Monday, February 16, 2009

Be Careful What You Post

The husband hates it when I post anything about my book online. "They'll steal your ideas!" he says. I laugh. No, they won't. Posting my hook or query online will not mean my book is stolen. I've seen enough other people's ideas to realize that unless it's my book that I thought of, there's no way I can take someone else's ideas and write them...and that works for everyone. Read the concept/hook/query of anyone else's book and try to write it...it ain't gonna happen. I'm even OK with posting my first chapter for the world to see--a first chapter's not a book, and no one's going to make my book based on the first chapter alone.

But.

This information about Facebook's changing terms of service--which is applicable to everyone on Facebook, even if you agreed to prior terms of service--is a bit disturbing. Here's the deal: anything you publish on Facebook belongs to Facebook. Not to you. To them. For a more logical and clear run-down on it, I refer you here and here.

So, if I were to post my book on Facebook, then it would belong to Facebook, not to me. No, that's not fair. And no, it's not likely that Facebook would do anything about it (i.e. try to publish my book/steal my idea/sue me for publishing my own book). But it's a stupid policy of Facebook's, and one that I'm not going to play around with.

I'm not saying go out and pick up the pitchforks and torches over this one. But I think Swivet has the best advice with this:
So am I going to delete my Facebook account? Nope. Facebook is still a valuable networking and promotional tool. ... But of you're a writer/photographer/creator of any kind, I would suggest not posting any intellectual property on Facebook that you may want the right to sell later. Just in case.
If you've got any intellectual property on Facebook, you might want to consider taking it down. If that policy existed for Blogger, I'd delete my hook from the sidebar over to the left, and I'd hunt down posts about my book and delete them. It's one thing to let the world see your work--it's another thing to be at legal odds about the ownership of your work.

12 comments:

Kiersten White said...

That's crazy about Facebook. And very interesting--thanks for sharing! Also, hey, your picture is adorable ; )

Unknown said...

Thanks Kiersten! :)

Corey Schwartz said...

Funny that you should bring up this topic today. A friend of mine emailed me this weekend to say that I am sharing too much about my manuscripts on my blog! She actually succeeded in getting me a bit concerned. Glad to get reassurances from you that it is okay to post about ideas, topics, titles, hooks, etc.

lotusgirl said...

that's scary about facebook. Thanks for the head's up. I don't really post anything over there that I'd want to sell, but I'd never thought of it in those terms.

PJ Hoover said...

There must be some reason they're doing it. And it's probably a good one. Would they own it if when you posted it you added a copyright note?

Keri Mikulski said...

Wow.. I didn't think they could do that! Crazy..

People do steal. Be very, very careful. I used to tell everyone about my ideas. It happened to me. And thank God I have an agent because it's ugly.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Thank for this information, Beth! I think it's ridiculous that they do this, but hmmm. I need to be more careful, I think, about what I post anywhere.

Unknown said...

Corey--I always think carefully about how much of my ideas I do post. For example, on this blog, you can read the one sentence hook over to the left, there's a chapter one in the archives that I got help on, the pitch hook and query letter. There's also some information about the characters, inspiration, etc. But the crux of the hook--the climax, resolution, etc.--are firmly kept under wraps. I think my real story lies in the main character's internal struggle with herself, and the solution to the problem presented. That said, if someone stole and rewrote an entirely different book based on my premise, I'd be crushed...and there's nothing I could do about it. I just find it so unlikely that what I have presented could result in any theft that it's a risk I'll have to take for the tradeoff of feedback on my idea and professional networking.

Lois--It is scary! It has certainly made me re-evaluate how much I reveal about my work and myself online.

PJ--I'm sure there's some logical reason. The only thing I can think of is maybe they'd consider compiling a funny gift book of funny status updates, or use it for a nonfiction essay analyzing the use of social networking, etc. I doubt they'd ever do anything beyond that--the public outcry would be insane. Nevertheless, it's at least a worrying situation. (Also, judging from what I read, by posting on Facebook you formally waive all copyright.)

Keri--Oh no, this happened to you? After I went on and on about how safe it is...I'm glad you have an agent to help you with this situation. Do you think I post too much?

Glam--I'm with you. Stories like these make me re-evaluate myself and my content. With the ease of access, it's also easy to forget to be careful!

Kelly H-Y said...

Wow ... so interesting! Fantastic and informative post!

Christina Farley said...

Very interesting. Thanks for passing on that infor

Unknown said...

Kelly and Christina--No problem! Whenever I learn something new, I like to pass it on :)

Anonymous said...

Beth, a friend of mine told me her agent told her to quit entering contests where you submit a first chapter. The reason being that the contests were often judged by published authors. Those authors had relationships with editors and were able to sell books on a synopsis and three chapters. So they'd judge contests, get jazzed about a premise presented in a new writer's first chapter, and they'd sell the idea before the new writers ever got answers to their queries.

I still enter contests, but I must admit that I'm much more careful now about what I submit and where I submit it.