Quick question

[Tariel]

I have a story that I am working on...and I have the first two chapters completed. It is going to be very long. I would like to post it here for you all to read...but I am unsure if I should wait until it is completed or update it as I go along.

My writing is sparatic so updates could be hours apart or weeks apart...

please help me decide

 

[Lycana]

Well I said wait till it's done- UNLESS you want constructive criticism while you are writing it. Then maybe just wait until each chapter is done how you want it.

 

[Lubiana]

maybe you should wait until you have a "part one" completed and then post it.

 

[Tariel]

problem solved. I'll wait here to post it...but I'm updating several people via pm...if you would like to be updated let me know

 

[heron]

C. Protect yourself from coyright infringement, and only send it privately to friends for feedback. I believe that once it's on the net, it's public domain.

 

[Blessed-one]

agree, heron.

Unless you don't plan to send it out to a publisher, Tariel, then post it here. Otherwise, please only send it to interested parties through email, else you'd be throwing away your first publishing right.

 

[heron]

If only I could spell "copyright" right.

 

[Tariel]

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT...OK??? PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET ME TO SEND IT INTO A PUBLISHER...BUT I DON'T WANT TO YET!!! I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE STORY THAT I SHOULD SEND IN!!! I'M NOT READY TO BE PUBLISHED!!!!

I want to use this story to give people enjoyment and pleasure. If I can do that better without getting published...then that's fine with me. What's the big deal anyway?

 

[heron]

Didn't intend to stir things up...just wanted to protect your story.

I like to keep things totally to myself until I'm ready to put it out for the public--I think you understand why! Being publishing isn't always a matter of being coined "good enough," or even thorough enough.

Publishers need to print what they know will keep their companies above water. Don't write to sell unless you have to. (Compare that to a class that prepares all year for a state test instead of just learning the material.) If you like to just write for the sake of writing, keep doing what you love to do.

 

[Tariel]

sorry....I was frustrated when I wrote that

it just seems that so many people are pushing me to be published, and that really isn't what I want right now. I mean, I'm only 17 years old! Still in High School! I know that several people have published books while in their teens...but it's not what I want. I would rather publish something good then publish something at a young age.

 

[Mskedi]

I teach Creative Writing and just caught a student who was plagiarizing things off the net.

A quick way to protect yourself would be to mail your story to yourself and NOT open it. The postmark will prove that you wrote it since you will have mailed it before anyone else could get it to a publisher.

Unfortunately, plagiarism happens. Be careful with your work.

Once you've protected it, though, I think that sharing while you're writing with people who can give you useful criticism is invaluable.

 

[heron]

Mskedi's postmark idea is actually a legally valid solution, because the postmark is a legal government-regulated stamp. (As long as you don't open the envelope).

The plagiarism example shows that it's not just people trying to make money off your work and the outpourings of your soul. There are lazy, conniving people out there who don't deserve to use your work.

But yes, it's wise to wait until you feel ready. Many people write for years without getting published. Even well-known authors have unpublished books sitting in the drawers. And some published authors don't make a living writing!

Your friends are just being excited for you. We are too.

Anyway, for feedback...lots of people do post here, so it's totally fine with forum policy and member expectations.

Your original question--in pieces or together? The message forms only allow a certain number of characters, so I'd say start posting now.

 

[oncewaslost]

I teach Creative Writing and just caught a student who was plagiarizing things off the net.

A quick way to protect yourself would be to mail your story to yourself and NOT open it. The postmark will prove that you wrote it since you will have mailed it before anyone else could get it to a publisher.

Unfortunately, plagiarism happens. Be careful with your work.

Once you've protected it, though, I think that sharing while you're writing with people who can give you useful criticism is invaluable.

i've been told that while the post mark is legal, if you open the envelop it nullifies it since you can't prove what was in the envelop when it was mailed.

anyway, since i can't afford e-mailing a 250+ page manuscript, could i burn it to a cd and mail that to myself?

responding to the question about posting in pieces or together. it might be easier to get a blog/xanga/livejournal solely for that purpose. i haven't yet run into a word limit on blogger and i haven't tested livejournal. you could leave the link here (i think that's allowed by the rules). the thing with livejournal and blogger is that it allows unregistered people to post comments. that's always nice.

 

[heron]

Most files have dates in the properties. I'm not sure if that holds up in court, since some folks probably know ways of altering that.

 

[heron]

Oh duh, you mentioned mailing that to yourself. Yes, of course. You can probably fit a lot of it on a floppy, too.

 

[oncewaslost]

ah, but floppy's die so it'd be better if a cd was used.

 

[Menuet]

you took my thoughts right outta my head.

Well I said wait till it's done- UNLESS you want constructive criticism while you are writing it. Then maybe just wait until each chapter is done how you want it.

 

[Mskedi]

That's why I said not to open it. It would be opened in court when you are trying to prove that plagiarism occurred.

Why not shrink the font and print on both sides of the paper so that it's not a 250 page document? Seriously, I think it's unwise to post something on the internet unless you have some protections in place