What do you do before you sell your own book?

Question

can anyone tell me more about registration and copyrights and guidlines ? i'm writing a book and i want to make sure that it doesnt get illegally copied and sold by a second party. how can i protect my book ?

Answer 1

You really don't need to worry about an unpublished book being copied and sold so long as you send it to real publishers. They can't be bothered in stealing anything but the best and the best is too easily recognized so they buy them.

You do not want to share it with other unpublished writers or post it on the net without protecting it. A poor man's copyright is simple. You print out a copy, stick it in an envelope and mail it back to yourself via registered mail. Don't open it. Just write the title on the envelope and toss it in a file cabinet. If you need proof as to when the manuscript was created, you have it. It's admissible in a court of law.

You will find publishers guidelines in Writers Market.

Answer 2

I've seen this question asked by authors before and the answers are always the same: don't worry about it, or "you should be so lucky" etc. None of which answer the question.

See the link below "copyright.gov" for basic info on copyrighting your work and what the copyright provides you a right to.

Answer 3

You can get it copyrighted - logged in the library of congress but it costs about $45.00.

Every book is automatically protected by copyright but getting it logged on paper will prove it easier if someone does steal your work.

http://copyright.gov/forms

Answer 4

you dont need to register. when you publish your book or even an essay in the internet, you already possess copyright

Answer 5

Don't worry about it, your publisher will take care of everything.

Answer 6

dont know, i am not a writer