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Libby started the topic Copyright question re Den entries in the forum Competitions, Open calls and Writing Opportunities 3 years, 3 months ago
My resolution this year is to enter a couple of short-story competitions beyond the Den. To boldly go …
Please can anyone advise on a couple of things. Most competitions won’t accept entries previously published anywhere online except on password-protected sites, but what if I wanted to develop a story idea from something I’ve previously posted for Den monthly comps. Is that allowable? I won’t be crying in my beer/tea if not but it would useful to know.
The second question is specifically about comps held by Didcot Writers. They say:
“We don’t mind if it’s been published elsewhere in the past, but please make sure your work is copyright cleared for it to be published online if chosen. (For example, if you need to include the line ‘first published in…’ to comply with a former publisher’s terms, let us know.)”
Would I need to get copyright clearance from the Den? And if I change the story from the Den version, do I still need clearance?
Many thanks!
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I’ve developed bits from monthly comps into full stories – and even short stories and submitted them. Never had an issue because the end results which are submitted are often very different to how they started. So I don’t consider the end result to be what has already been published, if you see what I mean?
And re getting publisher’s permission – if I decided to republish for example a story that first appeared in an anthology or another online site, I’d check it with the publisher or site owner because sometimes you’ve agreed to a time period of exclusivity.
Thank you, @squidge. That’s very helpful.
Hiya @libby Yeah, I’ve published several things from monthly comps before. Whatever we post on here, we retain all copyright, so there is no need to call a piece from here ‘previously published’ as such. As long as its been noticeably revised then I’ve never worried too much about submitting it as as an unpublished piece. Can you go back and delete posts on monthly comps just to be certain? I’m not sure, but none of the monthly comp entries would come up on a search engine if you searched for title and author name, so I don’t think it matters. Good luck with subbing – it’s great to make use of all those little flashes that the monthlies give us. 🙂
Thanks, @raine