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Blimey!

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When is a writer a writer ???

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Marc Joan

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Aug 26, 2014
Hello All
As advised, I'd like to introduce myself. I am an aspiring (i.e. currently unpublished) author seeking a forum for advice, feedback and critical input. Equally, if my 'day job' background and expertise (biomedical research, biotechnology) could be of use to anybody, I'd be happy to help where I can. Currently, I have about 35 short stories, in 5 collections of 7, and if anybody might be willing to offer critical input, it would be most appreciated - but I imagine this forum is inundated with such requests.
I also have a question which somewhat qualifies the above request; which is, to what extent does material provided over this forum breach the requirement of many publishers that work submitted to them should not be previously published, including on blogs, websites, etc? I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by disseminating my work too broadly.....
All comments and advice welcome, and I hope to participate in many collaborations with like-minded individuals over the coming months.
Marc Joan
 
Welcome to the Colony!

Regarding your questions: in short, the place is kind of under construction after hiatus right now. I'm confident the terms for how, when, how much, etc. to submit will be forthcoming in due time. In the meantime, stick around and have fun!
 
Welcome, Marc.

In answer to your question ... the Houses aren’t operational yet (that’s where your work is honed) but they will be once we’ve attracted a few more members.

They will be private, i.e. unlike this forum, they will not be viewable by non-members.

Nevertheless, posting your work anywhere, public or private, does involve some potential risk. Would posting here be an issue for a publisher? Most unlikely. The same kind of public posting didn’t seem to do Fifty Shades any harm.

However, if your work hinges on a spectacular and original plot innovation, then you might want to keep that to yourself.

Everyone has to decide this for themselves, but I don’t ever recall any problems in this area previously.
 
Thanks all!
@AgentPete: Thanks for your response regarding my question concerning whether or not posting material in Litopia will constitute 'publication' and thereby render it ineligible for submission to most editors and agents. You say 'Everyone has to decide this for themselves'; unfortunately, I don't yet have enough information or experience to make an informed decision. There seem to be grey areas; thus, printing and selling your book at a village fete is (I presume) 'publication', but (I presume) would be unlikely to put off a 'real' publisher. Conversely, posting your material on a password-protected, private forum does not make it 'public', but, if the forum had several million members and constitutes a large percentage of your target audience, then 'real' publishers might be put off. Obviously, I am exaggerating to make a point, but I think the question I raise is valid: where is the dividing line between published / not published? Is it to do with the likely commercial impact of wherever you have placed your work, and therefore up for discussion, or is there a clear legal definition which always applies? And if the latter, what is that definition?
It seems to me that the advent of e-publishing, and the possibility of taking your work off websites and withdrawing your e-book from the market, is blurring the boundaries between 'published' and 'not published', and I am trying to seek clarity; apologies if I have suceeded only in being boring....
Marc
 
Not boring at all, an interesting issue.

A conventional publishing contract asks the author to warrant, among other things, that the work is original and has not been published previously. Posting partial work on an authors’ site for the purpose of manuscript criticism and development is not commercial publication. However, posting excerpts of the work on a readers’ site for the purpose of gaining publicity and readership does cross that line, and therefore ought to be disclosed to a potential publisher. I very much doubt whether it would make any difference to the publisher’s enthusiasm, but as in all things, it’s best to be straight about this from the outset.
 
Hey Marc - welcome. Hope you enjoy the company and gain much in the process.
 
Thank you Geoff & Frances - good to be here - scribbling suddenly feels less solitary.....
 
Hello again. Nice to see the board up and running, again. Or yet. Lots has happened in my little world, I'm not writing much for pleasure but for work.
 
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Blimey!

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When is a writer a writer ???

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