Regarding the Friends-only status of this journal
I'm supposed to be working on an analysis of poem 670 by Emily Dickinson this morning, so I won't be dilly-dalling here much more longer, but upon checking my WordPress blog, I remembered a bit I had posted there in October 2005, and I think it may be interesting to have it here again.
So, welcome to you, traveller of the web, who has added me to your friends, or is just swinging by, and/or who I'll likely add back in not too long. In case locked LJs tend to irk you, I hope the following paragraphs will help you understand my decision to not make all my writings and planning notes public.
(From the WP blog in 2005):
Zette on the NaNoWriMo forums [note: in 2005, not sure if anything like this has been posted again this year] has put up an interesting post that may be very useful to those who plan on publishing their NaNovel online (whether in a blog or on a regular website):
For many of you this will have no bearing at all on your work or what you do with it. If you are writing fanfiction, or not in the least bit interested in a writing career, then you can post anywhere you like and not worry about it.
However, others who even remotely think they might later want sell their NaNo novel (or anything else they’ve written) to a publisher, need to know that posting the story on an open site on the Internet is the same as publishing it. You have thrown away your First Print Rights, which are the ones that the publishers want.
Many people put their stories up on sites in the mistaken belief that if they aren’t paid for them, they aren’t published. This isn’t true. Anything that is in a position where it can be read by the public is considered published. This includes posting on your website, LiveJournal, Blog, or any site where just anyone passing through can read the work. It doesn’t matter how many people actually read the story, either.
Sites that are safe, however, are ones in which the reader needs a password in order to get to the story. Most writers’ sites with critique groups are set up in this way. ‘Friends Only’ LiveJournals are also safe because the owner has full control over who sees the posts.
There was much more to it, and the rest of the post was just as worth the read as this extract. There’s a difference between copyright and First Print rights, and Zette explained it fairly well.
Again, this year, I’m not sure yet whether I’ll ever “do something” with my NaNovel. However, my needs of sharing my words is often strong enough to compromise my efforts, hence my decision to lock all of this in this journal.
So, welcome to you, traveller of the web, who has added me to your friends, or is just swinging by, and/or who I'll likely add back in not too long. In case locked LJs tend to irk you, I hope the following paragraphs will help you understand my decision to not make all my writings and planning notes public.
(From the WP blog in 2005):
Zette on the NaNoWriMo forums [note: in 2005, not sure if anything like this has been posted again this year] has put up an interesting post that may be very useful to those who plan on publishing their NaNovel online (whether in a blog or on a regular website):
For many of you this will have no bearing at all on your work or what you do with it. If you are writing fanfiction, or not in the least bit interested in a writing career, then you can post anywhere you like and not worry about it.
However, others who even remotely think they might later want sell their NaNo novel (or anything else they’ve written) to a publisher, need to know that posting the story on an open site on the Internet is the same as publishing it. You have thrown away your First Print Rights, which are the ones that the publishers want.
Many people put their stories up on sites in the mistaken belief that if they aren’t paid for them, they aren’t published. This isn’t true. Anything that is in a position where it can be read by the public is considered published. This includes posting on your website, LiveJournal, Blog, or any site where just anyone passing through can read the work. It doesn’t matter how many people actually read the story, either.
Sites that are safe, however, are ones in which the reader needs a password in order to get to the story. Most writers’ sites with critique groups are set up in this way. ‘Friends Only’ LiveJournals are also safe because the owner has full control over who sees the posts.
There was much more to it, and the rest of the post was just as worth the read as this extract. There’s a difference between copyright and First Print rights, and Zette explained it fairly well.
Again, this year, I’m not sure yet whether I’ll ever “do something” with my NaNovel. However, my needs of sharing my words is often strong enough to compromise my efforts, hence my decision to lock all of this in this journal.