"Published" Defined by Context

Question: how do you define “published”? If something has been published but it’s not fiction, and therefore not in the genre we’re testing waters in now, does that count as being published?

For the purposes of the Christmas contest (details to be announced soon), published means:

  • fiction only
  • book, newspaper, magazine, or paid online publication
  • traditional publisher or self-published

For the purposes of submission, it usually means anything that someone besides your mother has paid you real money for the rights print. Self-publishing doesn’t count unless you’ve sold several thousand.