Is content written on a blog your own property?

Question

I am writing a book and i was goin to create a blog to share my idea with people and get peoples opinion on my writing and also give people an account of my progress and what is going on. I just want to make sure that if i post sample pages and chapters that i will be able to use the blog posts along with my own personal copies to show that the material belongs to me. I just don't want someone to take the material(unlikely) and claim it as there own and me unable to attempt to have my book published.

Answer 1

Sure it is - until someone cuts and pastes it and adds their own name. Then you will have to get a lawyer to defend your copyright. A copyright is only as good as the lawyer you hire to protect it. And that costs money.

And don't let people talk you into using the so called "poor man's copyright" and mailing a copy to yourself. That is totally worthless in a court of law. It can be beaten ten million ways. For one, I may have a stack of envelopes I mailed to myself unsealed. Whenever I see anything I like on the net, I can copy it, toss it in an envelope and just like that I have proof I own it. I can also backdate my computer and burn a disk.

If you have any hope of ever trying to publish, do NOT post anything on the net. Publishers are refusing to even deal with previously posted stuff. It is too big a hassle for their legal depts to establish true ownership back to you. Someone could be submitting it with another name on it to another publisher. And that means legal battles.

You think it is unlikely someone will take the material, but you have no way of knowing. If your work is halfway decent, I guarantee you someone will. The internet is like a buffet for plagiarists. They can steal whatever they want.

Also some of these sites you post on have fine print giving rights to whatever work is posted on them to the owners of the site. Tricky huh? You may be giving your work away without even knowing it. At any rate, the important thing to remember is that publishers don't want to deal with posted material. That alone should stop you from doing it.

The smart author deals with face to face writers' groups. Find one. Libraries and book stores have them. Or go to a teacher and ask for a mentor.

I closed my website down when I lost a great story. I posted it as a favor to a friend on his website. About 4 months later another friend wrote me to say "You have to read this great story!" Well it was mine - with another name on it. What can you do when the plagiarist is in another state or even another country? The legal bills would be astronomical!I I just gave it away. Never again. I am asked to post a sample here all the time but I will not. Now, I get paid for what I write and I guarantee its safety. Nobody sees it before a publisher or agent. Pax - C

Answer 2

Yes, the copyright to that material remains yours, even before it's registered.

Answer 3

pax, don't you have to write "copyright" on it ... didn't night of the living dead become public domain instantly because of that?