Recently, the major news magazine Newsweek made an announcement that analysts have seen coming for years: After eighty years in print, Newsweek will be completely online. And the change isn’t going to be happening slowly: December 31 will be the last time we’ll see the magazine in print.

So what does this have to do with creative writers, you ask? (Good question.)

These days, most writers know that posting your short prose and poetry online means that editors will consider the work to be previously published and therefore ineligible for publication in most literary journals. (Note: “Previously published” means something different for books. See our post: What is previously published writing?)

Naturally, writers want to share their work online because it’s an easy way to swap support and critique. But who wants to take the chance of having a piece become ineligible for publication?

One writer recently asked us: How can you share your work with a group without publishing it online?

If you’re careful and honest, there may be a few ways you can share your short stories, personal essays, and poems with a small group of people using the Web—without inciting the ire of irascible editors.

It is common practice for journals and literary agents to reject previously published writing, but what exactly does previously published mean? Why are most literary agents and editors unwilling to take a chance on work that has already appeared elsewhere? When is it appropriate to submit previously published work?

The answers to these questions have become increasingly hard to pin down as the Internet takes on a huge role in the writing world.

No matter how well you know the Internet, submitting your work to an agent or editor poses a great potential for error. You need to know how to make successful online submissions via a submission form (the usual choice of literary magazine editors) or by e-query (the preferred method for agents).

Follow these guidelines to avoid common errors when submitting online.

If you’re writing a book, or if you’re publishing short stories and poetry in literary journals, you may want to consider starting a blog. Blogging takes serious, dedicated effort, but the results can be worthwhile if you manage to catch the attention of a literary agent or editor with your blog. Want to know how to start an author blog? Read on.

The Internet and the digital age have revamped almost everything about our world: The way we read books (good-bye, print), listen to music (adios, CDs), get our news (sayonara, newspapers), even changing our language. The Web has added so many new words to our vocabulary. But grammar pundits, who are rigorous about insisting that language rules be logical and consistent, seem to be at odds with the general public, which largely prefers ease and convenience.

So, is it email or e-mail? Web site or website? Online or on-line?

Most of us who aspire to be career writers are active promoters (or at least, we’re thinking about promoting). Even if you’re not in the “giving book signings” phase, you may be in the “attracting an agent” phase.

It’s only natural that we want people to notice our writing. Adults aren’t much different than children when we’re proud of our work (“Hey Mom! Look at me!”). Lucky for us, social networks like Twitter and Facebook can be a great way to help people get to know our writing.

But here’s the thing: There’s a right way and a wrong way to promote your writing on interactive websites (like social networks, forums, and blogs). And we’ve seen writers do some pretty embarrassing and desperate things to get attention.

Not all writers are annoying. But those who are make the rest of us look bad.

So here are eleven things you should never-ever-in-a-million-years do when you’re promoting your writing online.

Thinking of posting your poem on your Facebook page? Are you serializing your short stories on your blog? Reposting an already published essay on your official author website?

Wait!

Before you post anything else, you must follow some basic rules (and avoid certain pitfalls) in order to avoid getting yourself into hot water down the line.