Your Author Rights
Aspiring authors often fear their book idea will be stolen and wonder about their rights before and after publishing. Here’s a rundown.
If you wrote it, you own it. You are the legal owner of your handwritten paper, note in your phone, saved document on a hard drive or cloud (assuming the cloud’s terms and agreements don’t say otherwise), and what you write on social media (again, assuming the media/blog platform/company’s terms don’t say otherwise). Even if your social media post goes viral, if you are the originator, you are the legal owner of that content.
Most people’s book ideas aren’t stolen, because writing a book is not an easy task, and no one can say exactly what you want to say in just the way you say it. So don’t let fear of plagiarism stop you from your goals. Plagiarism checkers are available, and even typing a phrase into Google can often show where a passage originated from.
Not everything is copyrighted, though. Statistical data, basic ideas and information, and titles of creative works (book and chapter titles and so on) are not copyrighted.
Speaking of titles, the bigger or more traditional the publisher, the more they will control your title and book cover (with your input, of course). If you’re self-publishing or working with a smaller publisher, creating a catchy title (and explanatory yet concise subtitle for nonfiction) is crucial. Get ideas from your beta readers (as you did on your drafts) and do some research. While titles aren’t copyrighted, you probably don’t want the exact same title as another book, as it might lead to confusion.
AI
However, as I mentioned in my post about AI, if you’re using AI to edit or store your work in any way, that app is most likely copying (stealing) your information, usually without your permission or knowledge, because that’s the only way AI improves—by learning from real humans. The more information it consumes, the “smarter” and more “useful” it gets.
AI is a mess for copyright law, and it will be a while before those laws catch up. Even so, many writers don’t know, or don’t care, about these issues. Some say embracing new technology is worth the risk and that AI is a gamechanger. You do you—but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Before Publishing
Book rights are Primary Rights (also called serial rights) that include the different ways to publish, sell, distribute, and display the work; as well as Secondary Rights, which include the different configurations your intellectual property can take, such as print, e-book, audio, translations, film, multi-media (apps and video-game content, etc.), and even merchandising. Of course, you want to retain all or as many rights as possible.
Here’s where it gets tricky. An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is what differentiates your book and each edition from all other books. The data assigned to that ISBN ensures your book belongs to you. Which is why you should purchase your own set of ISBNs from Bowker Publishing Services or ensure that your publisher or self-publishing company does this IN YOUR NAME as the author. Many do but you should always ask. Do NOT just publish on Amazon or anywhere else without this step, especially if you’re self-publishing. Otherwise, the platform you publish on (like Amazon) might use one of their ISBNs and therefore own the distribution and other rights to your book.
Each version of your book, such as print, digital, audio, second or expanded edition, etc. requires a different ISBN, which is why they’re sold in sets of ten. Click that Bowker link to learn more about ISBNs or talk to a publishing representative. If they brush you off or don’t seem to think ISBNs are important, they’re not worth your time.
Before you sign any agreement with any publisher, hire an intellectual property attorney or literary agent to look it over first. An attorney can save you a lot of money and hassle in the long run. Expect to pay a standard fee for a contract review, unless they need to negotiate anything on your behalf.
If you’re pursuing a traditional publisher for your book, you may already have a literary agent who is pitching your work to publishers. This agent should also help you negotiate your publishing contract once a publisher is interested. A traditional publisher will usually retain all the publishing rights and most other Primary Rights. Even so, you should still be able to sell your own copies when doing book signings or other personal appearances. So, ask questions and make sure you understand everything before signing.
Tip: People consume books in different ways. To reach as many readers as possible, I recommend creating both a print and digital version of your book, as well as an audio version if feasible.
After Publishing
Even though you automatically own whatever you create, you still need proof of authorship to argue anything in court. To do this, you should register your published work with the U.S. Copyright Office. It costs $65 last time I checked, and should be done as soon as possible after publishing.
Most publishers will take care of this for you but be sure to check. If you’re self-publishing, this is on you but it’s pretty easy. The Copyright Office’s website has a step-by-step video.
There are many misconceptions and myths out there. If this post wasn’t nerdy enough for you, I suggest this article by Susan Upton Douglass and the book This Business of Books by Claudia Suzanne for further reading. But now you know the basics, so you can move forward with confidence.
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