Series fanworks include links to multiple fanworks on the SWG site that you wish to present together. A series can include fanworks that you have created, as well as fanworks by other creators on the site. Note that a fanwork must be archived on the SWG site in order to be included in a series. The Add New Series form will lead you through getting your writing posted to the SWG archive.
Note that the SWG includes three fanwork types that are similar in that they present multiple pieces of content or links to content as a single fanwork. See our FAQ on series, link collections, and multimedia fanworks if you're not sure which you should choose.
Much of the Add New Series form will include optional fields. The only required fields are the title, summary, and at least one series item. Optional fields include Character, Genre, and Relationship. Because series include fanworks that have also been labeled with these fields, you should fill out these fields only when they apply to the entire series. Do not include an exhaustive list of every tag included in the fanworks within the series. For example, if an author collects all of her stories about Maedhros in a single series, it would make sense for her to include Maedhros in the Major Character field. If only a single story in the series involves Elu Thingol, it would not make sense to list him as a character for the series (though it would for the story itself).
The directions below will lead you through each field on the form and how to fill it out. You'll notice that most fields also have help text on the form itself.
Creating a New Series
Title. Type in or paste the title of your series here.
Beyond the Silmarillion Fanwork. If you meet the membership criteria for our Beyond the Silmarillion section, you will see a checkbox here to mark if you series is a Beyond the Silmarillion fanwork.
Source Text(s). Checking the Beyond the Silmarillion Fanwork checkbox above will allow you to choose the Tolkien text(s) or adaptation(s) that your series is based on. As noted above, you should choose source texts that apply to the entire series, not tag exhaustively for each fanwork within the series. If you used an adaptation (film, game, etc) that is missing from the list, use the Moderator Request field below to request to have it added. Hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) to select more than one source. This field is not available for fanworks intended for the main SWG archive.
Co-Creator. If another creator contributed to compiling this series, you can add them here. This field is not intended to list the creators of the fanworks within the series itself. A co-creator for a series assists with the selection and presentation of the fanworks within the series. For example, if two fans of Beleg wished to collect fanworks featuring him in a series, those fans would be co-creators. Note that only co-creators who are also SWG members can be added. Begin typing their SWG username and choose it from the dropdown.
If you have multiple co-creators on this series, you can click the Add Another Item button to add additional co-creators.
Important Note: Adding a co-creator does not automatically give them edit access to your series. If you want to grant edit access, you'll do that after saving your series, on the Access Control tab on the next screen. See the access control FAQ for more information.
Language. This field will default to English, so unless you are posting a series in a language other than English, you can skip this field. To change the language, begin typing the name of the language (in the language itself, not in English) and choose it from the dropdown. If the language has not been added yet, you can type it in now to add it.
Please note that only real world languages should be added to this field, not imaginary languages like Quenya and Sindarin.
Summary. The summary is a required field. Provide a brief summary of what the series is about. Information unrelated to the summary—challenge prompts, credit to beta readers, et cetera—can go in one of the Series Notes field below.
Major Characters. Major characters are those who are a focus of your series. Characters whom you select here will appear in listings of fanworks, in the series information section at the top of the series itself, and in search results for the character. Remember, you should only select characters who are important to the entire series. It is possible to have a series that does not list any major characters.
If you want to select more than one character in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select characters. If you need a character who is not included on the list, you can use the Moderator Request field, discussed below. Please note that there are several broader labels to apply to non-Tolkien characters or characters who are unnamed in the texts:
- Agender Unnamed Canon Character
- Unnamed Canon Character
- Female Unnamed Canon Character
- Historical Character(s)
- Legendary/Mythical Character(s)
- Male Unnamed Canon Character
- Nonbinary Unnamed Canon Character
- Original Agender Character(s)
- Original Character(s)
- Original Female Character(s)
- Original Male Character(s)
- Original Nonbinary Character(s)
- Other Fictional Character(s)
- Real Person(s)
Major Relationship. Similar to major characters, a major relationship is the focus of your series. Relationships included in this field may be romantic/sexual or platonic. We follow the wider fandom convention of using a slash (/) to denote romantic/sexual relationships, an ampersand (&) to denote friendships, and a plus sign (+) to denote queer platonic and other relationships, where the line between friendship and romance may be blurred. If a relationship in your series includes both romantic and another relationship between two characters, please use the slash designation. For example, if your series focuses on how the friendship between Fëanor and Nerdanel evolved into a romance, label this series "Fëanor/Nerdanel." Remember, you should only select relationships that are important to the entire series. It is possible to have a series that does not list any major relationships.
To add a Major Relationship, begin typing the name of one of the characters in the relationship and select the relationship you want from the dropdown. Note that, within a relationship, characters are listed alphabetically. For example, if your series explores the four-way friendship between Celegorm, Curufin, Angrod, and Aegnor, the relationship is listed on the site as "Aegnor & Angrod & Celegorm & Curufin."
Information entered in the Major Relationship field will appear in listings of fanworks, in the series information section at the top of the series itself, and in search results for the relationship.
If you want to add more than one Major Relationship, use the Add Another Item button.
Genre. Select one or more genres that describe your series. Both writing and audio genres are available. You should only select genres that apply to the series as a whole. For example, if you are collecting all audio fanworks that involve music, you would select "Music" as a genre. If you were collecting femslash fanworks and only one was a musical recording, you would not select "Music" as a genre for the series.
If you want to select more than one genre in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select genres.
Challenge. If you created your series as a response to one of our site challenges, you can include it here. Doing so will list your series among the responses to the challenge. Include a challenge only if the series is a response to that challenge; do not use this field to list all challenges that fanworks within the series were created for. If you want to select more than one challenge in this field, hold down CTRL (PC) or Command (Mac) on your keyboard as you select challenges. This field is not available for Beyond the Silmarillion fanworks.
Series Notes. Use the Series Notes field to hold notes that apply to the entirety of your series. Series notes will appear at the top of the Table of Contents, and the visitor will not need to click to view them. This field is a good place to include information that you want to be sure your audience sees before proceeding with your series, such as additional details about the collection or challenge prompts.
Series Item. Begin typing the title of the fanwork you wish to add to the series. Choose the fanwork from the dropdown list that appears. Use the button Add Series Item to include multiple fanworks in the series; clicking this button will open another Series Item field. To reorder the items in a series, drag and drop them in the order you wish to see them presented.
Complete. If your series is finished, check this box.
Authoring Information. If you want to backdate your series, you can do so here. This will prevent a series from showing up at the top of the All Fanworks page and New & Updated Fanworks block in the sidebar and can be useful if you are archiving multiple older fanworks. Note that dating a series in the future does not schedule it to post; please use this field only for backdating.
Exclude from Most Recent. If you do not want your series to show up on the Most Recent blocks on the front page and sidebar or included in that week's email newsletter, check this box. For example, you might use this field if you are archiving a lot of older fanworks at one time, or if the edit/change you are making to your series is minor.
Publish. This box is checked by default. If you want to save your series as a draft, you can uncheck this box.
Editing a Series
Once you've saved your series, if you want to make changes to the content you've already entered or add additional items, you will need to edit the series. To edit a series, you can use the My Fanworks page and click the pencil icon next to the series you want to edit, or you can view the series and use the Edit tab at the top of the series.
