An interesting note for fiction writers in the group

Hi folks -

   I know several people on the list (myself included, obviously) are
writing fiction set in various backgrounds (Full Thrust, Babylon 5,
Exodus
Project, etc.).  I was poking around on the Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writers of America page (http://www.sfwa.org) and found this interesting
tidbit:

"Online Publishing

E-publishers and e-zines generally ask only for first electronic rights.
But
the issue of electronic rights is not well defined at present, and many
print publishers and editors don't consider electronic rights distinct
from
first rights. Generally speaking, if you e-publish your work, you'll be
considered to have given away your first rights, which makes it unlikely
that the work could be subsequently print-published, except as a
reprint.

Note that this rule holds true not just for e-publishers and e-zines,
but
for any public forum on the Internet, including writers' groups, Usenet,
or
your own webpage."

Note those last four words - yipe!  In my case, very little of what I've
written is publishable, but some are very close.  Obviously, I'm not
ready
to surrender publishing rights to anything I've written, so I've taken
the
stories themselves offline.  I'm still willing to email the decent ones
to
anyone who wants to read them (and hopfully give criticism), so feel
free to
click on the email links on http://www.ExodusProject.com/Fiction.  Those
of
you who think you might one day want to try to publish your work, might
consider doing the same.

TTYL...
Keith

--------------------------------------
University of Maryland Astronomy
http://www.ExodusProject.com