Download a pdf copy of the FAQ ~ ~ ~ ~ Download a pdf flyer promoting the Minnesota Writing Quilt NCTE Gallery of Writing ~ Minnesota Writing Quilt FAQ Who can submit to the Minnesota Writing Quilt? Anyone of any age living in Minnesota or with a connection to Minnesota can submit. (Ask your grandparents wintering in Arizona to write their memory of a Minnesota blizzard or idyllic summer or a summer job when they were a teen.) How much writing can I submit? You are eligible to submit one piece (or a link to a piece already posted on the Internet) per gallery within the National Gallery of Writing. You should not submit the same composition to more than one gallery. How can I upload my work to the Gallery? When you submit your piece, you will be directed to use one of three options: 1) Upload a copy of your work that on your computer and that is in any of these formats: doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .jpg, .gif, .tif, .eps, MP3, or .wma. A pdf format is best if you are using unusual fonts or have artwork or photographs embedded in your work or if you are scanning a piece such as a child's handwritten work. 2) You may provide the URL link to your work that is posted somewhere on the internet. This might be your: school webpage, YouTube video, Google doc, blog, Facebook or MySpace page, Ning page, or VoiceThread. This URL should be active through June 30, 2010. 3) If your writing doesn't have artwork, only requires a plain font, and is under 500 words, you can just paste your writing into the submission box provided. When you select the "contribute my writing now" button you will be prompted for information about the piece you are submitting and about yourself. You have the option to share this information with readers through the site search engine, or to keep the information invisible to the search engine. Once you have provided the necessary information and permission to publish, you will have the opportunity to choose the destination Gallery where your work will appear. Of course, we encourage you to contribute to Minnesota Writing Quilt. When your work reaches its destination Gallery, you will receive an email indicating that it has arrived and is being reviewed. How is the writing reviewed and selected? The writing will be reviewed by at least one of the Gallery's curators, all of whom are MCTE Board members and whose names are listed on the Minnesota Writing Quilt Gallery information page. The writing will be reviewed to ensure that it meets the guidelines of the Gallery as listed in the description of the Gallery. In addition, writing that • is obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit • depicts graphic or gratuitous violence • makes threats of any kind or that intimidates, harasses, or bullies anyone • is derogatory, demeaning, malicious, defamatory, abusive, or hateful will not be published in the Minnesota Writing Quilt. NCTE wants the National Gallery to be a safe and educative site on the Internet. Therefore, in posting to the Gallery, you may not: • violate any local, state, national, or international law or post any writing that would encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense • use the work of others in your piece without giving proper credit • impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age, or your affiliation with any person or entity • make available any unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation A reminder: This is not a writing contest. Brainstormed lists, rough drafts, informal writing, and "writing" in non-tradtional formats such as podcasts, performances of original songs, movies, powerpoint presentations, and graphic (comic book format) novels are legitimate contributions. One delightful early submission was a list of writing the author hoped to do someday. How will I know if my writing has been selected for publication in the Minnesota Writing Quilt Gallery? A Curator will notify you via email regarding its status within 30 business days. If your writing has been accepted, you and your friends and relatives can find the piece going to the Minnesota Writing Quilt Gallery and scrolling through the items on the front page. Or you can use the search feature and type in your name. Who owns the copyright to my work? As a contributor to the National Gallery of Writing you will retain copyright of your writing contribution. The following notice will appear next to your contribution. NOTICE: This work is the property of the author[s]/creator[s]. Subject to the right of "Fair Use" as recognized by law, no person may print, reprint, publish, copy, perform, deliver, transmit or sell any work posted on the National Gallery of Writing without the prior written permission of the author[s]/creator[s]. NCTE assumes no responsibility for the unlawful or unauthorized use of any work posted on the National Gallery of Writing. How are young writers protected? When writers under age 13 enroll, they are directed to a separate registration form. They must 1) provide a parent email address and NCTE must receive a parental response or 2) they must print a permission form and submit it throught postal mail before the student is permitted to submit a piece of writing. Young people are encouraged to create a pen name for their submission. What writing should my students submit? It is strongly encouraged that students submit self-selected pieces. These may be written as (or revised from) a school assignment this year or any time in the past. Or the piece may be entirely self-sponsored: writing from secretly hoarded notebooks of poetry or an excerpt from a novel they are hoping to complete or letters to a loved one or a collection of tweets or text messages or a link to their blog or to a short movie they made just for fun. Whatever the motivation for the submission, it must follow all of the guidelines above. How can I contribute on behalf of others? This is a handy option for teachers. If you have followed your own or your school's procedure for collecting the required parent permissions, you can submit your students' writing using the "Multiple Pieces" button on the "Contribute My Writing" page. You will be asked to acknowledge that you have been given permission. After doing this, a new button will appear titled Contribute For Others. This would also be a convenient option for submitting a few pieces of students writing from a particular assignment by "stitching" the separate pieces together in one pdf document. Caution: Please do not submit a piece from every child. As we know from having to assess a set of student papers on the same assignment, it gets tedious to read such a large quantity of the same thing. Choose several representative pieces (remember that this project is not a writing contest). As you submit these small collections throughout the year, take care that every student is published once.