(This answer is pretty rambly… Short version: I think allowing publications to work with locked pieces would be a good thing.)

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Meg. At Chalkboard , we don’t expect to get many locked pieces submitted. Why? Because our system focuses on collaboration. These projects just don’t lend themselves to locking.

But, I would very much like to see writers be able to share locked stories with us. There are projects that would benefit from it.

As a writer not in the member program, I am doing more reading on publications right now. Why? I know I can read more than a couple of paragraphs. BUT, that doesn’t mean that publications shouldn’t be allowed to share locked pieces.

As an editor, I don’t do much editing for the pieces submitted to my largest project (one liners). I don’t really feel the need to be rewarded for that work. But for other projects on Chalkboard and elsewhere, I definitely see it as a need.