Young Writers Society

does anybody know if posting your novel on a website like this will keep publishing companies from accepting your manuscript?

Well... Yes. It will. But it's very weird [I don't know all the rules on it].

Lets say you posted your first draft, which is very different from your final draft, and the one you're going to publish. Then you're OK. There are some very obscure rules involving publication and the internet... I don't even know them all. Get someone more knowledgeable to answer

I've heard very different things. I've been told what Claudette said, but I've also been told that if you post it on the 'net under protection, like in a Livejournal or on a board where you have to register to see people's writing (which is exactly what I made Inspired Writers do), then it's fine. I read an article in Writer's Digest a while back about posting things on the Internet and it was a little confusing to me...this is what it said:

[pre]Published Or Not?
Here's a quick list to determine if your piece counts as "previously published."

It was published if . . .
- you gave up your first North American serial rights
- it went through an editorial process
- it appeared in an online journal, even a defunct one
- it appeared in a print publication with a small print run
- it appeared in a literary anthology

It's unpublished if . . .
- it won a prize but was not printed
- it was workshopped in an online writing workshop
- it appeared on your blog or someone else's (though this is changing, so tread carefully)
[/pre]

-April 2007 issue

I don't really know how much of this is correct (like, I guess YWS and Inspired Writers might count as online writing workshops?), though. o.O It confused the heack out of me, so I posted it to my CreativeFantasy LJ community asking about it, and here are the answers I got.

Ahh, Miss Snark, what ever would we do without you?

Miss Snark wrote:If it's on your blog, it's not published.
If it's in your daily diary, it's not published.
If it's in an email to the Divine Miss Snark, it's not published.
If it's pages in a manuscript sent to Killer Yapp for his endorsement, it's not published.

Is the clue stick looming?

Just because blogger uses the word "your blog has been published" when you post an entry doesn't mean Random House considers you competition.

Generally when editors/agents/publishing folks consider something published it has been put in book form, acquired an ISBN number, and is for sale.

(Literary zines looking for submissions will say work that has appeared on the net doesn't qualify as unpublished but that is a limited use of the word and does NOT apply to the industry as a whole)

(source)

Okay, so since i've posted about the first chapter of my story "Firebrand," would i have to completely edit that chapter before I published the entire book?

Typically, I think, writers go through two or three drafts of their books before they get published; it's not going to get published just by the first draft alone, and you'd probably have to be extremely lucky/amazing/etc to have that happen. And even before you get it published, I would think you'd want a more polished version of it before giving it to an editor, especially since your writing style and what not will possibly change over time as you work on it. So yes, you'll need to completely edit that chapter, as well as any other chapters you write of that story or any other stories you write that you want to get published, before giving it to an editor/publisher/whoever.

It's really tricky. I think The Writer's Handbook [huge, huge book] of 2003 had an article from a lawyer that contributed to certain rights and such.

I suggest that if you were thinking about posting a manuscript on any forum to instead hire or request any of our "editors" [instructors, moderators, etc.] to help you personally instead.

You just delete it from the interwebz before submitting.

Ach, when is the rule on blogs changing? That would be nice to know...

you'll need to completely edit that chapter, as well as any other chapters you write of that story or any other stories you write that you want to get published, before giving it to an editor/publisher/whoever.

Not only before giving it to an editor/publisher, but in general. ^_~ You should always present your best, make your work the best possible, and edit as many times as you possibly can. You can never be perfect, but you can get darn close.

Icaruss wrote:You just delete it from the interwebz before submitting.

I know how you access old or deleted files from the web though. Even that's not safe anymore!

So i guess the question we're really asing is:

If we post out work on this website, is that considered as published or can we still submit them to be published? i.e a short story to a magazine or a novel to a publisher?

Can anybody answer these questions?