I've started my research on getting short stories published. I've discovered a few things that are important, and which will be disheartening to some of my friends who also write, the most important of which is that putting a manuscript of any kind on the web in a public format constitutes publication in the eyes of most publishers.

What this means is that in general if a story has appeared on a personal website or on a publicly accessible website, that story HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. Most will not take such a manuscript for publication.

There ARE still options to get the tale into print. Self-publication is one avenue, and publishers MAY still consider your work even if previously published online. But it becomes an uphill battle. I've about 20 or so short stories that are now essentially invalid for publication, which is annoying but hardly the end of the world.

I suspect that if a work is sufficiently changed from a previously-published version on the web, that it MIGHT be applicable for consideration; if your manuscript is not in final form, you may still have a shot.

I have three stories I'm considering for publication. One of them, titled 'Monsters' is in the 'really, really iffy' category. I CAN submit it for publication in a different format, so I can still offer it to a podcast (audio format) or a visual format such as an illustrated comic. I'm going to have to look into things more- there may be publishers who WILL take such 'published' works regardless, considering the limited audience the tales have so far reached.

To my writer friends- this is NOT the end of the world. Your works are still able to be gotten into dead-tree format. You just have altered avenues, and will have to do your research.

For my part, any fiction I plan to publish will no longer appear on FurAffinity, DeviantArt or any of the other 'public' venues that I've put things up on in the past. I seriously do wish to be a writer, so I have to keep these considerations in mind.

Oh, last thing. I'd hoped to offer a story I'm currently working on, 'The Old House', to Reader's Digest. Weirdly enough, they really don't solicit for or accept original fiction! O well. There are lots of places who do. :)

First thing: I just woke up, not of my choice. I had another one of those earth-shatteringly fucked-up dreams, like the one I had months ago which I mentioned at http://sorien.livejournal.com/22670.html . All I remember is the end fragment. The scene was a traditional diner countertop, with the rows of seats along the counter. The view was kind of grainy, like it was a light-amplification or IR camera, and the view was upwards towards a doorway behind the counter. I seemed to be the camera operator. Someone whispered 'Look! Look there! O my God, there!' and the camera view shifted a bit to just to one side of the doorway, and there was a human figure there, male, bearded, wearing a hat and coat but otherwise indistinct. Right after the view shifted, either I screamed in the dream or in real life as I felt a MASSIVE weight on me and had a horrid feeling of being crushed and choked! I heard screaming other than myself as well... And I woke with (I think; I'm not sure), panicked and breathing hard. I don't know if the figure was connected to the 'attack' on 'me' in the dream or not.

Gah, I HATE these fucking dreams! That kind of scene on TV or whatnot wouln't ordinarily bother me, and usually with nightmares I can laugh it off and go right back to sleep. Not THIS one, nor the one I mentioned in the link.

Second thing: there is apparently a group out there who are friending damn near everyone they can for trolling purposes- they all use a pirate-image as an icon, and may or may not be part of a weird anti-LJ crew. The names that've been mentioned to me are: i_add_tards, k2vsat3, d1rtyf1lthy, z4kz4hn and sabl3_d3butant3. The first and second ones DID have me friended. I've used the administrative console (see http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=20 and follow the 'read more' link to see how to deal with them) to ban them from my LJ, and I suggest others do so as well. A tip of the hat to sslaxx and friends for the info!