Yeah, I'd suggest a different name as well. You can put a photo by your computer and DESCRIBE it the same, but definitely make a few changes and change the name (which would happen anyway if supernatural owners took over...  )

Good luck with it!

and even the courts themselves use traceable forms of mail like certified or registered mail to send important documents that require proof of delivery time.

Correct. Delivery TIME, but not proof of contents. That's the issue with copyright. One of the reasons this method isn't accepted by the federal district court for copyrights is BECAUSE people have done it before (mailed and then later filled the envelope with a manuscript.) Even the weight can be easily adjusted by sending blank pages that are later replaced by using scotch tape for the first mailing, then removing the tape and using the gummed label to later seal it. Seems like a lot of work, but it really has been done.

1. I've noticed that some publishing houses and agents are hesitant to look at works that have been posted online.  Does this include some critique sites that have been listed here?  I can't recall them immediately but one was a Carson Orson Card site? 

Potentially, yes. See, here's the deal. An awful lot of people confuse "copyright" with "first rights." But they're two entirely different areas of law. Copyright law has little to do with contract law, which is what publishers deal with (unless you're foolish enough to transfer the ownership of what you've written.) When you enter into a contract with a publisher, you're certifying that you're giving the publisher the right to be the FIRST to publish the book. This is because the publisher intends to make a profit on the book. If the works are posted online for everybody and their dog to view for free, why then would that same group of readers later go out and BUY it? The trick with first rights is that it's very subjective---which is why there's so much discussion about it on the web. Try comparing it to shopping for clothing. If you're shopping and pick up an item that you know has been previously purchased, but was returned with the tags intact, do you consider it "used?" No, probably not. But what if the shirt has obvious dirt and sweat stains on it? Well, duh! Of course it's been used. Are you willing to pay retail price for it? Again, probably not. Same with publishers. Whether a manuscript/story/poem is "used" depends on what you've done with it, and that determination is entirely up to the editor you happen to get, and what they had for breakfast that day. Some editors might see "sweat stains" on a manuscript that was housed on a critique site. Some may not. Unfortunately, you won't know from publisher to publisher---editor to editor, how they feel about it. So, caution is the word of the day so you don't get disappointed by an editor who takes a dim view to ANY website postings. If that makes sense.

2. If you are working on a series of books, is it wise to reveal future portions of that series as you send out your queries?

I don't see why not. Naturally, the goal of any query is to sell a BOOK, not a series, because even if the series is purchased, there's no guarantee it'll ever get written. I can give you a list of a dozen names of authors who have published series that are half complete. Sometimes it's because the first book didn't sell well. Or, it could be that there was an internal staff change and the new editor didn't like the whole concept. Heck, I have one friend who had the publisher drop an entire GENRE. So, if you feel it's important enough to mention, do. But be very cautious when writing that every book is self-contained, so that if book three never sees the light of day, your readers won't be disappointed.

3. Does the copywrite emblem need to be on literally everything you send out by mail or e-mail?  Or is the registration sufficient? I fear that I've been going on advice that said--anything you write is copyrighted.  That is apparently true, but often difficult to prove apparently? Or at least costly to prove?

No, it doesn't. Copyright (in the U.S.) is implied. If you're presenting a manuscript, it IS COPYRIGHTED. There's no need to mention it. It's redundant. No, it's not difficult to prove at all. The burden of proof falls on the LAST to publish. The trick is when the plagiarizer is the first to publish. Then it's difficult, but copyrighting it wouldn't have helped that too much. Keep in mind that when you haven't posted it online for someone to cut and paste, retyping a full ms. is enough of a pain in the patootie that few other than the REALLY dedicated plagiarizers are going to bother. Let's fact facts. A person who plagiarizes is predominantly lazy. That's sort of the point. So, keep the text out of their hands in a format that they can grab, and they're unlikely to bother.

4.  If you take part in a workshop or an on-line writing course from a well known, respected provider can you feel secure that your words won't be lifted?  I have done so, and wondered.  I mean--how can any online course provider guarantee what fellow students might do? I've taken a class with several published authors (primarily non-fiction) and one quit the class  after she approached an agent about her work of fiction.  what are your thoughts?  Still for most of us to get to professionals to teach us how to improve our craft, our options are limited.

