[Alai]

Hi everybody, especially moderators. I am writing my first Novel right now and would like to get responce to it from members of sffworld. I do ofcourse wish to get published at sometime in my life and I am wondering if the parts of the story I'm posting can be used if I ever get published? And if other members can lawfully steal my story?(not that I think anybody would)

[Erebus]

Once anything is put into the Public Domain, it becomes a form of publication and therefore, you may not be able to sell first rights to it again. My advice would be to only submit extracts or sample chapters here if you are hoping to sell your work. This is done by not posting at the Writing Forum, btw, but through our story submission page if possible! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

You need to keep a record of everything you write so that you can prove the work is yours, in the unlikely event of someone else claiming it as their own work!

[James Barclay]

In the UK at least, anything you originate is automatically copyright protected. But because proving it's yours can be difficult, take Erebus' advice - don't post everything and keep a provable dated version of everything you do place in the public domain.