The following is just a list of simple guidelines all writers at MO are expected to be aware of. Most of these have gone pretty much unsaid up until now, so putting them down just makes it easier for everyone. This list was compiled in February of 2009.

EDITORS

Marvel Omega is run by Dino Pollard and Hunter Lambright, who share the position of Editor-in-Chief. They are responsible for maintaining the site (including dibs), procuring headshots and logos, approving proposals, editing and coding issues for release, and mediating and resolving any conflicts among the staff.

All issues will be edited before they are posted on the site. However, proofreading and grammatical rules are essential in any form of writing and fanfic is no different. Please, make our lives easier and proofread your issues before you send them in. As far as grammar goes, you don't have to be an expert, but you should know the basics, such as the difference between their/there/they're and your/you're or how to deal with punctuation. If you need to brush up on grammar, William Strunk's The Elements of Style is available for free online.

Grammar is a part of writing, so if you want to write, you're going to have to get used to it. Also, please use your word processor's spell check feature before you send in your issues. This may just be a hobby, but we take pride in the quality of the work hosted here and you should, too.

PROPOSALS

Anyone interested in writing for Marvel Omega first has to submit a proposal for approval. A proposal must contain a list of characters you want to use and (in the case of ongoing titles) an outline of the first six issues or (in the case of a limited series) an outline of the entire series. Writers new to Marvel Omega must also submit a writing sample, which can be in the form of a link to a story at another site (if you have written for Marvel Omega in the past, this isn't necessary). In some cases, new writers may be asked to contribute one or two issues for our anthology books, either Amazing Fantasy (heroes) or Bring on the Bad Guys (villains). Which anthology to write for and which characters to use will be at the discretion of the writer.

DIBS

When a writer takes on a series, it is his responsibility to dib characters through the staff mailing list. All writers must be subscribed to the staff mailing list, no exceptions. Writers are expected to check the dibs list before submitting a proposal or a dib to ensure there are no conflicts. If a conflict exists, one of the editors will mention it, but it is up to the writers to resolve said conflict.

More than one writer can dib a character, but this must be negotiated in advance and any character-altering plans must be discussed amongst the writers.

Dibs are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. We also ask that you be considerate with your dibs. It is understandable that some writers plan very long-term and others do not, so if you dib a character you won't be using for another twelve issues, for example, please be gracious if another writer would like to use that character in a way that does not alter your plans.

Writers are expected to dib characters in advance of writing their issues and to release dibs as soon as they are done with a character. This is to ensure that the dibs list is always up-to-date and will help avoid conflicts.

ANTHOLOGIES

Marvel Omega has two anthology titles—Amazing Fantasy (for almost any story set in the Marvel Universe) and Bring on the Bad Guys (for villain-centric stories). Anyone may request to write an issue for either anthology by e-mailing one or both of the editors. If a staff writer has fallen behind on his or her current titles, it falls to the discretion of the editors whether or not they will be permitted to work on one of the anthologies.

In general, dibbed characters may be used for anthology stories, provided that the writer has cleared the use of the character with the dib-holder. For example, if you wanted to write an Amazing Fantasy story featuring Spider-Man, you would have to check with the writer of The Amazing Spider-Man first.

DEATH AND RESURRECTION

In the past, Marvel Omega had a “dead is dead” rule and no resurrections were allowed. This has become flexible in recent years. If a writer wants to resurrect a character, the writer must first clear the idea with the editors. Provided it's a good story and the writer has future plans for a character that justify a resurrection, it will be given the green light.

In regards to killing off characters, we ask writers to please use caution. Remember, this is a shared universe and we all play off each other's stories. If you kill a character, please try to remember that by doing so, you are denying the use of that character to all other writers. So we ask that you don't simply kill off characters because you don't like them or because you think they're bad characters—remember, every character is potentially someone's favorite.

If a writer kills a character, (s)he is expected to announce so on the mailing list, as well as the issue that character died in. Do not count on the editors to know when a character is dead—sometimes, a character may only appear dead to return in a future issue. So please, notify us so we can have an up-to-date deceased list.

