Christian Writing Copyright Poll

[AHumbleWarrior]

I received my certificate of registration back from the U.S. Copyright Office today for all the short stories I've written over the last months. I'm trying to gauge what the norm is among writers.

Side note: Single work registration is $65 / Group of works is $85 / Publisher $0 (usually included with process) - Does this have an impact on your decision?

 

[lynnmosher]

Well, actually, you don't need to copyright your work before sending it to a publisher. They will copyright your book in your name. Your work is copyrighted the moment you write it. However, if it ever became a legal case, having a copyright adds protection.

 

[zx1ninja]

I think there's a couple of discussion threads on this subject

 

[AHumbleWarrior]

I think there's a couple of discussion threads on this subject

Click to shrink...

Well, actually, you don't need to copyright your work before sending it to a publisher. They will copyright your book in your name. Your work is copyrighted the moment you write it. However, if it ever became a legal case, having a copyright adds protection.

Click to shrink...

@lynnmosher If there's already been prior discussions on this, then please delete this poll. I'll look up the other threads. Sorry to waste your time. Thanks in advance.

 

[lynnmosher]

Oh, no! That's okay. Not a waste of time. This is one of the top subjects that needs discussing.

 

[zx1ninja]

I only mentioned it so you could find more information, not to stop. There's always something new on this because so much is always changing.

 

[suspensewriter]

It's kind of odd that you copywrited your short stories, don't you think?

 

[Jeff Potts]

OK, with one and only book copyrighted traditionally, and two as self-pub, here's what I know.

First, a publisher is going to want to be the one who copyrights your book, as they put their name on the copyright during the process (there is a special division for this). This is to prevent an author from doubling back and suing the publisher for infringement. Generally, if they fill out the copyright for you, there is probably something in the book contract that either transfers exclusive rights to the work, or sets up a definitive time they have publishing rights to the book. However, it's probably the former, and not the latter. If they have the rights in the contract, it allows them to shut down publishing on your work when they so desire it and recoup some of their investment by having you pay THEM to get your rights back. This type of stuff happens in the music biz quite often.

If I am wrong here, please correct me.

Second, you should ONLY copyright a book when it is in its final form. In fact, the copyright website discusses allowed modifications to the copyrighted submission after the fact. Fixing typos and small things is fine. Making major changes (like adding or removing a paragraph) will void the copyright. You would need to re-submit the modified manuscript in this case. There is no set definitive line for when the copyright becomes invalid, which is why we have courts and judges.

And when I say, "void the copyright," what I mean is that the changes you make will alter the manuscript so significantly, that it may not be considered protected as it is fundamentally different from what's registered.

You can pre-register a copyright - essentially creating a placeholder in their Library of Congress (which is where all of this finally ends up), but you still need to provide the finished manuscript. Thus, you probably SHOULD NOT copyright an unfinished manuscript.

Again, if I am wrong, someone come in and please correct me.

 

[AHumbleWarrior]

It's kind of odd that you copywrited your short stories, don't you think?

Click to shrink...

I have submitted them to several publications and without knowing what others might do, I'm just trying to protect what I write.