I have been publishing a literary 'zine called Toylit (sometimes in a restroom near you... don't worry, you can read it, just use Purell afterwards) since 2001. Over the years, production has been stymied by several factors: 1) I didn't want to risk my rights, so I never put my best writing in there. 2) I am not computer-savvy and it was difficult for me to maintain a website. I was wary of using blogs, because I thought there would be a gray zone as to who owned my writing. I wanted my own domain and that was too much work for what I envisioned. 3) Because I am not computer-savvy, it was difficult for me to figure out how to promote my zine. While I was busy trying to re-invent the wheel, newsfeed readers were busy picking up blogs. I promoted my blog with paper distribution and the tools available to me for tracking web traffic were--honestly--crappy. I felt like Sisyphus.
Recently, I decided I would write a single News Poem a day and post it on my blog. At first, I held back with my writing, because I didn't want it ripped-off. One day, I wrote something inspired and I realized, "I need to do something to protect this from bots and content thieves," so I decided I would publish my zine daily. Using Lulu, I am able to publish Today's News Poem, without worrying if someone is going to steal it. I have an ISBN #. That gives me some serious power over my online writing. And since I believe my writing bests the writing on most blogs, I feel this gives me a serious alternative to just crossing my fingers and posting my writing online. Well, I still see my pen name and articles up on web sites I've never heard before and I don't think I have much recourse against them. But by publishing and selling my 'zine, I can prove damages. By using Google, I can track the preferences of my readers and truly bring the online interactive experience, to the page with lulu.
In short, every 'zine maker should be doing this. It will legitimize the content, by giving you an ISBN number and dodging the fate of so many out-of-print-yet-crucial zines. The web provides a unique opportunity for the literary writer to perform before an audience--something s/he has not really had the chance to do before.
If you want to read more about this, read my site http://toylit.blogspot.com and let me know what you think--either here, or there.
Honestly? i have nothing but sympathy for you. Such fear and paranoia of somehow having your writing misappropriated can't be good for your health, and it most certainly seems to have affected both your sense of self worth and your command of basic sentence structure.