I read a thread here about a year ago concerning publishing - and now for the life of me, I can't find it! I rose the topic at our local Writer's Circle and I'm not sure whether I understood the discussion correctly - as know one had heard of this! If anyone can remember where this was - could you please direct me - or perhaps verify what I think I read. Here goes. If you have written something on a blog / communal website - for instance a couple of chapters of your new book, or a poem or two - this is regarded as PUBLISHED. So one day your work may be accepted by publisher, with the understanding that they have the exclusive rights to it. They could find you in breach of contract if they know that millions of people (possibly - lucky you) have already read your book, parts of, or poems. Is this correct? It doesn't make sense to me - as that is what writing forums basically do. I hope I'm wrong because one person almost burst into tears!
I think that depends on the site rules, no? On some sites, in the terms and agreement small print, it'll say that everything you post becomes their intellectual property - in that case, what you have written is no longer yours by law and you're not allowed to use that piece of work commercially anymore. I don't know if it will affect your chances of getting a publisher if you've retained your rights over your work.
You may be thinking of the stickied thread Does posting work here harm our chances of being published?
