I was just wondering about publishing. I know posting a novel here will destroy first rights on publishing your work. But lets say you post a short story here but then turn it into a novel later and not post it on a writing site. Will publishing houses accept it or does that still destroy first rights?
I think that the first publishing rights will still be intact. The novel would not be substantially the same as the short story, and would bear about as much relation as a distant first draft. I know of several short stories that were expanded into successful novels after their shorter, older sibling was published. See "Flowers for Algernon" as an example. However, I would mention it in your query/cover letter if and when you get around to submitting the novel to agents/publishers.
i wouldn't bother mentioning it... a short story and a novel are too dissimilar to worry about, or to bring up in a query... the first rights for the novel will still be unused and many published works have the same title, so that's not a problem either, imo...
