What exactly does "published" mean these days, anyway?

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Wed, 2006-09-13 10:27

I recently entered a creative writing competition, and one of the rules was:
"Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published (including the internet) or broadcast."
So - does posting a story at ABC count as publishing? Or does a piece have to be chosen and distributed by a recognised publisher (or internet magazine)? And if you self-publish (using Lulu for instance), does that count as "being published" even though a publisher has not chosen it?
I'm confused.
Is there a down-side to posting stuff at ABC in that it may by some then be considered ineligible for competitions or publication elsewhere? I've not posted my competition entry story here just to be on the safe side.

Thu, 2006-09-14 13:15

bobblehat2023

"So - does posting a story at ABC count as publishing?" Yes. "And if you self-publish (using Lulu for instance), does that count as "being published" even though a publisher has not chosen it?" Yes. 'Publish' basically means 'to make public'. If your work is available in text form in a public forum it has been published. That said, if you've put something on a writing website but take it down before entering a competition, you ought to be all right. Technically there isn't such thing as 'recognised publishers' in this context. In reality, you're fairly unlikely to get in trouble for submitting a poem to a competition for unpublished poems if it's been on ABC but fairly likely to be pulled up for sending in something that's already been in a collection from Faber & Faber.

Thu, 2006-09-14 15:09

Thanks for that - it has been niggling at me and it's good to know the facts. I can't help feeling that if I were ever fortunate enough to have work included in a Faber & Faber collection then I'd probably not be all that bothered about entering competitions.

Fri, 2006-09-15 11:58

bobblehat2023

Well, in poetry terms, you can potentially earn a lot more money through winning the major competitions than you would earn through book sales - even if you were published by Faber & Faber. It would be a nice problem to have, though.

Fri, 2006-09-15 13:47

yan

You could even self-publish as long as you retain publisinng/copyright. That's all their interested in. They don't wanna lawsuit because some other company owns the rights to your work. There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennet

There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed -
Dennett

Fri, 2006-09-15 15:43

bobblehat2023

It depends who 'they' are. Magazine's - including the one I co-edit - generally don't want to publish things that have already been published in other magazines, for fairly obvious reasons. The key reason why many competitions want previously unpublished stuff is that you can't really have a fair competition if the judges have seen some of the entries - whether it's online, in a magazine or in a book - but not the others.

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