Get Your Books Copyrighted!

To copyright or not to copyright? If the content of your work is automatically copyrighted to some degree when you publish it, why go to the bother of getting it done officially? Pirates. That’s right. Pirates: unscrupulous plagiarizers. Seriously? How hard is it to get an official copyright? Not hard at all…

It has happened to some authors whose names you would likely recognize, and they fought back. Without an official copyright, you wouldn’t be able to contest the pirate in court. Some publishers expect their authors to have their books copyrighted. It’s easily done and surprisingly inexpensive. How do you get one?

Go here: https://www.copyright.gov/registration/literary-works/index.html

Check the URL to make sure you’re on the .gov website.

On the right-hand side, click on “Register A Literary Work” and follow instructions.

How much does it cost? For fees, go here: https://www.copyright.gov/about/fees.html

Beware of ‘services’ offering to do it for you for a fee. I’ve seen some charge $99 for something that takes a few minutes and a lot less money to do yourself. A basic copyright, which is what I have on each of my books, cost me $35 each. Note that prices may have changed. The application process is easy, even though it’s a lot of pages and you must read the instructions carefully. I’ve done it, which means you can, too. 

Pirates may not care that your work is officially copyrighted and steal it anyway. It’s rare, but it happens, and now you’ll have the legal recourse to go after them.