Now that, for the first time, I'm actually trying to get some of my fiction published in fee-paying magazines, I was wondering what the impact of having published drafts of work here on LitNet had on their publishing prospects.
A lot of magazines seem to specify that work should not have been published elsewhere. There doesn't seem to be a clear answer as to whether this includes internet forums, such as this place. One website of advice for aspiring writers seemed to suggest that if the forum was password protected, it would be alright - but I think people can access LitNet's content without a password. Another website also seemed to suggest that deleting drafts from a forum wouldn't make a difference, because they'd still be saved in an internet archive somewhere.
I know that there are a fair few published writers on here, and I was wondering what their approach was? Do they try to publish stuff they have put up here? Have they ever had any problems with magazines rejecting stuff because it is up on LitNet?
The whole publishing industry doesn't seem to have caught up with the advent of online fora, or at least that's how it seems to me. It also seems to put the kibosh on seeking constructive criticism on drafts from friends online.