A Book Copyright is the Only True Protection Against People Stealing Your Written Word!Book copyright methods can help you protect the content of your books. There are a few ways to copyright your fiction during the writing stage and even after the work is complete, but once your work is complete, I highly recommend getting your book copyrighted by the United States Copyright Office. As an author, you must have some kind of a copyright in place before submitting anything to a publisher, agent, review website, or any other third party company. Most traditional publishers automatically copyright your work when they publish your fiction using their copyrighting third party companies. But if you self-publish your fiction, the copyright responsibilities are entirely up to you. The first part of this page is how to copyright your fiction through the Copyright Office. The second part of this page is more geared toward the pre-published work you create or when you self-publish your fiction, but can also hold up in court after your book is published as long as a final version of your work is used. Copyrights apply to all forms of written textual materials with or without illustrations including nondramatic literary works, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, contributions to collective works, compilations, directories, catalogs, dissertations, theses, reports, speeches, bound or loose-leaf volumes, pamphlets, brochures, and single pages containing text. This may include your outline, notes, early drafts, and audio tapes of your recited book. You must have a copyright in place in order to seek punitive damages as a result of stolen materials. These punitive damages include sales made as a result of your work or of the sales of your ideas. Your writing is your business and if someone else is making a profit from your business without your permission, that is highly unethical and highly illegal. Keep in mind that you don't just have to copyright published materials; you can copyright unpublished materials as well. In fact, I highly encourage you to so you can protect your fiction works in progress as well. A book copyright exists the moment you create something fiction. Proving that you are the originator or creator of the information is the main point of a copyright. If someone does take your work, if you want to pursue it in court, you must have undeniable proof that the material is your original work. This is done with the use of a copyright. Obtain A Book Copyright From the Library Of CongressThe first and best method you can use to obtain a copyright for your fiction is to submit your book copyright through the Library of Congress. This is the preferred and safest way of obtaining a book copyright. This provides the maximum protection for your work since it is held in the Library of Congress archives. To submit your work to the U.S. Copyright Office, you can register either electronically or through the mail. The easiest and less expensive way is to submit your book copyright through the electronic Copyright Office (eCO). To submit it online electronically, it will only cost you $35.00. Hard copy submission and registration is $50.00. When you submit your work online, you will get faster processing time, online status of your filing, secure online payment, and the ability to upload certain categories of work into eCO as electronic files. Your book copyright becomes effective the day they receive your work and you will receive certification of your copyright in the mail in four to five months. If you go through a third party company (that is not a lawyer), you end up paying double or triple what it costs to submit your fiction for a book copyright and you may not see the official copyright statement for many months. There are ways to preregister your fiction. This costs more but protects your work in progress. Just follow the pre-registration guidelines on the Copyright.gov website. Free Method of Copyrighting Your Fiction With Limited ProtectionPut a copyright on everything you write. A simple and proper copyright looks like: © the date "Copyright by" your name. "All rights reserved." Place your copyright on a copyright page of your book or on every page of your web site. Make it visible so there is no doubt that your work is protected. Upon the time you begin the writing process, your work is copyrighted by you. However, there are limits to that copyright. Proving the origination date of your work can be an issue when using the "poor man's book copyright". This next part is very important to secure a date for your copyright that should hold up in court if you follow the example. This is a more temporary method but will hold up in court if you follow this exact method. Simply place your original work with a cover letter with your copyright clearly marked in a self-addressed stamped envelope. This can be a hard copy or electronic copy on a CD-R or DVD-R. Don't use rewritable CDs or DVDs as these can be modified and void your book copyright. Hard copy materials are best. You should also include a separate statement page in your envelope with specific information to show the copyright is yours, such as your full name, address, date your writing began on this particular piece, your book copyright, and a brief description of the work enclosed. Make the statement in memo or professional letter format. Once all of this is done, seal and mail the envelope to yourself through a post office other than your own (say, the next town over from yours). Now, for the important part: The point of mailing this envelope to yourself is to get a postmark on the envelope with a clear date on it. If you do have to go to court, this envelope will not be opened until it is opened in the presence of the court to prove you are the original author and book copyright holder. You should keep these sealed envelopes protected in a fire proof safe or in a bank safety deposit box that way they won't get lost or burned in a fire and no one will accidentally open it. The last method of copyrighting fiction is legal and will uphold your copyright in the event someone takes your work without your strict written permission. Only open one of these envelopes if you need to update your work or use it in court. Remember, the date of your copyright, even if it is different on your work, is the post marked date on the envelope. This is the only downfall to this method of copyright. If you found this information useful, you may also need an ISBN number or information pertaining to ISBNs for your fiction. END NOTE: Jason Moser and Write and Publish Fiction has no legal affiliation with the Copyright Office, Library of Congress nor provides legal advice. Always contact an attorney if you have any questions or you are unsure of what to do with regards to copyrighting your work. The above methods are merely suggestions and recommendations to help protect your work. |
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