Does posting work here harm our chances of being published?

You can lead a horse to water...

 

I read all the rules etc. when I joined but I must of missed that, that's why I said it should be made very clear ie. in big red letters! I have belonged to other writing forums in the past and you are right none of them mentioned it either, but they should have. As a lot of people who use these forums are unpublished it's not something we would automatically know. I suppose that is the thing with the internet, it allows you to reach so many people which is great, and getting the opinion of other writers and potential readers is invaluable, but once it's out there it can't be undone.
Can you just clarify, if I were to post the first chapter of a novel, would that render the whole book unpublishable? Or if you posted the first 3 chapters of a novel that you intended to show to a publisher to get advice on last minute changes , would it still be valid? Also if you post a short story and later expand on it and it becomes part of a novel, would it still be classed as a reprint?

 

You'd have to publish a substantial amount for it to start affecting your publishing rights. More than 3 chapters, I'd say, but it would depend on each individual publisher. Also it is substantially redrafted after being posted, it probably would be alright.

 

Thanks Banzai...I still can't believe I didn't know this, I'm very glad I read this post!

 

good to know

 

What about books like fifty shades of gray? That was originally a fan fic on a fan fiction website but she removed it, tweaked it and then sold it on ebooks as a self published novel.

 

What about it?

If you post it on a website you can publish it as an ebook. I have a story on my own website that is available for kindle.

The issue with rights comes into play when dealing with a publisher. The issue is "would a publisher publish your work knowing it was previously published (I.e., on a website, a blog, this forum etc.)?

Also, I have observed cog has repeatedly (that is, more than once) stated that you cannot unpublish something. I'm not sure why this is being ignored. You cannot just take something down from a website and call it unpublished. It doesn't work like that. Once it is published, it is published.

 

You can shell out the 100+$ for preregistration of a literary work and then choose a friend you trust to work with. Still never post a word of it online, ever. Your safe to keep copies in Google Drive or Dropbox, but nothing public. You can (once prereg) distribute for the reason of editing or review. Once you post online as stated before it becomes intelligent information and protected as such under the law--it is therefore published. I have personally pre-reg my work and worked with a wonderful writer here on the forums back and forth --editing theirs and they mine. That said you better have trust, because if they decide to post your work that would suck. To the person who did a search--it doesn't matter if it was parsed in your search or not at this point. If you become the next J.K. Rowling and people recognize your work here, you will be bounced from your publisher and as Cogito said--maybe blacklisted.

If you need help be generic, get peoples thoughts--don't try to get answers. A lot of people are looking for others to "solve" a problem, or "give" and answer to a scene. It's better to seek direction by asking other writers the how or why about doing things--it allows you to come up with a solution and grow yourself. You also avoid being so specific as to place your novels rights in jeopardy.

A small excerpt that doesn't really give anything away, or a piece of dialogue that needs help is no big deal--still you may want to change names to protect the identity of your characters lol.

 

Double post deleted

 

Pre-registration is not a magic bullet. It also has very specific guidelines that must be followed in the event you discover your work has been misused. You have very limited time frames. Note the big warning at the top of the copyright office page stating:

"for the vast majority of work,preregistration is not useful"

If you write a story, you can register it for $35. Then, you can tweak, review it with others and do what needs to be done.

Preregistration is for unpublished works that are still in progress. If you are writing a novel and reviewing the work with another person as you go, you may find yourself in a sticky situation even if you pre register. Why? Because that individual is/has been taking part in the creation of the story, they can argue that it was a collaborative piece and they are a co-author. It is designed for people like Stephen King. So if I dig throug SK's garbage or hack his computer, and steal his manuscript and publish it on createspace, he has some basis to bring legal action against me. It is not designed so that I can solicit opinions on the Internet on how to improve my work without fear of infringement. Stephen King also has a reasonable expectation that his work is going to be published (a basic eligibility requirement for preregistration). Thinking that you might, one day when you get the money, self-publish it wouldn't exactly be the same.

I register my first draft. I also document every recommendation I get from my beta reader and file those notes. I keep drafts from my editor and file it all in my big fire resistant safe. For every story I write, I have a very long trail that undeniably establishes what I wrote, what recommendations were made to me, the result of considering those recommendations and the final product to be published. Were you to audit one of those files, there would be a lengthy paper trail establishing the authorship of my stories.

Is it overkill? Sure.

But I have watched people get torn apart by a team of rabid lawyers as they try to rely on things like having mailed themselves a copy of the original work. Preregistration isn't much better. All pregistration allows you to do is sue a person for publishing your WIP before you can release it. BUT, a requirement for preregistration to mean ANYTHING is that you have to be able to "verify that the claimant has reasonable expectation that the work will be commercially distributed in the form of a book."

