Take the proper steps

In the publishing world, just like any other, there exists some painful realities. The one reality that every writer must come to terms with is the subject of what I refer to as white collar plagiarism. This is what happens when budding writers mistakenly send out portions or full manuscripts of their work to well established publishing firms without having the rights to their work copyrighted. So essentially what happens is the firm blatantly steals the work and gives the credit to some low-achieving hack writer they, themselves, have made the mistake of trying to promote. Being fortunate enough that this scenario has never crossed my path, I have heard several horrible experiences of other would-be writers who weren't so lucky. Legally, there really isn't anything the would-be writer can do to ensure those responsible can be held accountable if the proper steps are not taken before hand. Namely, getting all of one's work copyrighted. Whenever you complete a masterpiece, you want to make sure YOU are the one getting the credit and all of the benefits that come with that. So, with that in mind, before you show your work to anyone, even certain family members and friends, make sure all copyrights belong to you!