I have an opportunity to participate in a writer's workshop group in my local area. The format is similar to the workshop here: we read each other's work and comment on it. The work to be read each week is posted on a publicly accessible web site. At least I think it's publicly accessible. My question is: how much of potentially publishable work is "safe" to post in such a location? Of course publishers won't be interested in work that has been posted publicly in its entirety. What if only 1000 words is posted, or 10,000 words? Is there some well accepted cut off beyond which the work becomes unpublishable? My first novel is not a masterpiece but I have been thinking about trying to get it published as a learning experience if nothing else. I'd love to get some feedback on the work but I don't want to ruin my chances by posting too much of it. Thanks!
I don't know of any cut-off word count, though I would err on the side of caution. Maybe 5k words? That's like a chapter or two, which I think is perfect. Also, I would try asking them to switch to email instead of posting it on a website. For one, anyone can access a website. And two, sending works through email is not considered a form of publication, so you can send each other the entire novel and you'll be fine.
Thanks for your thoughts, thirdwind. It sounds like you are saying that a chapter is probably fine. That works out well as that's about the length (3-4k words) that the other materials have been. Maybe I'll bring this up with the group at some point and see what they think... once I'm a bona fide member anyway.
