A Guide To Making Your Copyright Page
Written by Kate Gough
After all the hard work of writing and publishing your precious book, you may be asking yourself, do I really need a copyright page? Will it be the end of the world if I don’t include one?
Truthfully, you don’t NEED one. These days it is a formality. From the moment your fingers hit the keys, or your pen hits the page, you own the copyright to your work. Whether you include a formal note of copyright, you own the right to your art. That being said, here are some reasons you may want to create a copyright for your book.
Having a copyright page directly states that YOU are the owner.
Having a copyright page discourages infringement.
Having a copyright page is easy and free to make (included in this blog post is a template you can copy and paste.)
Now you may already own the copyright, however registering that copyright is necessary.
To do so, go to copyright.gov.
Now that you know why it may be important to include a copyright page, you may be asking, what’s included on one?
Here are the facets you may want to include:
A copyright notice which declares that you are the owner of the copyright, including 4 components:
“Copyright” is spelt out, as some countries do not recognize the symbol.
©: the near-universal symbol for copyright
The copyright owner’s name (it is okay for it to be your pen name)
The year of publication (the year you publish, not the year you first wrote your book)
An example of all four components:
Copyright © Charlotte Brontë 1847
Now, the next part of the process is the reservation of rights. This page includes a copyright statement that states that all rights are reserved and the moral rights of the author have been asserted. This means that the copyright owner reserves all the formal rights to copyright protection grants, including the right to publish, distribute, and make derivative works.
An example of this statement:
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Now, you may stop here if you wish, however, there are extended steps you may take if you want extra protection from being sued.
1. Credits - Credits are a very important process, such as crediting the artist of the cover, excerpts from copyrighted material, forewords, and photographs. How one decides to phase the acknowledgements is entirely up to the writer.
Example:
Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Trudy White/Jacket photograph copyright © 2006 by Colin Anderson/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images/Design by Lauren Dong/Cover photography by Aaron Fedor
2. ISBN - ISBN is the International Standard Book Number. It contains 13 digits, and you must acquire one if you want to sell print copies of your book in stores. You will obtain a different ISBN for each edition of your book (hardback, paperback etc.). Assuming you already obtained an ISBN, all you need to do is print it on the page.
Example:
ISBN 978-1-5011-7321-9 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4767-4660-9 (hardcover)
3. Edition of the book - The edition information is whether it’s the first, second, or third edition of your self-published book.
Example:
First Edition: February 1846
4. Publisher Details - You may promote the publisher in this section (please do :p)
Example:
Harper Collins Publishing
195 Broadway New York City, New York, U.S.
https://www.harpercollins.com
Getting your book out into the universe requires a careful touch as well as a lot of vulnerability, so making a copyright page gives you protection from being taken advantage of. It is well worth the effort and is very simple to make on your own. Please use this guide to keep your book and your well-being is taken care of. These final stages are a very exciting time, savour them.
Like Patti Smith once said to young creators: Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don't make compromises, don't worry about making a bunch of money or being successful — be concerned with doing good work and making the right choices and protecting your work.
KATE GOUGH is a Canadian based poet and a member of the online poetry community. Her work modernizes romantic literary sensibilities and explores recovery from chronic illness and trauma. Her philosophy is one close to the Danish “Hygge” which is, the celebration of cosiness. Warm socks, hot tea, and candlelight are her favourite writing tools.