grammarwoman | (Reply)

From:

Here's what I've found about doing the auction twice. I went in expecting at most about a $40-50 bid. I'm an ancient vidder without a lot of cool tricks and I'm a nobody. But I got really good bids both times, and you know why? The fandoms I offered, and probably my letter. I made it really clear that my list of fandoms wasn't all I was prepared to vid, that I would be willing to talk with people about their interests if they weren't on the list and they were able to provide source for things I didn't have/wasn't willing to spend money on. I also made it really clear if there were hard nopes for me--topics, fandoms, etc. Being really clear helps a hell of a lot. But I offered tons of fandoms to choose from, starting with the stuff that really motivates me right now, and moving down the line. A lot of the people I saw in the auctions each year don't do that--they either offer a really limited set of fandoms, or they're unclear about what they're willing to do. They don't give people an idea of what kind of music they might like or they only mention something really specific.

You can see where I'm going with this, I'm sure--basically, the more info you give, the more you offer, the better your chances of getting not just a good solid bid but a chance to work with people you'd really like to work with. It's not fun when you get like the lowest bid, no matter what people say, it's kind of a blow. But having a good, clear, encouraging, excited letter, offering lots of fandoms and music genres, and being open-minded, will get you a lot more interest from the people looking to contribute to the auction.

I think you should try it. It's like festivids but really focused, and you don't have to limit it to small fandoms (though certainly unusual fandoms might make some bidders really excited about getting you!). And depending on what they want, it can be a collaboration, or it can be "here's the songs I like, here's the fandom, go do your awesome thing and then we'll review the draft and yay." I've been both a vidder in the auction and a bid winner, and both times I really liked the process.