Does posting work here harm our chances of being published?

Out of curiosity, is this point mentioned anywhere else in this forum? It may be, but I looked in all the obvious places and didn't see it.
It may be a good reminder to add within the welcome email for new members.
I can recover fairly easy from the setback because my story lends itself to dozens of possibilities. But what about a kid who posts a non-fiction chapter about his childhood, which would be nearly impossible to re-write.
The warning may be here somewhere and I just missed it.
I have emailed 5 different publishers and will post there names and stances on the subject as I get them.

 

If you had posted in New Member Introductions, as recommended when you completed registration, you would have found it in the site overview I post for every new member.

 

Perfect, thank you.

 

What if the author had added a small part of a chapter on a blog, would that count as published.

 

Changing a small part of a chapter would not alter the fact that it was in essence, published. But publishing one chapter of an entire novel generally would not be considered a problem--unless the novel were like 5 chapters in total or something.

Again, it all depends on the indivdiual market.

Terry

 

yup!

 

If I post my story under a different title, and then delete it when completed, they can't find it.

 

Tell that to the plagiarists I have tracked down and banned. Many have tried to disquise the origins of their work in similar ways.

FYI - once posted, you cannot delete all the footprints of your story. There are archivers and search engines aplenty on the web, and other Internet entities that preserve your postings for purposes both benign and malignant.

 

Sieglinde,
Beyond what Cogito indicated, is what you're suggesting eithcal? Or wouldn't you care if publishers had a similar attitude about your work and how they respected and treated you?

Terry

 

ditto all of the above responses...

how would you like to be forced to give back a $5,000 advance [after you'd spent it!], if the publisher found out you'd posted what you swore in your contract was a work that had never been made available anywhere else?

 

I'm not posting the whole thing anywhere, just parts. And since the working title is also used in an unrelated fanfic which is not mine, it can't be proved I ever posted it. What's the point of writing boards and sites if this rule exists? I won't upload anything here.

 

Best advice that I ever received was if you ever want to publish something, don't post any of it anywhere. Matter of fact, don't even post an excerpt of it. By the time you seriously want to publish your writing you should be capable of conceiving something that doesn't need to be looked over by a bunch of strangers before you feel confident to print out the manuscript and ship it off.

If they want your story, they will tell you what to change before they buy it. No one here or any other forum will give you that information.

Bottom line: Better safe than sorry. Don't show anyone work you may want to publish in the future.

Caleb

 

The point is to improve your writing skill, not to have people critique te piece you are submitting for publication. You write practice pieces, and wild experiments. You develop your style, and you find and slaughter your worst writing habits.

And it's not about THIS writing site. It's about posting your story anywhere.

Sure, a short excerpt here or there may not be a problem, but if you're putting up a substantial percentage of te stoiry you want to submit, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

We just happen to be a site that tries to warn you from the start that you shouldn't post anything you are contemplating publishing.

 

The point of writing forums such as this is to allow a writer to improve. Posting sections of a few chapters in a novel isn't going to make a difference with the vast majority of publishers. Posting a scene of a short story a writer is struggling with won't be a big concern either.

Otherwise, if one is developing their skills, and seeking extensive input along the way, posting in a forum such as this is a reasonable avenue to take for some.

As for the point of:

The publisher won't have to prove anything. They can reject a mansucript for any reason, without justifying it to the writer.

All of that aside, if a publisher or an editor with the publisher sees major portions or the entire work online under another name or title, what would the logical conclusion be? Either it was out there and someone other than the author obtained it/copied it and posted (on a blog, forum, website or whatever), or the author posted it. The publisher isn't going to go around and try to solve the mystery. Publishers have way too many submissions to consider as it is, and they regularly have to pass on mansucripts they'd love to publish simply becuase they don't have the time and resources, let alone slots available in their publication schedule.

The best thing to do is to find a crit group where works are not posted/available to the general public and work with the group to refine and improve eachother's works with an eye toward submission.

Terry

 

I have not looked at the posts past about the first page, but what if I posted about four chapters of a say 50 chapter book? Would that still count as reprinted, even if the excerpts I posted were unedited, and only a very small portion of the entire novel? Thanks,

 

4 shouldn't be a problem... but i wouldn't go beyond that...

 

Argh this is really annoying. This should really be stressed in the site rules as much as the '2 reviews before you can post a story' rule.

I would never have posted my short story on here if I'd known this. Now it's virtually unsubmittable. Great.

 

It isn't something specific to this site. It isn't a rule, it's a fact of the Information Age every writer should know, but many don't.

It is also a point I make in the welcome post I place in every new member's thread in New Member Introductions. Unfortunately, not every member takes the time to post there, and even fewer actually read the site rules. Most oither sites never mention it at all -- not because it's any less true there, but because they don't think to bring it up.

 

Cogito is right, it's something every writer ought to know. And if you think about it, it's entirely sensible; what publisher would want to buy off you what can be read online for free?

 

I totally agree with you that it makes sense. Just in the excitment of finding a site where you can post your work and get decent constructive reviews back, it slips the mind some until after the fact.

I realise it's not a rule but is there any chance this info could be appended to the FAQs for future people?

 

Not really. The FAQ is an infrequently read How To guide. Most of it is an instruction manual for the site that has nothing to do with the site's content. No one woulsd see it there.

Likewise, it doesn't belong in the rules. The rules post is kept short and to the point so people will (hopefully) read it and not get lost in unnecessary detail.

As I said earlier, all new joiners are encouraged to post in New Member Introductions (and I notice you did not). Everyone who does gets an admittedly lengthy post from me to familiarize them with the site. The second paragraph of that post covers this point exclusively. Other than physically bludgeoning each member and dragging him or her into an indoctrination center, how else would you suggest making sure every new member has that information?

 

OK fine, sorry. It was only a suggestion!

 

Now what if you post part of the prologue and some character details (e.g. home town, enemies, description), is that considered self-published?

 

It isn't a balck and white issue. The point is, the more of your piece of writng you post online, the greater the likelihood that a publisher will reject it.

Remember, publishers don't have to give a reason for a rejection, and believe it or not, they are capable of searching the web. There are archive engines, too, so it doesn't help to delete the piece after getting feedback.

If you plan to publish, keep the piece you plan to submit close to your chest. If you need feedback on your writing skills, post samples of other writing you DON'T plan to publish. It's your skills you need feedback on, not the particular piece you want to publish.

 

Alright, well I'll continue writing the piece and attempt to get it published. Thanks.