Is there any way that a publisher would accept a piece of work you'd posted on a forum like this? Once you post something here, is there anything you could do to make it qualify for publication? Or is that just a very bad idea?
Depends on how much was posted on line. If the whole book was, it's extremely unlikely. Others have mentioned times when it has happened, but those are rare, and not worth the risk. If it's a few chapters, especially on a site like this, that have been edited as a result of feedback, you're probably okay.
Do like the auto manufactures do when they are test driving their new models. Disguise the piece. Purposefully change it prior to posting if you think you are pretty close to an end product. Change the names of all your characters prior to posting. And like Rei has already mentioned, keep your posted slices thin. Don't give in to the vanity of having praise gobbed on you for the whole story. The best praise is publication.
My suggestion is that as soon as you decide to start developing a piece for publication, stop posting it. If you have already posted a great deal of it, unringing that bell may be difficult. But lose the training wheels when you set out to publish a piece. You can continue to post other material that can help you get your style together, but keep the material for publication under your hat. Think of how much better you'll feel when the people you develop your writing with see your published work, and it's something they have never seen from you before. No one will critique the whole piece anyway, unless it's a short, so you have to develop the confidence in your writing to ploish it up yourself. Consider working without a net as an important stage in your growth as a writer.
Unless you want to rewrite the same story from scratch, and somehow turn it into a new one, I'd say you're screwed on that story. Consider it a learning exercise instead.
Technically, the proprietor of these forums owns anything posted on it. It's usually part of the agreement which you clicked "I agree" to when you registered. This was an issue I've seen on several other forums. Though, I doubt the owner of this forum would sue you for subsequently publishing something you wrote and shared on here - that would be a good way to lose members and thus go out of business. (Notice the google ads on this site? It's most certainly a business.)
There is also the factor of, "Why should we expect people to pay for it when people can read it for free?"
Though, you have to consider that most visitors to this site are not likely looking for free novels/stories. Secondly, people looking for free novels or stories will much more likely visit http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page first.
That is not correct. Whoever writes the post continues to hold the copyright on the piece. The site owners cannot sell it or sue for infringement. However, the site can refuse to carry the material, refuse to remove it once posted, or edit it for content. The original writing, however, remains te legal property of the author.
Oh okay. That's a relief. Still - there would be nothing keeping a site like this one from seizing ownership of the posts. As I mentioned, it was brought up on another forum, and it was revealed that in the agreement, posters give away any rights to whatever they post.
International copyright law is very clear on that. The copyright cannot be so easily transferred. They have full control over te media, but the content ast written by the author remains the property of the author. By posting, the author assigns a non-transferrable usage right, but that's as far as it goes.
If you post anything online where it is viewable for free to any audience at all, then you can then only sell it to a publisher as a reprint, and then it must be a pretty damn high quality piece to be accepted! If you are aiming at publication DO NOT post your work online. Makes it harder to improve your piece unless you have friends who can give you some help, or you have a good knowledge of all the technical parts of writing, and can do the editting without any suggestions. But I strongly urge you NOT to post your work online if you are thinking of publication. Publishers aren't so keen on publishing work that is available for free. Some will, if the piece is of high standard and they believe that the piece will sell, but most won't touch it with a ten foot pole! Hope this helps. Torana
