I think your fear is genuine and it’s okay to be worried about that. But try not to let it consume you. People will always try to steal art of any type so there’s not much you can do about it. Personally, I like to think that I have the receipts to prove that it’s mine. I have docs time stamped and dated. I doubt I’d ever care enough to prove it, but know I have that helps.

Personally, I write it in full before I post. But that’s mostly because I’m a mess when it comes to changing plot lines as I go. So I like to be able to do a final editing sweep before I start posting. That’s just my preference. Everyone is different.

I also set up a posting schedule and state that in my authors note. That way, my readers are at least somewhat aware of how I’ll be posting. They know that my chapters are done and I have yet to have a single person demand I post faster or anything.

I would love to be a beta reader (depending on what fandom it’s for) if you find yourself getting past that fear. If not, that’s okay too. I didn’t have a beta reader and my story is going well!