I've taught a number of online courses, and I have to admit that I would NEVER ask students to post whole sections or chapters for others to look at. I might have them send in a few paragraphs, but not enough to make it worth stealing. Because that's the trick. The instructor might be above-board. But you don't know who is attending. It's too easy, even with the best of intentions, to "remember" phrasing that you read somewhere (like in someone else's manuscript.) A lot of authors, myself included, hesitate to even read published books in our own genre, just for this reason. You could always approach the instructor privately and share these fears and ask to send samples privately. I'm sure s/he would understand.

5.  Finally, if you are a published author--do you routinely register your work when it's in the last stages of completion?  Frankly 35.00 seems rather minor amount for peace of mind.  Thoughts?

I don't register my work at all. That's the publisher's job, and it's done only when it IS in the "last stages of completion." But that means it's ready for a cover and to hit the street. Anytime before that is meaningless, both because of edits made by the publisher's editor and the street date. That's something I didn't mention earlier, but oftentimes, a publisher is hesitant to copyright a work that already IS copyrighted, and that can spell the death knell of a book in post-publication contests. In 99% of the contests out there, it's the date of copyright that determines whether a book was "published in 2008" or whatever date. If you copyrighted the book today, but it wasn't released until 2009, you're SOL for any contests that have a 2009 copyright requirement. Been there, done that, have the "You can't enter" t-shirt. Our publisher bumped us a few months on one book and it jumped a year. But the copyright page was the previous year, and we were shut out of several contests---even after the publisher sent in a letter of explanation. Them's the rules. 

Does that help any?

Since I just got done sending in my taxes for this year, here are the categories of deductions my (very conservative) CPA is happy to include on my Schedule C:

Postage/FedEx/UPS
Printing Expenses (for pre-ARC manuscripts to reviewers)
Book copies (that I have to buy myself when the free books from the publisher are gone)
Misc./Gifts (for agent/editor holiday tokens, gift baskets, donations to causes)
Website maintenance/design
Print ads
Promo goodies
Office supplies/software/equipment
Dues & Subscriptions (trade magazines, organization memberships)
Professional Fees (Agent, entertainment attorney, accountant)
Meals & Entertainment (conference dinners, lunch meetings with other writers, etc.)
Book Conference Fees (just the dues. Other stuff goes other places)
Hotel/Valet (for conferences or book signing tours)
Travel (for . . . well everything. I think it's up to 42 cents a mile for car travel.)

Hope that helps organize your thoughts on what sort of receipts to keep track of.

I notice that USA government website contains information about registering work so it's copyrighted.  That's weird, since your work is automatically copyrighted anyway under international law (which the USA has ratified).  I guess the purpose is to provide others with a common database to search, rather than to actually copyright anything.

Actually, it's not a search database at all and registration isn't required. What registration provides is the method to seek monetary damages in court in the event of plagiarism. Registration provides a "time stamp" that proves a date of creation. Without registration, the court is limited to reimbursing actual damages (which are tough to prove unless a commercial publisher produced the plagiarized copy), but an award wouldn't include things like statutory interest, attorneys fees (in prosecuting the case) future costs of collecton and such---to the author or the original publisher. Does that make sense?

By and large, registration is a good thing once the book is ready to be published. But not before. Since registration is a "snapshot" of a document, substantial edits to insert text, remove chapters or such, essentially end the registration.

You can also post up a sample of your work over at AbsoluteWrite http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums. I love it over there (they sucked me into being a Moderator because I wouldn't ever leave!  ) There's pretty much any genre you can imagine and if we haven't already thought of it, let us know and we'll make a new forum for it! Over 17,000 and growing every day. 

Sigh... I'd like to think they'll both be better for the merger. But I fear they'll simply take the easy path, which will bring the half-way decent iUniverse down to AuthorHouse's level. And all to the detriment of the author. 

Richelle was definitely there! She, I and Jackie Kessler had lunch at McD's one day (can't remember which one at this point.)

Oh, and I found one more pic of Jim! I was chatting with him in the lobby when fan/fellow author Renee Russell dropped over and asked for a picture. Naturally, I suggested that one or two outside of the dinner really SHOULD make it onto McAnally's, so he even smiled...   

I was sorry not to get to go to the dinner, as I had already scheduled other plans  but was able to chat with Jim & Shannon a couple other times. I only got one or two pics of them because my camera was full to max with various other events (274 of them!  ) I'm going to be posting them up on my website as soon as I can download and resize them, so stay tuned for all the best of RT.