maximum number of people you will be assigned to create for, including your initial assignment.

What is the minimum amount of your current assignment that you want to keep?
If all your swapping dreams come true, we'll make sure you have this amount of your original assignment still assigned.
You can keep as much as 10k (if you picked a max of over 10k) or as little as 0k. If you have no preference, put 0k. You can only keep wordcount in 1k increments, even if your assigned recip has shorter length opt-ins.

What other participants would you like to create for, how much would you like to create for them, and do you have any special notes?
You can provide either the exact AO3 username of the participant(s) you would like to create for as it appears on their FIAB requests, or say "I would like to swap to anyone I might be matchable to on AO3"

We need to know the amount of wordcount (in increments of 1k) that you would like to create for each participant listed. If opting to any match, please provide the maximum you'd like to be assigned to any single swap recipient.

If you have any special notes, we need those too! For example if you want to swap to someone to make them a map, we'd need to know you need to swap for a minimum of 2k, not 1k.

Please format the swap request information in the following way:

New Recip's AO3 name, Max amount you want to be assigned to this recip, Special Notes

Example:

Asymptotical, 2k
fencesit, 5k
tuesday, 5k, I need at least 2k to make a map