QUESTION: Losing rights by posting online - Writers Forum

elibats · 12-24-2006, 02:14 PM

I didn't know until about five minutes ago that posting somethiing in the critique and advice forum means you lose the right to submit it anywhere else. Is this true for the whole site?????? Because if so, I better start taking some things down...

Rob · 12-24-2006, 02:22 PM

Some places might not mind if your story has been workshopped online in public view, others most certainly will mind. If in doubt, don't. Taking things down may not be a solution because the web pages might remain available in the Google cache (and similar) for some time to come.

You could use the Writer's Workshop forum, which isn't publically viewable.

Cheers,
Omni

elibats · 12-24-2006, 03:19 PM

now that i've made my entire writing repertoire viewable to the entire internet, are there any publishers who will accept short stories that have been workshopped? or should i just start from a clean slate?

Rob · 12-24-2006, 04:05 PM

I guess that depends on who you want to 'publish' your stories. If these are essentially beginner's stories and you plan to hawk them around online e-zines, some may object while some may not. If you're talking about a traditional publisher in book form, I suspect you'd have a problem.

I don't know how long you've been writing or how good your writing is. I've been at this for almost three years and don't consider anything I've written so far to be 'publishable'. I once heard someone say something along the lines of, "Your first fifty stories will be crap." Or it may have been a hundred. I can't remember exactly, but the point is the same. Though I may have progressed during that time and shown some improvement, and certainly have developed a better understanding, I will, when I feel I'm ready, draw a line under everything that I've written before and then start afresh with what I hope will be of publishable quality. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. But in your case, if your work was already of publishable quality then I fear you may lose out.

Cheers,
Omni

elibats · 12-24-2006, 04:12 PM

I was thinking more along the lines of local literary magazines, not online.

Thank you,
Polly

Rob · 12-24-2006, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elibats

I was thinking more along the lines of local literary magazines, not online.

Thank you,
Polly

In that case, Polly, I would approach them and let them know in doing so that they've been workshopped online. You may get rejected on that basis, but them's the breaks. On the other hand, they may not mind at all.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Omni

mammamaia · 12-25-2006, 12:38 PM

what you lose by posting your work is the ability to offer 'first rights' to publishers, which is what those who will pay you for your work want...

it's a bit of a catch 22 in that, while your work is thus considered to have been 'previously published,' you are still not considered a 'published writer'...

so, it's always best to only post short excerpts for public critique and only send entire stories/books/whatever privately to those you can trust to give you a neutral, honest assessment of their marketability... that way, all of your rights are retained and remain available to a paying market...

love and hugs, maia

sii · 12-26-2006, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

what you lose by posting your work is the ability to offer 'first rights' to publishers, which is what those who will pay you for your work want...

I guess I can understand that, though it still seems a bit ridiculous, especially when submitting a story can take up to a year just to get a rejection slip--people will want to try and get it right the first time and online workshops can be a great tool

I wonder if the workshop mentality applies to handing a friend the story to critique or a professor, as in that case the publisher still doesn't have the first right, a few chosen people have seen it before them.

elibats · 12-26-2006, 03:21 PM

And now I've discovered that I don't have the authority to delete my own posts. Does this make sense? Anybody know the deal on that? Cause I'm getting mighty confused.

sii · 12-26-2006, 03:39 PM

Just edit the post and delete all your text. Then you can have a mod or someone delete the actual thread, if you can't do it yourself.

sii · 12-26-2006, 03:39 PM

Just edit the post and delete all your text. Then you can have a mod or someone delete the actual thread, if you can't do it yourself.

Rob · 12-26-2006, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sii

I wonder if the workshop mentality applies to handing a friend the story to critique or a professor, as in that case the publisher still doesn't have the first right

Yes they do. Please don't guess if you don't know.

Cheers,
Omni

mammamaia · 12-27-2006, 10:52 AM

why can't people be nice to each other?

sii is wrong on that publisher's rights issue and om is right and offers what seems to be needed info/advice...

Raging_Hopeful · 12-27-2006, 01:42 PM

Wait... now I'm confused. So showing someone your work, ANYONE your work destroys first rights? Say a friend or a professor critiques your work... first rights are out the window? What's the point of workshops then? I'm feeling a little miffed as I write this... but maybe I'm wrong? I dunno. Maia help me out here.

Hodge · 12-27-2006, 01:55 PM

No... First rights go to whoever publishes your piece first. If you post it up on a forum like this, a publisher may consider your first rights to have already been given away, since it is available for everyone to see (even if it's not in its final form). So you may want to use the writer's workshop or delete your work after a while.