Copyright: The 4 Can’t Miss Keys
Copyright is the writer’s security blanket. It just makes you feel better to know your words are protected. I once knew a writer who was so scared his work would be stolen, he never sent it anywhere. Talk about counterproductive! But if you can understand these four simple copyright keys, you can rest easy and submit at will.
1. Create!
That’s all you have to do to copyright something: write it. You don’t have to publish
it and you don’t have to register it with the United States Copyright Office, although
there are certain advantages to registration (see below). The moment a piece is
written down, it automatically gains copyright and that copyright is owned by the
author.
2. Give Notice.
That’s when you put that little encircled “c” on the work. You can also use the word
“Copyright”, then your name and the year of first publication. For instance, this
article is “Copyright 2005 Sophfronia Scott”. It tells the world that the work is
protected so someone can’t show up in court and claim they didn’t know it was.
Speaking of court…
3. Register Your Copyright.
Again, registering with the United States Copyright Office is really just a legality.
You don’t have to do it. But you do get a few benefits for the $30 fee that are worth
considering.
Registration makes your copyright a matter of public record and–get this–if you
register and someone later infringes on your copyright and you take them to court,
you will be able to sue for “statutory damages and attorney’s fees”. With an
unregistered work you can only get an award of actual damages and profit. To learn
more on how to register your literary work go to http:// www.copyright.gov/
register/literary.html.
4. Send Copies to the Library of Congress.
Once your book is published, you’re required to send two copies to the Library of
Congress. It’s called a “mandatory deposit of published works”. If your book is
produced by a traditional publisher, the people there will do this for you, but if you
are self publishing, keep in mind that you have to do this yourself. You have three
months after publication. It doesn’t hurt your copyright if you don’t do it but,
according to the Copyright Office, “failure to make the deposit can result in fines
and other penalties.”
That’s it! Pretty simple, really, but all the more reason why it should not become an
artificial roadblock to your continuing and submitting your work. One last note: you
can’t copyright an idea. I have heard writers say they submitted a story or book
proposal and someone else came out with a book just like it, so the agent/editor/
writer must have stolen their idea. Well, not quite. It is highly likely that someone
else just had the same idea. It does happen. And yes, it is possible for someone to
steal your idea–just make REALLY sure that they have done so before you make the
accusation.
© 2005 Sophfronia Scott
Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is “The Book Sistah”. Get her FREE
REPORT, “The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers Make When Trying to Get Published” and
her FREE online writing and publishing tips at http://www.TheBookSistah.com