CONDUCT

All writers are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner on the Omega mailing lists and message boards as well as in private e-mails with fellow staff members. Marvel Omega has been free of flame wars or angry disputes among writers and we would like to keep it that way. If you have a problem with a fellow writer, be it because of a character dispute or a personal reason, bring it to the attention of the editors and allow them to deal with it. Please do not take it upon yourself to discipline your fellow writers—that's our job. In many cases, disputes are the result of a simple misunderstanding and they can be cleared up fairly painlessly. So allow the editors to handle this. Do not confront another writer in either a public or private forum without discussing the matter with an editor first.

A writer who consistently violates this policy will be removed from staff, no questions asked.

ISSUES

The length of a given issue varies from writer to writer, usually ranging between as little as 2,000 words to as many as 10,000. How long an issue is falls to the discretion of the writer—we have no minimum or maximum length for issues (although it is advisable to keep them within the 2,000-10,000-word range). Some writers and readers prefer longer issues, others prefer shorter ones. All writers must come up with a title for their issues. Naming issues by multi-part story-arcs or individual issue titles (or both) is entirely up to the writer's discretion, but every issue must have some sort of title. All issues should be saved in one of the three formats: rich text (.rtf), Open Office (.odt) or Microsoft Office (.doc).

We ask that writers try to get issues out on a semi-regular basis. We understand this is just a hobby and a monthly release schedule is almost impossible for many to maintain, especially given the pressures of work, school, family, a personal life, etc. However, please try to release at least a few issues a year. The amount of issues you are able to write will also help determine whether or not you're allowed to take on additional titles. For example, writer who can turn out twelve issues a year is more-likely to be granted an additional title (s)he may propose as opposed to a writer who can only turn out one issue per year.

If you go a long time without releasing an issue, be aware that the editors may contact you and ask you what the situation is and whether or not you want to remain with the site. Please respond to these e-mails and just politely explain the situation. We're pretty understanding of the pressures of real life and provided we're kept in the loop, we'll let you take whatever time you need. If a writer does not respond to an e-mail about the status of their titles, they will be removed from staff. Falling behind on fanfic because of real life is completely acceptable, ignoring us is not. If you feel that you were removed from staff erroneously, please contact us and we'll be happy to put you back on after hearing your story.

Please be considerate with this. If you find that you don't have the time for the site, then please step aside and make room for potential new writers. Do not hold on to a title if you have neither the time nor the drive to write it. It will just make the entire process an unpleasant experience for everyone involved. We don't hold grudges—in fact, if you're honest about not having the time or the passion for the site at this point, we'd be happier than if you just keep us waiting on issues that are never going to come.

Also remember that the more consistent you are with your writing, the easier you'll find it to write. Writing is a mental exercise and just like it becomes harder to perform physical exercise the more you break a habit of doing it, it's the same with writing. Even if you only write one paragraph a day, it'll still keep the story fresh in your mind and it'll be easier to keep it going. Writers who let a lot of time lapse between issues have a tendency to lose their voice on the story and in some cases, lose interest altogether.

RESIGNATION

If you should choose to leave Marvel Omega, a decision may or may not be made by either yourself or the editors regarding whether or not to keep your issues on the site. If your work had no impact on continuity or if it leaves the book in a difficult situation for a new writer, we will allow it to be removed if you want. However, if your title has had impact on MO's continuity, we ask that you please allow us to keep those issues at the site. This is simply to ensure our continuity is kept straight.

Naturally, these stories are your property and you are free to post them elsewhere, but we ask that you allow us to host them as well. If you absolutely refuse to have them kept at our site, then we will regretfully remove them. However, we strongly ask you to please consider our point of view—we aren't doing this to violate your rights, we are just trying to preserve continuity within our site. And of course, in the event that your stories have no impact on continuity, we will remove them without question if you so choose, which we have done on a few occasions.