Hi, i know someone has asked this question before but I'm confused:( If you share your work on here, is it classed as publishing? someone said yes because its shared electronically and someone said no... can any one clarify as id like to share my short stories and my larger work in progress but don't want to ruin any chances of getting them into short story competitions..... thanks again..... kat ;)
Here's a good article on beta readers.
http://www.rachellegardner.com/2013/02/who-should-read-your-unpublished-work/
I agree with Jennifer. Some stipulate that work can be shared in closed forums and because it then can't be seen by everyone it isn't 'published'. Generally competitions and magazines are the only people concerned with this. Comps want the work to be enirely new and your own and magazines want their stories to be exclusive.
The rules tend to be different for novels but I would think twice about publishing your whole book online in help forums.
I think you have to look closely at the eligibility rules of any competitions you enter.
For example, the rules for the Bridport Prize state:
"Entries must never have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum."
http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/content/competition-rules
So, in their opinion, online sharing on forums renders a work ineligible.
Other competitions may not share this opinion, so it's worth checking the rules as they apply to each individual competition.