I'm really afraid to post stories on here because I'm afraid of losing first publishing rights. I'd really like feedback, but I don't want publishers to deny my work because I posted it on this website. Is that something I should be worried about?
No, it is not something you should worry much about.
Once you have received the appropriate feedback you're looking for, you can simply choose to unpublish your work again, and it will only be visible to your eyes on the site. You can do this in the 'edit works' section once you have published it.
"I never saved anything for the swim back."
Do not mistake coincidence for fate. - Mr Eko
they're selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
Any time you provide access to your work on the internet it is considered published before, but one of the ways that I've found around this is to take it down when you want to publish it, and update it before you send it in.
You reserve all rights to your work always on YWS so you won't lose anything by publishing aside from the fact that it is now a "published work" according to some presses. What you can do is you can publish it, get the reviews, make it a draft so it's hidden, or "unpublish" it and then make significant updates and changes to the work to submit it as a non-published work.
