So, you’ve finally finished your story…and you think you’re ready to start printing. Well, as we discussed in Front and Back Matter last year, there are some items that need to be added to the ms to make it a complete book. Most readers wouldn’t miss some of these if you left them out…but reviewers and agents will certainly notice—if the right things aren’t in the right place, it will mark you as an amateur. Proofreaders should note the missing items, but as some of them are optional, ones you want might be overlooked.
This time we’re going to go into depth on the Copyright page…the only page that traditionally starts on the verso side of a sheet. (That is, on the left side, an even numbered page.) This post is a ‘tool’ listing things you don’t want to forget.
What is Required
The only thing that is actually required on the copyright page is the copyright notice itself in its basic form:
- The word ‘copyright’ or the ‘©’ symbol
- The year the work was first copyrighted
- The author’s name
You can get the ‘©’ symbol by typing a ‘c’ in parens…or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl‑Alt‑c. The copyright year is when you completed the ms and it appeared in ‘fixed form’. (We’ll go into that in a bit.) The author’s name is the same as the name on the by-line as recorded in any listing of books. It does not have to be the same as your legal name…if you’re using a pseudonym, then that goes here. Your agent and publisher will know to make the checks out to your legal name.
Let’s deal with that ‘fixed form’ requirement now. In 1886, representatives from almost 200 countries got together in Berne, Switzerland, and established an international agreement on copyrights. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works declared that a creative work is automatically protected as soon as it is written or recorded on some physical medium. That means, just thinking about your story isn’t enough, nor is writing an outline or a few chapters, but printing it out the whole thing so you can hold it in your hot little hands is quite enough. These days, even saving it onto a hard drive might be enough.
Although there is no need to ‘register’ your copyright to have it be valid, recent court decisions have suggested that it is in your best interest to do so. Without registration, you may be limited to actual damages and lost profits, whereas with a registered work, you could receive statutory damages and attorney’s fees as well.
Optional Items
Other items are traditionally included on the copyright page, and you should consider including them…to look more professional.
- ISBN
The International Standard Book Number identifies each version or edition of your book. Listing the ISBNs for your print book, ebook, audio book, etc. is a good way to spread the news.
- Rights and permissions
A standard paragraph that claims all rights to copy the content of the book is important. You should specifically mention certain permissions. It can be as simple as “All rights reserved” or as involved as:
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact Author@AuthorSite.com or Publisher@PubSite.com
You can look through any books on your shelf to see the other various ways it can be written.
- Disclaimer
In case your story seems to be written about some real people, you might want to distance yourself from any such claim by including a disclaimer. Here’s an example:
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, or conversations is entirely coincidental.
If you’re writing non-fiction or memoir, you could include something along the lines of:
Although based on reality, some of the names have been changed and descriptions altered to protect the identities of persons involved.
Note: We do not offer legal advice here, so if you are uncertain as to the legality of your work, please seek the advice of a licensed Intellectual Property attorney.
Additional Items
- Design, production, editing, illustration credits
You should use the Acknowledgements page to give thanks to certain folks for helping to create your book, but here you should give official mention of those who have made your book possible.
- Publisher’s address
Your publisher may insist on this, along with a logo. He deserves mention for all the work he does to get your work before the eyes of the world.
- Trademark notices
If you’ve used any trademarked names you should identify their ownership, but consider if they are really needed: Product Placement.
- Edition information
Especially useful for non-fiction is to indicate which Edition this printing is. All you need is “First Edition” or “Second Edition” etc.
- Country in which the book was printed
Some readers are concerned where their goods are coming from, so you’d include this info to ease their minds.
- Environmental notices
Mentioning that the paper has been certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program, or that the ink is organically based, are nods to the environmental awareness of the author and printer.
- Ordering information
Along with listing other version of the book under the ISBN section, you can include references to sites where this or other books by the author can be found.
- Author website
Definitely included on the About the Author page, you can additionally list contact info for the author here.
Include the ones you want and feel are necessary for your book, but don’t try to be everything to everyone.