New Story Almost Finished

I will block off some time around work this weekend to finish a short story I'm working on. It's so bizarre how much of writing fiction is out of the writer's hands. When you start writing something, whether it's a novel or a short story, I think a lot of it ends up being different than what you had in mind. Sometimes, it ends up being the complete opposite of what you set out to write; it's almost like bits of the writing process are done without your awareness. Eerie, but true.

This story has been fun to write; I guess it is tagged as chick-lit/erotic fiction, but there's no blatant sex thrown in to cover up the lack of plot or story. I never thought I would ever write something of this genre, but I have to say, it's been really fun. I know there is a place for it, and I'll submit it to some places as soon as it's ready to be read by their cold analytical eyes.

I notice a few writers put their work out their on the internet, they post each chapter as soon as it has been written. This writer keeps her serialized story online, for the whole world to see as it's being written. She invites people who visit her blog to point out incorrect grammar and offer advice and critiques.

I once put up an excerpt of something I wrote, but not the whole story. I guess I can't get past the whole someone-might-steal-my-work mindset. Not clear on the legalities, but I think anything written by someone is automatically copyrighted; however, an idea cannot be copyrighted, just a completed work. So be careful about sharing your ideas until you get them down on paper. Plus, I feel so protective and vulnerable about what I write that I can't imagine letting it be seen by anyone except me, not until it's been edited and revised. I think it's important to not have any input from anyone until the story is finished, because any outside input could interrupt the whole organic process.

Anyway, I'd like to hear from anyone who puts their unpublished work out there; has anyone ever had anything published this way? Anyone had a problem with their work being copied without their knowledge?