Google drive forms, I made one. I could also help with the set up of getting it to notify you.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17N.....5mRnQ/viewform

Definitely. Google drive is AMAZING. I currently use it for so many things, and I've been meaning to use it for commission forms... That would definitely be a good idea!

and you can have it auto save to a spreadsheet and that spread sheet can email you with every person that fills a form and you can make a running list because it is all time stamped too

Yess, I have seen set ups like that! <3 Totally brilliant. :D That would make things awesomely easy for me.

So yeah, create the form create a spread sheet set the form to save to said spread sheet and go to tools in spread sheet and set the notification perimeters.

Yes, some of us can't hawk FA 24/7 to snag our favorite artists.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. (:

I feel like that would be more fair, and a more preferable way for those of us who don't get online at the "right" times to catch a slot.
If you planned on delaying payment until you get closer to starting the piece, then it would also benefit those who know for sure that they want a piece, but they may need a little bit of time to save.

You should also consider the fact that having a large queue can be a bit overwhelming, even if they haven't all paid. Don't stress yourself too much! :]

I would definitely prefer not to take payments until I'm actually starting on the commission in question, or even waiting until it's completed -- but yes, I hadn't thought about having a bit of extra time to save! That's an excellent point.

And yes, having a long queue can definitely get overwhelming, I know.. I am a little concerned about that. But given that I plan to do this for a good long while, I think it'll be okay. c:

It's good to hear that you sound prepared. :D I wish you the best of luck! And be on the lookout for a note from me one of these days too. I'm hoping to commission you at some point in the future as well xD

Thank you! :D And I will definitely keep an eye out, haha!

how about raffle on who gets the commission.
if you need further explanation just say

Ooh, that's also a good idea.. I'd actually really like to give that a try.

I think it could still be pretty frustrating for those who don't win the raffle, though. It would be totally fair, technically -- but it would still be pretty hard to grab a spot depending on how many people enter.

well just don't allow prevouis entries to do so 2 or times in a row to make it fair to other. its a fair system. you could just limit the amount of people to enter. or you just be like

enter 5 different people every so often at different time periods

 rajii does that exact thing. He just has a waiting list that's several months long, but there's no pressure to get on it or anything. I just said I was interested and he added me, and something like ... three months later maybe? More or less? I'm really bad with time :( but however many months later, he sent me a note saying it was my turn if I still wanted/was able (because people's situations change, he probably gets a lot of people signing up and then suddenly not being able to afford it anymore and such, so he has to confirm.) I was totally up for it, and he did my piece and it was awesome. (NSFW! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11844858/ NSFW!)

Personally, I thought that was an awesome system, especially with such a big-name popular artist who would be completely inaccessible otherwise (commission slot announcements would fill up instantly, auctions would go for much more than I could afford, etc.) He's one of the most popular, high-watcher-count people I've ever commissioned, and that system was why and how I actually could commission someone on that tier.

So, I think it's a good system! :D

To keep things from getting too out of hand, you could have a system that's basically that with a cap--like, a constant number of slots, anyone can join the line at any time so long as there's an opening, and you just keep the master list in some publicly-viewable place so people can see whether you're full or there are X openings or what. For insanely popular artists, it keeps the artist from going crazy with "oh my God I am booked TWO YEARS AHEAD NOW @_@" if too many people in line, though but there's still a bit of a scrum for the last one or two slots whenever you finish a piece and therefore it becomes open until the next person grabs it.

I think  lysozyme and  likeshine had some sort of variant of this at one point or another, though it's been long enough since I've commissioned either of them that I can't really remember. I know I have such a setup (max queue of three, but it's constantly open for people taking any open slots there may be, instead of having to wait for announcements or something.) Of course, I'm a writer and no one's ever heard of me, so I can have whatever system I want because it's all https://e621.net/post/show/4612/ anyway. :P But shhh XD

I totally lol'd at the image

Ohh, I absolutely love that commission from Rajii! It's so beautiful. Yeah, I'm thinking this will probably be a good idea. Though I'm hoping it won't get too crazy, like you said. xD

The thing I'm worried about is that I might not have available slots, which essentially would make it the same system as before (one slot would become available who-knows-when, and you'd have to be lucky to get it). I think this'll definitely be a learning experience; I'll just have to keep adjusting and experimenting until I find a good method that works for everyone. (:

Also that image made me giggle. xD

Thank you! I love how that Rajii commission turned out, as well. :'D

And we'll see, I suppose! It's always a trial-and-error experience until you eventually hammer out something nice, but here's hoping it runs as smoothly for your end of it as Rajii's system worked from my perspective. <3

(Oh, and in other news, I posted the cover to  teogifts!)

asdjlfahsdf AND THE ICON TOO (I just noticed that icon looked distinctly not-yours when I linked it in that comment there, so I went and fixed that real quick :D)

That seems like a fair system to me. If you keep a regularly updated queue posted, potential commissioners should be able to estimate how long of a wait they would have, based on regularly you post completed pieces.

And the +40% to jump to the top of the queue seems fair, as that's a not-insignificant fee.

Awesome, I'm glad it sounds like a good idea! (:

I dont like the raffle idea i think a queue is a better idea and the ahead of the line payment

Yeah, I think I prefer the queue, myself. (:

If anyone gives you guff about the 40% jump-to-the-top fee, remind them that professional artists/designers often have rush fees that work exactly the same way. :)

Haha, I definitely will! So far it seems everyone's quite happy with it, though I suppose I might very well get some grumbles in the future.

if the new stuff in beta goes into affect where it actually does things by sections of watchers vs the entire base - depending on how they have that distributed (a-z? random?) you may or may not find the same people over and over and others not getting a chance on TOP of the mere hour opening.

I feel like many people are going to have to re-think their first come first serve strategies.

Yeah, that's exactly why I wanted to revisit the way I do things. And, it sounds awful, but to be perfectly honest, I hadn't realized what a horrible system it was until now! It's easy for me, but it isn't very friendly toward the commissioners. It's definitely past time to rethink the system!

Story of my life, with most artists being in North America or Europe I get the journals about 6 hours late because I'm either working or sleeping XP
So yeah, queue away X3

Haha, timezones. The bane of my existence! xD

Glad you like the idea!

What about having it so that those who get commissions when you put slots up, are then not allowed to gain new slots for say 2 months, to let others have a chance grabbing a lot from you next, and so forth.

Hmm, I don't know. The problem is that most of my regular commissioners already take a pretty significant break in between -- very rarely do I get multiple commissions from the same people in a row.

I definitely prefer queues, though usually its much nicer if you can take a peek at it as well to see when you might be coming up, always nicer to see progress being made!

Definitely! (: I've always tried to keep everyone updated on everything, and I'll definitely keep that going for everyone on the queue!

I think this is a great idea.