Saturday, June 25, 2005
Are Blogs "Publications"?
I've been doing some research into publishing poetry, and according to Poet's Market 2004, "previously published" means "anywhere in print for a public audience...includ[ing] magazines, anthologies, websites and online magazines, and even programs (say for a church service, wedding, etc.)" (Breen, 11.) Does this include Blogs? If so, that's a pretty important thing to consider before posting poetry; it could take it out of contention for broader publication. And what about the E-Anthology? Does it count? I would love feedback and more information on this, as I was considering starting a Poetry Blog, but not if it's at cross purposes with getting published in more traditional venues...
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Some of the publications I've submitted to have regs about copyright remaining with the poet, and some publications give the writer that. Others require that any previous publication in print media have only a threshold number of readers. The definition you printed is the most stringent one I've ever seen. I can't believe that posting drafts to the E-Anthology counts as publication, esp. since there is a record of them being marked as drafts, and also our comments requesting feedback for revision. Starting your own Blog, however, may work against your goal of publication. I know a copyright lawyer in town - she does corporate logos and is the mom of a former student. Perhaps we could contact her? Remind me I offered to do that!
I've been reluctant to start my own blog for just this reason. If a blog is considered a publication, then I may be hurting my chances for publication in a more traditional (and earnings potential venue). I would like to know more about this before I start my own blog. It would be interesting to know.
I'm a benign lurker who has found my way into your site. Keep up your good work!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurker
Lurker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Posting work on the public web is considered first time publishing and will use up those rights. And often the salable value of your work.
But that is changing. Many authors and publishers are recognizing that the their business is/has evolved. Authors like Cory Doctrow and John Scalzi have made their work freely available on their sites and THEN gotten hardcopy publication of the same--while maintaining the softcopy concurrent to the traditionally published version!
I have all my work on the web as an additional form of backup and as an easily available format for critiquing. It is behind a password however, and only available via invitation. In this way I preserve my first publication rights.
Surprised you guys haven't talked about Creative Commons here yet.
Obscurity is a far bigger risk to a poet than... anything else I can think of. If you can find an audience on the web, then you'll have a much easier time being publis in print, even if you have to write new poems for the book. In which case, writer's block might be worse than obscurity.
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