I have just finished my entry into the L. Ron Hubbard writers of the future contest and I am preparing to proof. I was just thinking though what other kind of oppurtunities there were out there for contest. I bought the Writer's Market 2009 but some of those are passed the entry date which is weird. I would like to know more online contests though because the Writer's market is mainly for printed publication. Also how do you handle copyrights when you post on a forum like this. Couldn't any one just take what you wrote and use it. I am just curious cause I would love to post but move with trepidation.
Yes, there is an issue with copyright when posting on sites. First of all, you lose your first publication rights if you post your work, as basically it is not worth as much if people can read in online for free. (I would suggest asking perhaps Mamamaia about this as she knows a lot more than me on the subject). Also, there is the issue that someone could come and steal your work. For that reason, I would suggest only posting sections of your work, or things that you are really not bothered about publishing. Again, I would ask someone with a little more knowlage than me on the subject. As for contests, we have a selection of ones avilable to take part in on this site, including an annual one which has a prize. Check out the section of the forums near the top of the page for more details.
Just to clarify - your copyright is not affected. But first publication rights is a selling point for a piece of writing, and you may not be able to sell that to a publisher if the work has been posted on a publically-accessible web page.
as usual, since i'm on the other side of the planet, in a time zone that has me asleep when you guys/gals are all online, cog got here first... and also as usual, he's right!
