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Question: How do i prevent my writings from being stolen!?
yeah as the question says i would like to know how to make sure my writings and stuff wont be stolen should i post them on a writing site and what not!. ive always been apprehensive about it!. how would that type of thing happen!? is it a simple copy and paste job or does something else happen!? im not even sure it could happen but im still paranoid about it because of all the thoughts and work i put into my stories!.!.!.so yeah id appreciate it if you told me how to prevent that type of thing from happening and if you know any good writing sites so i could post my stories and get feedback!.!.!.thanks!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Hire somebody to copyright it, and you're somewhat right; it CAN be as simple as copy/paste, you're done!.

Personally, I don't think it best to post your writing online, there are so many people who could use it for a classroom assignment or sell it!. Unfortunately, that's how people view writers at times!. They say, "Oh, look, somebody posted this, I'm going to use it!.!.!." and just snatch it!. However, they can also enter it in contests that are potentially scams!. Once your work is sent to the scam, you've got it sent to 2+ people who've used it to their advantage!.

Now, the scam uses it a so-called book (like poetry!.com, which is a major scam, just go to yahoo and search the website title and scam, and it will tell you how many people have fallen for it and if it's authentic)!. The book sells and now a couple 25+ people have read it!. Somebody reads the book, like's your poem, and uses it!. Let's say they sell it!? They get $10 off it cuz they needed to purchase something!. Somebody buys it to use for a report because they have the seller's permission because the "seller" claimed it was their poem!.
Who knows what else could happen with it now, but you don't even know this is happening! Now, imagine, a big celebrity is using your poem (let's call it that) for a song and making MILLIONS and you hear it on the radio!. You can't do much, can you!?

Not to strike fear into your heart, but I got scammed by poetry!.com, and NEARLY lost my work, however, I did miss the obvious signs that it was a scam, I got to my work beforehand!.:)

Now, if you want things to be safer, publish things, and if you can't afford it, save up!.:)

Making sure you keep track of the dates you write is also important!. If you have proof that you wrote it before the "plagiarist" did, then you have a really strong alibi!.

I was on fictionpress!.com, but I got too paranoid!. It does automatically copyright your work though!.!.!.:) So you'll have proof if you never delete it from the site that somebody may have stolen it!. Don't delete poetry you've shared with others from your computer!.

I suggest forgetting the whole internet thing, although, I cannot guarantee the consequences of even doing that!. Just do your research on places, type in scam in test poetry you submit (Poetry!.com publicly displays your work, so they do not allow the word Scam or scamper, or scammer, scammed, etc!. which is a big sign that they were a scam because no company would have so many people writing that word that they just banned it without deleting poems or disqualifying them!.!.!.)!.
Poetry!.com also lets EVERYBODY win, however, you get no prize but your poem published in a book that only YOU and other scammed people get!. And it's like, $40, and a trophy is $70, etc!.
Poetry!.com is a scam!. Never go there!.
Editors and copyright people are also somewhat hard to find out!. Make sure the fees are reasonable (not outrageously high or low), and look them up online just to make sure!.
That's all I have to say!
Hope this helps!:DWww@QuestionHome@Com

I don't know if this will help, but years ago, before personal computers, my step brother wrote some stuff and he would mail it to himself, via regular mail!. He would receive it with the postmark date, and he would not open it!. For him it would be proof that he had the original, should he ever need it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Well, there's no gaurantee that your work will be safe online or that you'll find whoever stole and and even know if they stole it!. The best thing would be not to post it online, but I know how it is!. You probably want some good feedback!. Well, like I said, there's no gaurantee at all that your work will be safe!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I always assumed that if someone, by chance, stole your work then you could sue and show your document on the computer- and they could do some weird trick and find the date it begun and ended!. There is also an application on Microsoft Word which copyrites a persons work!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

As long as your work is published or titled and authored by you, it becomes illegal for someone to commit plagiarism!. Writing a story/novel is different from inventing technology!. Isn't that great!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

patent itWww@QuestionHome@Com

If you are that paranoid, just don't post the files up!. Your work is defined as being copyrighted the minute you write it down—whether or not you use a copyright line!. However, the only way to protect your work is to register it with the U!.S!. Copyright office!. (You cannot mail the work to yourself and not open the package!. This is called "the poor man's copyright" and is not viable in a court of law!.) There is a fee for the registration, and once your work is registered, it'll hold up in court (for if you wanted to sue someone for plagiarism, and usually only if this person published something that was like your work)!.

HOWEVER, keep in mind that if you plan on submitting your work for publication with publishing houses, the copyright becomes void if your work is acquired!. Your manuscript, I can guarantee you, will be edited, copyedited, and proofread!. After all that is done, it will no longer "be" the same work you had registered!. (Registrations protect every single word, comma, and quotation mark in the ORIGINAL work copyrighted!.) You'd have wasted the fee for registration!

So, think about what is more worrying for you: posting online with the possibility of having people copy your work, or registering the copyright and having your work protected and losing a lot of money if your work is ever published (keep in mind, too, that the fee is PER piece of work)!. (Oh, and if you're a first-time author, it's kind of snarky to have a first-time author copyright their unpublished work of submission; it's a sign of an amateur and one who doesn't trust the editor!.)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!Www@QuestionHome@Com