I am about to send query letters to agents for a finished work in fiction. Should I copyright my book first?

Answer 1

If your work is written, you already have the copyright. As soon as a creative work is in tangible form the creator has the copyright.

http://copyright.gov
That's a link for info on U.S. copyright.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy/c-claim/c-auto.htm
That's a link for U.K. info, and here's a cut and paste for what they say regarding "Automatic protection":
Automatic protection

There is no official registration system for copyright in the United Kingdom (UK) and most other parts of the world. There are no forms to fill in and no fees to pay to get copyright protection.

So long as you have created a work that qualifies for copyright protection, that is it falls into one of the categories of material protected by copyright, you will have copyright protection without having to do anything to establish this. It is a requirement of various international conventions on copyright that copyright should be automatic with no need to register.

Answer 2

You do not need to copyright your manuscript. And if you send an agent a manuscript that says copyright on it, they will throw it away because it is the mark of an amateur.

Just check the Preditors & Editors website to make sure the agents you're querying are legit and you're all set. Manuscripts are automatically copyrighted the minute you write them. Publishers will copyright them officially when they get an ISBN number.

Screenplays, however, are a different story. But manuscripts for novels... don't copyright.

Answer 3

Your work is copyrighted as soon as you print it, whether you register the copyright or not. Registering the copyright just adds evidence in your favor, should a problem occur.

I can tell you that you need not put a copyright notice on your manuscript. Agents and publishers see that as a mark of an amateur, almost an accusation that they would try to steal your work.

I wish you the best of luck in finding an agent! :)

Answer 4

I think fiction is awesome, and (agh) better then nonfiction just because, to me, fiction seems to have more interesting plots and such. Well, yes, I've read a lot of vampire books such as "Salems lot" and "Dracula". You're writing a fiction book, also? Whats it about? How far are you into it?

Answer 5

Definitely. The last thing you want is to have some smart aleck thief posing as an agent just to take your idea and snatch the buck that you could've probably been making. It's your hard work; protect it before you let other eyes view it.

Answer 6

Absolutely. You should never send an unsolicited manuscript anywhere without having some way of protecting yourself.

Answer 7

If you like.