Where can I get my writings copyrighted and how?

Answer 1

You should not bother and here is why. If by chance something you write becomes published, then the publisher obtains copyright, NOT YOU! By copyrighting ahead of time, then YOU will own the copyright and no publisher (book, magazine, newspaper) will touch the work. You needn't worry about someone stealing your work, either. My guess is you are an amateur (pros know wall about copyright), and publishing houses have literally tons and tons of material at their disposal, much of it from successful, excellent writers. They don't need to steal yours. Don't bother with copyright, as it is a waste of time and money for you. Don't listen to the guy above who hasn't a clue to what he's blathering on about. Those people seem to abound on Yahoo.

Answer 2

The simple act of writing whatever it is gives you the copyright. What may concern you is protecting your writing against other people infringing it. The simple and automatic way to do this is to put 'Copyright (your name)' on every page you publish - the word or the big C symbol; but the belt-and-braces solution is you really think that someone will steal what you've written is to post yourself a copy, in an envelope that will be date-stamped by the post office, and then keep the envelope unopened somewhere safe. Then in the event of any dispute you can open it in front of witnesses.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

By law, everything you write is copyrighted, regardless of whether you claim it or not, unless you explicitly release copyright (for instance, through a creative commons release).

Answer 4

Get a NOLO book. And if you are in Hollywood go file a copy with the WGA.

Here is the NOLO FAQ on copyright.
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/481F4C85-6B92-44DC-9B0914A9E9658A64/catID/DAE53B68-7BF5-455A-BC9F3D9C9C1F7513/310/276/FAQ/

http://www.wgawregistry.org/webrss/
http://www.nolo.com/definition.cfm/Term/519BC07C-FA49-4711-924FD1B020CABA92/alpha/I/