The Mess Known as ©opyright

Ayaan Haque
Dec 5, 2020
3 min read

WAIT!!! Don't click away from this blog post. As surprising as it sounds, copyright can literally be interesting. After all, I only write about topics that interest me. It's worth 3 minutes to read this, compared to four and a half hours, the average time kids 8-12 years old spend on screens. To keep you hooked, here's an interesting story: Okay, so I've started looking for publishers for The Blue Ocean (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here), and one of my main concerns is whether an agent would steal my work before accepting my story. If they did, then they could make a fortune off your work. This does happen, but very rarely. In fact, "Writers are more likely to become bestsellers than have their work stolen by literary agents." a quote by Robert Lee Brewer. But anyway, here are ways to protect yourself. One of the most surprising things I found out while doing research on this topic is that in the US, all stories are copyrighted immediately when they are created. "Then what's all the deal with getting a copyright?" Your probably wondering. Well here's the thing: If you go to court for a copyright violation, there isn't any evidence that you were the first to write it. That's where you can file a copyright. In the US, you can go to copyright.gov, and file a copyright. It cost somewhere around $45. But if you ever go to court for copyright infringement, it's worth it. A common misconception is that you can mail yourself your own story and it will be automatically copyrighted. Which isn't true whatsoever. Okay, back to what I was saying. When you file a copyright, the problem is your book, after going through a real editor's editing, will be different, and you'll have to file another copyright. So if you want to file a copyright, then you should plan to do it after edits. Now here's the answer to the burning question: Will literary agents steal your idea? The simple answer: No. Simply don't worry about it, but don't go to the shadiest agent. But after publishing it will be important, as people can try to copy your book. So to state that your book is copyrighted, you need to put a copyright statement. Here's a simple example:

You don't need to file a copyright to put the statement. Here's a more complicated version:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: fromayaansink@gmail.com (Don't actually email this, this is a sample statement)

First paperback edition May 2020

Book design by _____

Map by ______

(Whatever elements you have you put here)

ISBN ***-*-****-****-* (paperback)

ISBN ***-*-****-****-* (ebook)

Published by _____ Publisher

www.fromayaansink.com.com

I'm sure most of you aren't that worried about copyright, but it's interesting to know. Well, okay, maybe only for me. But hey, it's my blog!