Suppose one's been sick, or busy, or just distracted.  My question is: what stigma will there be on someone, such as myself, who doesn't have anything to submit?

I do not make a claim as the lawmaker in fan creation spheres, but I believe in trying better next time in another venture you would want to commit yourself to.  I do not think it would be productive to hold anyone in contempt for something like this. Sometimes life happens, and that's okay. You participated; that's worth something to me.

There will not be any stigma in such events. This jam is intended to motivate participants to create/continue their Touhou stories/fanworks, so if any progress has been made in the least, this jam has achieved its intended goal.