Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [self-preservation]

Protecting yourself in your writing process, for example assessing professional services' reputability, or questions about keeping your identity secret.

This tag should be used for questions that deal with protecting yourself in your writing , for example when asking about ways to identify shady services or people you are supposed to be working with, or questions about keeping your identity secret, for example by using a , to not be the target of .

12 questions
23
votes
9 answers

Do I need to register my work to retain copyright?

What are the legal issues when submitting work to publishers? is there a risk of having my work stolen? How can you protect yourself from this? Is there an international "law" for this or is it country-specific?
juan
  • 1,423
  • 3
  • 17
  • 22
23
votes
2 answers

Warning signs that a publisher may be shady?

Are there any specific signs (singular or groups of) that I should pay attention to when it comes to publishers? I have read about publishing houses that charge their authors quite large amounts of money, while not providing much in the way of…
Vatine
  • 1,185
  • 6
  • 18
16
votes
4 answers

How to figure out if an agent is "on the straight" or "shady"?

Are there any specific signs (singular or groups of) that I should pay attention to when it comes to agents? I have read about agents who work for less reputable publishing houses, charging fees for representation and then just passing the submitted…
Vatine
  • 1,185
  • 6
  • 18
16
votes
12 answers

How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group?

If the villain of your story is a member of a certain group, how do you keep the story from being offensive to members of that group? For example, one of the villain in my book is a WWII veteran. I want to make it clear I have nothing against…
Amoeba
  • 291
  • 2
  • 6
8
votes
6 answers

How to stop projecting yourself into your writing?

I am writing about a person who is transported 10 years into the past, and has the chance to relive their life (actually being able to: 'knowing what I know now I would...') The trouble is I keep projecting myself into the protagonists shoes. This…
DarcyThomas
  • 303
  • 2
  • 7
7
votes
1 answer

Is posting a work in progress novel online considered previously published by big publishers?

I am almost finished up writing my first novel--a fiction-- and I am considering posting it on sites like fictionpress to see if I get any advice and constructive criticism on things to fix. I really would like to present it to a publishing house…
Profetik One
  • 267
  • 1
  • 7
4
votes
4 answers

I like to write but I keep stopping myself

I have this problem where I always just can't seem to be satisfied by my choice of words resulting it me never getting far in writing. Almost every sentence I would think "This isn't the kind of thing I would say.." But the other part of me is…
jkris
  • 143
  • 4
3
votes
1 answer

What should I know to better decide which of my names to conceal/abbreviate/elaborate/modify/invent for signing my writing?

Having read about how J. K. Rowling names were chosen/created: "Fearing that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she…
Gennady Vanin Геннадий Ванин
  • 151
  • 3
2
votes
1 answer

Can I publish journal prompts if not a mental health professional?

I am designing a journal that includes prompts for "shadow work", or rather, asks questions relating to one's dark side. The questions are intended to help the writer identify hidden aspects of him/herself and allow for greater self-awareness as…
Autumn Cole
  • 21
  • 1
1
vote
3 answers

How do I write a story that is purposely meta?

I want to write a story where the author is constantly addressed and made fun of. The author, is a separate person. The author is trying to write a meta story, however she makes it so meta, that it literally becomes self aware and attempts to escape…
lesbianauthor
  • 11
  • 3
1
vote
2 answers

Is emailing an original idea to oneself using Gmail a foolproof way to timestamp it?

"one easy way to timestamp an idea is to email it to yourself using something like gmail. Since you are not able to falsify gmail's timestamps, you can use it as evidence of the timing of an idea" said Ben I. in a comment to one of my (closed)…
Security Every Day
  • 13
  • 2
0
votes
1 answer

self publishing

My Dad is writing a book about racism I am trying to find info for him on how to publish and who would publish he is almost done with the book however he is writing 5 books one of them on inside of banking the theft side of it.
Kamae Mitchell
  • 1