Young Writers Society

I don't know if its just me, but why am I so paranoid?

I'm scared to post my stories because I don't want people stealing my ideas, character names, title, outline etc...

I know if its published it'll be copied a tiny bit in different ways, but right now I don't want anyone taking anything that belongs to me... KWIM?

Yeah, I show it to my best friend and her brother (who's an excellent critic), but I haven't been able to show it to anyone else.

Should I be so cautious? I've just seen many a story/graphic etc. stolen and claimed to have been made by the thief.

Or am I being overwhelmingly paranoid?

Nothing is gained without risking. However, it's a good idea to have all your bases covered.
Ok. That was no help >_>U
I started out to be paranoid, too, when I started writing. (which was, give or take, 9 years ago, when all my stories were SO cliche) This will pass in time if you let it. However, if you lie awake at night worrying, biting your nails, it will only get worse and you will start to have the strangest habits occur. When I was seven, I thought that someone was going to poison the water I drank so I -:giggles:-always took the plastic cup BENEATH the top one. Basically, paranoia makes you look incredibly stupid but a lot of people can grow out of it. So just loosen up, crack open a soda and throw some fic into cyberspace. Nothing is gained without risking something. Carpe diem!

There are several ways to safe-guard your work.

The cheapest way is to print out your story, your name, and then mail it to yourself. The Post Office will postmark it and deliver it back to you.

When you get it back, take the sealed envelope with the story, and put it in a safe place.

If, in the years following, you find that one of us has plagiarized your work, you can sue the author for plagiarism and use your sealed envelope as evidence.

Don't worry, your not the only one. A lot of new folks worry about this

You can either assume we are all very nice people (Which I think we are) or you can take Grif's path. Also: Isn't it true that by writing something and posting it on the internet you get some [small] copyright? I think I've heard something like that, or maybe it was printing something/writing it on paper that get that. Either way, it's better to do it like he said, or just get a copyright [which I wouldn't do, not until you've published something].

Thanks guys!

I think I'll start out with some poems I wrote a few years ago and go from there . Thanks again!

I liked Griffinkeeper's idea; I'd never thought of that.

just saying, on an old writing site called wrasp.net, which is now gone, i had some of my poetry work stolen and published. Notice, i was very pissed. but then again, it does give confidence to someone that your work is worth something, right? still, i dont think anyone here would steal.... rite?

Pacific wrote:I'm scared to post my stories because I don't want people stealing my ideas, character names, title, outline etc...

I'm EXACTLY the same way. The internet is such a scary place to post stories because anyone could come along and take your idea. You never know who is reading. It's one thing for me to let my friends read because they're my friends- but the internet?

That's why I always try to get to know people on websites before I actually post anything..even though other people who I don't know could still read my work, there's a certain comfort level when you know some of the people. I still haven't posted here. It's all baby steps for me- eventually I'll start by posting something I wrote but am not particularly attached to, and I'll work my way up to posting stories I actually care about.

If we do catch you stealing others' work here, that earns you an automatic ban. So... we try to discourage it as much as possible.

By putting it on the web, you are in a way publishing it. There's a couple of ways you can avoid having it stolen. What I like to do for my novels is to submit a small portion since I am terrible at beginnings, and then, if there are a couple of critics who like the story yet are properly harsh on it, I'll get in contact with them via email and send them my story for critique. So that's a very small group.

Also, you can create a private forum or some thing. There's a couple of spin-offs of YWS that are more private for those who want to post their novels in peace. (NJR and SPEW come to mind.) So within the community, there are places you can go to get critiques without having the general public accessing your work.

Hello!
I was a bit worried about that as well, but then I tried an experiment. I googled different parts of my stories and posts.

First, I tried "Inedible Insurgence" (the title of my work-in-progress). Nothing found. Then I tried "Cassandra Nikita Copra" (the name of my character, which I've mentioned in several posts). Again, nothing found.

By doing this I can see that only someone who knows about YWS itself, as opposed to just googling possible story names, would know about your work. But, sadly, even when a user is not logged on he can view your work.

Secondly, there are several safety precautions you can take. If you post only your first chapter, and someone steals it, it could turn out completely different from how you planned it. Or, you could post only your rough draft. In which case, like above, the stolen story could turn out completely differently.

Whatever you chose to do, we'll support you. After all, that's what we're here for.

Good luck!

McMourning

Hey, Pacific,
I'm the same way. Honestly, mailing it to yourself does NOT protect against plagiarism. There is a post on it, but I'm not sure where it is. Anyway, I'm writing two novels, and I refuse to post ANY of EITHER of them on this site. Don't get me wrong, I know all the writers here are very nice, and I know THEY won't steal my work, but I have checked, and this site CAN be google'ed. All you need is for someone to stumble across your work, and decide to use it.

Don't get me wrong, everyone I've encountered is very nice, but my advice is to not post anything that you plan to professionally publish. The LAST thing you want is for your work to be stolen and published without you knowing it, and when YOU try to publish your own work, it looks like you're the one plagiarizing.