So it isn't a quick fix solution and you should research its application before throwing $115 at it ( you are also then required to register the work once published, which is $35 if filed online).

 

Better to make use of editors in writing a short story and publishing it, because they makes you to publish the content that makes the readers to feel comfort, by avoiding the mistakes.

 

In regards to posting content online - you can password protect a blog post on some blogsites without search engines indexing the content. It will index the title though, so name it something inconspicuous to be extra sure, and your writing will be buried online to only those who you want to see it.

Obviously, whoever you give the password to will be able to copy and paste the content at will, so be careful.

if you have posted small extracts of writing on blogs, there are ways of attempting to remove yourself from search engines by going through their procedures.

If you are worried, I guess it's worth investigating - whether you can actively remove the entirety of your work from the SERP cache or whether it's a moralistic move to take in the first place; I'm not sure.

 

Here's the idea I've been kicking around for the last thirty minutes while I peruse this thread and watch football. Ask yourself these questions: How good of a writer are you?
Can you post a story or novella here, or anywhere else that you definitely would not want to have a publisher consider one day? If you can do it, craft a story here using all the skills in your inventory. Do notdo it to get the story published, but to earn yourself some exposure. We never know who is looking through this forum at the short stories and novel excerpts. So if you can write...I mean if you really have the skills and the talent, do not worry yourself sick over trying to decide whether or not to post a story here. Work on your primary novel or short story offline but put something up online that shows the world what you can do as a writer. Maybe you'll get lucky.

 

I'm feeling very depressed right now and stupid and naive.
I've shared a lot of my writing online without really ever having had any intention of seeking to get it published, until recently whereby the insane notion has been tickling my brain.
Oh well, if anyone asks I can always say "I'm a self published author". It sounds better than "totally unknown closet scribbler." ...among the many millions of us out there.

 

forgive yourself and get cracking writing new stuff you won't share in its entirety online, so you'll have something to submit to paying publishers... and who knows, one day you may then be able to say 'i'm a published author'!

love and hugs, maia

 

Well crap.

I've talked about my story ideas on many different writing sites, and a quick google search on my characters have led to this forum specifically. My little map of the world in my sci-fi can now be located if you know what the title of it was.

So...yah. :< There goes my shot at being able to publish THOSE stories!

 

I am brand new to these boards and I can tell you that even in two days, it has been eye opening. I have been writing my entire life and I find that, to me, getting published seems like a pipe dream. Does a website hurt any of our chances? I doubt it. I think it more than likely have zero impact in either direction. Just my .02.

 

Guess we really have to keep our most prized writings locked away tightly.

 

It's possible.

 

It depends if you want to be read or want to be paid. Establishing an online reputation for free can often lead to being paid for your other stuff down the track; this includes posting it here for reviews, or just sharing. Usually publishers don't sell the contents of the book, but the name of the Author...

...as long as you have other stuff.

 

Publishers are not the least bit impressed with any self-distributed writing, whether it be eBooks, forums, or private web sites. They care about material published by publishing companies in the same or nearly the same competitive tier. You will neither help nor harm your saleability to a significant degree by posting other writing for free access. However, you could label yourself a tyro by boasting about it in queries.submissions.

 

If your work is of quality you will gain a reputation and publishers will investigate the potential. Publishers want good stuff and really don't give a rats ass how they get it, or find it. They want stuff that will make money. That's all. The normal query channels are for authors to approach publishers, but publishers also go and look for authors themselves. Matthew Reilly was found this way, after he self-published a book that a publisher recognised as commercial gold. Publishers read the internet and often find things they like, or things that have become popular. Many blogs have become books because the publisher liked it. It's like stand-up comedians getting approached for their own show. This is the new world we live in. A recent famous example is Fifty Shades of Grey, a book originally given away for free as a self-published ebook. But hey, if your writing is shit, none of it matters anyway.

 

Fifty shades is an exception, not a rule.

There are far more first time novelists finding success going the traditional way than there are self-published authors being picked up by publishers.

You can do whatever you want with your work. But people who self-publish thinking they can circumvent traditional channels to reach publishers should be aware that, while possible, their desired level of success is highly improbable.

 

Usually publishers don't sell the contents of the book, but the name of the Author...

...not 'usually' at all... only after they've become famous for writing bestsellers...

 

I'm sorry, but that is just wishful thinking. Your work has to be good, but it also must be presented to the right people in a way that encourages them to take a good look at it.

In an ideal world, cream always rises to the top. In the real world, scum sits on top and hides much of the cream.