I’m going to be taking a one month break from the Ink and Pixel Club. Why? Well, it’s been over a year since I started the site. I’m also going to be moving starting next week. And my computer has been having some issues that may require a trip to the computer doctor. All in all, it seems like a good time to take a little vacation, recharge my batteries, and think about what I want to do with the site next. I may still pop in with a quick post now and then if I come across something I really want to share with you. But there won’t be any regular Tuesday updates until late September.

Now for the opportunity: I’m putting out an open call for guest articles. I’ve wanted to have articles from people other than me on the site for a while and the start of my hiatus strikes me as an ideal point to make an official request for submissions. Here are the guidelines:

• All submissions must be related to animation. They can be reviews, commentaries, explanations of a certain technique, biographies of people in the industry, opinion pieces, or whatever. Just as long as it relates to animation.
• There is no maximum length. However, I reserve the right to split particularly long articles into multiple posts.
  

• You may submit your article at any time. I want to make guest posts a permanent part of the site.
• Articles previously published elsewhere are fine. However, you are solely responsible for abiding by any agreements you article may be under currently. I need to be informed upfront if your article is going to require a link back to another site or if you need to obtain permission from someone to publish it on my site. If I get an angry letter from another website saying that they have exclusive rights to your article, your article will be removed and you will not be writing for The Ink and Pixel Club again.
  

• Not all articles submitted will automatically be accepted. You may submit a proposal or outline for approval before writing the finished article. However, publication of your article is not guaranteed until your final draft is approved. If you submit a proposal for a review of a film that is accepted and your “article” is literally just “I liked it” or “It sucked,” you’re not getting published.
• I will check your article for spelling, grammar, and HTML errors. This does not mean you shouldn’t proofread your work. Articles with an excessive amount of errors will be sent back for correction or rejected.
• I will ask you to make any changes I want that are more substantial than minor corrections. Your first draft may be perfect and ready for publication, but keep in mind that you may be asked for revisions.
• You are responsible for any links or images that you want in your article. I can help you with the HTML if you don’t know it and do a small amount of image editing, but you have to get the link addresses and image files yourself. I may add in a link if I think it would be useful or grab a screenshot if I have the source material handy, but don’t count on it. If you want to use an image that you found on the web, get permission from the owner first.
• All work you submit must be your own or be properly credited to the original creator. No exceptions.
• I can’t pay you. The ink and Pixel Club doesn’t currently make any money. I pay for the domain name and the webspace, so the site operates at a loss. What I can offer you is an audience for your work, a link to your website (personal site, blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, whatever represents you on the web), and the same amount of promotion for your article as I do for my own. You also retain the rights to your work and the freedom to publish it elsewhere, though I do ask that you provide a link to The Ink and Pixel Club if the article was published here originally. If my terms for guest posting ever change, I will contact you so that we can discuss these changes. (Please notify me if you change your e-mail address.)

If you’re interested, please e-mail me (replace text in parentheses with appropriate symbols and punctuation) with your article proposal, outline, or full article. You can leave a comment on this article, but I would much rather discuss article submissions privately than in public.

Don’t be shy! You can do it!