Is it published?

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JC Lynch

One of the posts I read on this board said that anything posted is considered to have been published by editors. Should I not post samples that I might be able to publish in the future?
 

aka eraser

This is a large grey area and subject to individual interpretation and much debate.

If you post a completed piece on your own site an editor may or may not consider first rights to be used depending on your traffic. If you are posting it for critique on a well-trafficked message board I'd suggest labeling it as a work-in-progress. I wouldn't title it and I'd remove it after receiving my critique. That should cover your buns regarding first rights.

If you post it on a private, password-protected forum, very, very few editors would consider that published.

The main concern of the editors I've talked with about this is "how many people have seen the piece?" None cared if it was numbered in the dozens. For a couple the magic number was 500. My sampling was small though, about five editors.
 

JC Lynch

Thanks for the response. I have posted the prologue of a novel I have recently finished (but am still editing, so I guess not really finished), and was curious about any risks I might be taking by sharing it.
 

aka eraser

No risk at all in that instance. Completed, stand-alone articles/stories pose the (potential) problems.
 

macalicious731

I think the problems about internet publishing tends from blog sites. Google's setup, blogger.com, advertises its use of webspace as "publishing" your thoughts.

However, it's not as easy as it sounds.
 

maestrowork

I think bloggers and webmasters use the word "publish" in a very loose sense. They can't find a word to mean "posting something online for all to see." Also, somehow "publish" makes it sound more impressive. As far as legal issues are concerned, it's debatable...
 
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