Fortunately, in the United States, copyright is a simple thing. When we write something and say it’s ours, according to copyright law, what we write is automatically protected and protected by copyright. However, as pleasant as this thought is, it is not something that can be trusted by itself. There are people out there who will steal your hard work in a heartbeat and claim it for themselves. If you don’t do what you can to protect your original work, then you leave yourself open to those nasty characters I refer to as information thieves.
Here are seven free ways to protect what you’ve written:
*Keep multiple copies on disk as well as on your hard drive, and hide some copies, make sure you are the only one who knows where they are and that they are dated. This way, if your working copy somehow disappears and miraculously appears under someone else’s name, you have proof that it is indeed “your copy and original writing.”
*Send each chapter as you complete it to a trusted friend who then saves it to multiple discs and keeps them safe for you. (Make sure this is someone you would trust with your child or your dog)
*Once you have completed your final version, print a copy and mail it, then do not open the envelope, just save it. If you don’t want to waste ink and paper, you can save it to a disk and mail it to yourself. The key point here is not to open the envelope when you receive it. This is your proof that you wrote the book, whatever the novella is.
*Under no circumstances, unless you completely and completely trust the person (ie with your child or dog), should you submit copies of your book or copies of your book chapters in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. Doing so opens up the temptation for a person to make some changes and then call their work their own.
* Whether or not you go the traditional publishing route (you may want someone to read it before it’s out) or POD, e-book whatever, you should create a copyright page for your book. You can look at a copyright page in any book and modify it to fit your needs. Then add it to the front of your book, novel, or whatever before converting your document to a PDF.
*Download a copy of PDF conversion software. There are several free versions available. I use pdf995, you can download it for free at http://www.pdf995.com. You can then convert your writing to PDF format, preventing anyone else from making any changes.
*A final note is to make sure that if you post any of your writing on your website, you include a copyright notice at the bottom of each page. This way, there is no way for someone to say “but I was out of copyright”. While it is true that the same thing that if you write something and say it is yours, legally it is yours, this is also true on the Internet. However, why take risks? The internet is international (and your writing may not automatically be protected by copyright laws in other countries), I think it’s better to be safe than sorry later. Also, many writers post excerpts of their writing on writing groups, forums, etc. Be sure to put a copyright notice at the bottom of the excerpt, you don’t know who might be browsing the forums or signed up for your writing group. Again, why take chances?
These are just a few ideas for protecting your writing, and of course, they’re free. You can also choose to pay the fee to protect what you write through the US copyright office, http://www.copyright.gov/ for $30, which I highly recommend.
However, if, like me, you’re a struggling writer trying to make ends meet and start your career, the tips above will work just fine until you can afford the fee. It’s also important to remember that whether or not you pay the copyright fee through the US Copyright Office, your writing is protected by copyright law. So… with that being said, happy writing and please do everything you can to protect your work! You’ll be glad you did.
