I used to hear that putting novels online before publishing was a major no-no. Recently I've heard of authors who put their work online to get feedback before they got published professionally (Brandon Sanderson,) and even a few who got publishing deals through their work on inkpop or wattpad.
I'm wondering where to start looking for criticism, feedback, and ideas when I finish my first draft (soon...). I know there are beta readers here, but I was wondering if I should throw the net as wide as possible by using a website like inkpop or wattpad (I've seen a few professional authors putting up samples of their work or even free stories or novels).
I'm not worried about plagiarism (I have plenty of evidence to show the work belongs to me), but I'm worried about two issues - copyright and content. I don't want to hurt my chances of getting published because I put up my work for free, even if it was a first draft and the manuscript I submit for publishing will be in a different form. My story is YA, but has quite a bit of swearing, sexual references, and graphic violence, so I 'm wondering if this will be a problem on either of these two sites.
So... yes, to putting my work online to get feedback, or no? And if yes, which site is safest and has the best feedback?
I'm wondering where to start looking for criticism, feedback, and ideas when I finish my first draft (soon...). I know there are beta readers here, but I was wondering if I should throw the net as wide as possible by using a website like inkpop or wattpad (I've seen a few professional authors putting up samples of their work or even free stories or novels).
I'm not worried about plagiarism (I have plenty of evidence to show the work belongs to me), but I'm worried about two issues - copyright and content. I don't want to hurt my chances of getting published because I put up my work for free, even if it was a first draft and the manuscript I submit for publishing will be in a different form. My story is YA, but has quite a bit of swearing, sexual references, and graphic violence, so I 'm wondering if this will be a problem on either of these two sites.
So... yes, to putting my work online to get feedback, or no? And if yes, which site is safest and has the best feedback?
