How do you remove work from the Showcase

[Lorna]

I just found out using the Showcase was considered to be 'publishing' and can be frowned on by some publishers. As I want to try the traditional publishing route I want to remove my work ASAP. How do I do it?

 

[Steerpike]

If you need to remove anything (if you have a particular publisher in mind, check their guidelines), you can simply delete your posts. Unfortunately, if reviewers have quoted your entire work in their review (which is a bad practice), then I suppose it would take a mod to do it. Honestly, I'm not sure what the guidelines on that are here. I'd have to check with Black Dragon.

 

[Ankari]

Just edit your original post. Put a notice that you're taking it down. Sure, a lot of your sentences are quoted in other posts but those are the ones you're likely to change. I think that should be enough.

 

[Steerpike]

Just edit your original post. Put a notice that you're taking it down. Sure, a lot of your sentences are quoted in other posts but those are the ones you're likely to change. I think that should be enough.

Some people quote rather large portions unnecessarily, when critiquing, however. This illustrates why it is inconsiderate to do so.

 

[Devor]

It's a private forum, so most publishers won't have a problem.

Edit the post and remove the text, it's not hard. If someone quoted it, I'm pretty sure we can delete the quoted sections for you, but not anyone's comments. But I don't think it's something you need to worry about. People have asked about this a few times, and normally a private forum is considered pkay.

 

[Steerpike]

But I don't think it's something you need to worry about. People have asked about this a few times, and normally a private forum is considered okay.

Yes. And I think the pendulum is swinging more that way. I noted in another thread that as of a little over a year ago there was at least one traditional publisher editor who didn't consider any online posting OK, whether in private forums or not. I wish I could remember who that was. The takeaway is to find out what your prospective publisher thinks. A lot of them have guidelines on this.

In the meantime, you can use the critique forum effectively without posting anything you want to sell.

 

[Lorna]

This is going to sound odd but the 'edit post' marker seems to have disappeared. This post is in part an experiment to see if I can find it again. If I can't, not quite sure what's happening...

 

[Lorna]

Okay, it's appeared for the above post. But it isn't appearing on my earlier posts. Does anyone know how to access it?

Thanks

 

[Steerpike]

Okay, it's appeared for the above post. But it isn't appearing on my earlier posts. Does anyone know how to access it?

Thanks

I'm checking into it, Lorna. I have noticed the same thing.

 

[Philip Overby]

I wouldn't worry with it too much. Like Devor said, this is a private forum and the Showcase is hidden unless the poster has at least 5 posts. I don't think most publishers are searching the internet looking for stuff. But to be safe, it's a good idea to remove anything you'd like to be published traditionally. That is why any stories I post here, I don't intend to do anything with. I may want to explore a character I've created or something, but never the whole thing.

Another reason I never post novel excerpts here either.

 

[Black Dragon]

Lorna,

There's a lot of false paranoia about this on the internet. Posting part of your work in a private forum, such as Showcase, and asking for a critique in no way invalidates first publishing rights. I've investigated this in some depth, and there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Black Dragon]

This is going to sound odd but the 'edit post' marker seems to have disappeared. This post is in part an experiment to see if I can find it again. If I can't, not quite sure what's happening...

Because it was being abused by spammers, it became necessary to put a time limit on the edit post feature. There's now a one hour window in which you can edit a post.

Spammers were making harmless, seemingly normal posts, and then coming back later to insert spam links into them, thus bypassing our filters.

But again, there's no reason to take down all of your posts in the Showcase forum. Unless you post your work in its entirety in a public area, there's no loss of rights. No mainstream or knowledgeable publisher will have a problem with this.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Lorna, there is really no reason to worry about this =)

 

[Black Dragon]

Here's some more info on this issue from author Deborah Halverson, who was an editor at Harcourt Children’s Books for 10 years:

re: Can Online Critiquing Hurt My Pub Chances? | DearEditor.com

And here's an article from famed writing-guru Jane Friedman:

Writer Unboxed » Stop Being Afraid of Posting Your Work Online *

Both of these sources agree that there's nothing to worry about.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

Because it was being abused by spammers, it became necessary to put a time limit on the edit post feature. There's now a one hour window in which you can edit a post.

Spammers were making harmless, seemingly normal posts, and then coming back later to insert spam links into them, thus bypassing our filters.

But again, there's no reason to take down all of your posts in the Showcase forum. Unless you post your work in its entirety in a public area, there's no loss of rights. No mainstream or knowledgeable publisher will have a problem with this.

Abused by spammers or not I do not like having control of my work (either my book or just my comments) taken away from me. I guess it's a good thing I stopped using the showcase ages ago. That alone is enough to keep me out of it for good. It is also why I have left other sites...

Edit: These are my personal feelings/opinions on the subject of removing edit functions. Please do not think I am bashing the site for taking what they think is a necessary step to ensure we continue to have a positive experiance here. And it is because this step was taken for our protection that I will stay. Where as in other cases the step was taken so that the site owner could throw their weight around and pretend that they were not an epic failure on oh so many levels. Again just my opinion.

 

[Steerpike]

Abused by spammers or not I do not like having control of my work (either my book or just my comments) taken away from me. I guess it's a good thing I stopped using the showcase ages ago. That alone is enough to keep me out of it for good. It is also why I have left other sites...

You can always use the showcase for excerpts that you aren't planning on including in published works. For example, if you are having trouble with action scenes, just write an action scene, independent of any larger story, and post it for critique. That way you can still get the benefit of help from people without having to post portions of your WIP if you don't want to.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

I'd like to add that the only reason I am not taking my strong personal opinion and leaving is that this is an amazing group of people, and I know that if I ever needed it I could post in the showcase and then ask that it be removed later.

However I have just one question now, With this change how will the challanges work? I'm known for posting and coming back days later to edit parts before the deadline.

 

[Butterfly]

But, is there any chance that the Showcase, Brainstorming, and Challenge forums can be exempt from this one hour rule?

or

Can any edits to the thread be limited to the original poster in his/her own posts?

If I do post in the showcase, I'd possibly like to remove it at a later date.

 

[Black Dragon]

If someone really needs something to be edited, they are welcome to contact a moderator.

While a one hour window for editing posts isn't ideal, the nature of the spam made this a serious security issue. Spammers were coming back days - even weeks - later and placing links to vile and dangerous sites into their old posts. Because these were inactive or older threads, no one was catching it. To protect our site, as well as our members, this became our only option.

Thank you for understanding.

 

[Black Dragon]

On that... is there any chance that the Showcase, Brainstorming, and Challenge forums can be exempt from this one hour rule?

This isn't possible because of software limitations.

Can any edits to the thread be limited to the original poster in his/her own posts?

This has always been the case. The spammers were leaving harmless, even seemingly helpful posts, and then editing them days or weeks later to include dangerous links.

Again, if you really need something to be edited, a moderator will be glad to assist you.