Actually, we have received a lot more nominations... So, why aren't they all there? Well, that's exactly what this post is about.
Nomination forms
You see, it isn't as simple as someone filling out a fic, vid or art nomination form, pressing the 'submit' button and the noms automatically rolling out on the other end. Okay, they kinda do (we don't use carrier pigeons, after all) but we actually have to do something with the filled out nom forms.Processing
Processing the nom forms sounds simpler than it really is: we have to make a backup of every nom form (and upload it), ensure the noms end up in the right database of nominated works (vid, fic or art) with all the relevant information and set the status to 'requires vetting'.Vetting
Subsequently, the committee can filter the database on said status to see if the nomination can be approved. This requires a thorough check to see if it's eligible (does it adhere to the rules?) and whether the category it has been nominated in is correct. The latter takes up more time for fanfiction than it does for art and vids, obviously, especially if the author of a fic hasn't labeled their story with any categories/genres (or just with 'romance').Flash fiction or even short stories of a couple of thousand words won't take up too much time but the longer ones (think: novel length) get claimed by a committee member who has to fit it into their schedule - we do have real lives with jobs, after all. However, sometimes a committee member is unsure about whether a story qualifies for nomination and thus another member has to double-check it so they can discuss it.
Notifying
Once a fanwork has been vetted the committee member(s) responsible for it will make a note of why it has been accepted/rejected, tag it [with their name] and change its status. Now, when we filter the database for the second status we can see the nominees we have to notify to inquire whether they will accept the nomination. Unfortunately, some works will be rejected and in those cases we have to notify the nominator to let them know why they don't qualify.Here is where the real delay occurs: it is not always easy to get in touch with the nominees, in particular if the fanwork is several years old. Some archives don't have any/reliable private messaging systems either. On occasion, we will receive a reply from the nominee within the same day but in most cases it takes at least a day - and we're still trying to get in touch with some who were nominated in the first week (check out tumblr, LJ and GW for overviews, as well as Twitter/FB/G+ with the hashtag '#lostnominees' and please share them if you can).
Promoting
Unfortunately, some people will reject the nomination for various reasons but overall people are very pleased to hear their fans have nominated them! At this point we have to change the status of the nominations in question again, so the committee members can filter for fanworks that are promotable and share them via our social media accounts. We also have to inform the nominator that the nomination has been accepted by the nominee, send out flairs to nominees (for promotional purposes) and update the Nominations page on the website.In conclusion
Really, aside from the difficulty of getting in touch with some nominees, there's just a lot of administration involved; from updating the database, informing nominees and nominators to keeping track of which nominations have been promoted where and for what media and categories.So, if you've submitted a/multiple nomination(s) and are wondering why you haven't heard anything back from us or see it promoted somewhere, it's probably because we're busy vetting the noms or haven't been able to get in touch with the nominee yet.
Don't give up hope and just keep submitting your favorite fanworks for a 2014 Sam and Jack Multimedia Award!
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