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Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 8:59:42 AM
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willfs
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I sometimes share my work on another forum, Absolute Writers Water Cooler. I wonder how much I should share my best stuff. Is there a risk someone else could nab it, IF (CAPITALIZE 'IF') it were good enough, before it is published?
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RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 9:47:15 AM
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Kathrynpagecamp
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From: Chicago Area
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Your material is copyrighted the minute you put it in tangible form, which happens when you add it to a forum (if you haven't already memorialized it, in which case it was copyrighted then). Unfortunately, just because something is copyrighted doesn't mean no one will steal it. So if you don't want it critiqued, you are probably better off not posting it. If you are honestly looking for criticism, however, I personally think it may be worth the risk.
Print off a copy right after you post it, and make sure the copy has the website address and the date as printed by the computer. (This information does not usually appear on a pdf file or a Word document, but it does if you simply print what is on the computer screen. Using the forum's print function may also capture that information, but you should check.) This copy won't provide absolute proof of your copyright, but it will certainly help.
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RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 10:37:09 AM
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mvic
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Having a Copyright is one thing.
Being able to defend it is another.
Say you wrote a memorable poem. It appears on a Forum like this one. You have printed the page on which it appears with a date on it and the little "c" in a circle with your name and date next to it. This is perhaps proof that you wrote the poem first and it is yours.
Say someone in another country is compiling a book of peoms which he publishes. Your poem is in it.
What then? Can you afford to take him to Court in another country?
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RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 1:24:25 PM
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Kathrynpagecamp
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From: Chicago Area
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mvic is right about not always being able to defend your copyright. That is why I said you are probably better off not posting it unless you want a critique from people on the forum. (Also, I should have added that although it is copyrighted in the U.S. the minute you put it in tangible form, that may not be the case in other countries.)
My point is that you have to decide whether what you want from the forum is worth the risk that someone will steal your material. If you decide that it is, then printing a copy provides some evidence of ownership if it becomes an issue. SOME evidence of ownership. There are never any guarantees, but some is better than none.
By the way, there are some countries that don't recognize copyrights at all, and people from those countries can access Internet forums, too. But the countries that don't recognize copyrights aren't usually countries where a theft would damage an author much, at least not financially, since most people don't end up selling their work to people in small, third-world countries. On the other hand, your pride of authorship may suffer.
So what is the purpose of sharing your work? If it is to get feedback or to minister to others, you may want to take a calculated risk. After all, you can't do either of those things without sharing your work, although a local critique group may limit your exposure if you are just looking for feedback. They could steal it, too, but the chances are much less.
Only you can decide whether it is a risk you are willing to take.
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Author of In God We Trust from FaithWalk Publishing
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RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 2:04:50 PM
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IonMoon
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Sure, someone might still your work if you post it. Lots of people don't really think about copyright & even people who would never steal something from a book, have the misconception that the internet is fair game...
But that can happen any time that you share your work with anyone- the net just opens you up to more people like that.
There is another problem with posting material- many publishers view anything posted on a public website as "previously published," so it can hurt your chances of publishing the work later.
I think it is important for writers to get feedback from knowledgeable people who can objectively critique the work... not usually what you get from writers forums IME, but there may be some good sites out there. And if you don't have a group IRL for this, then maybe it is better than nothing.
So... weigh the pros and cons before you post...
Tara P
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RE: Is sharing your work ever dangerous? - 7/29/2008 6:55:24 PM
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Dancre
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The only danger you'll have is folks' opinions and criticisms. It's not for the faint of heart. BUT you'll learn a lot. It's been a while since I was there. But honestly, I've never heard of anyone stealing someone's novel off the internet and selling it under their name. If they do steal it, it probably won't sell since they don't know how to write. :)
quote:
ORIGINAL: willfs
I sometimes share my work on another forum, Absolute Writers Water Cooler. I wonder how much I should share my best stuff. Is there a risk someone else could nab it, IF (CAPITALIZE 'IF') it were good enough, before it is published?
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