Self-Publishing #2 - The Process & Copyrights

I think the process starts with the story. When I was writing for Victory Tales Press, they wanted shorter stories, about 10-20,000 words to put in a holiday themed anthology, be it paranormal, Christmas, or spring/summer. 

 

One of my first stories for them was “Christmas in Bayeux.”  The story was to be stimulating, or sexually charged.

 

When it comes to writing the majority of my stories, setting is very important to me. I shoot for international settings (inspired by my time spent in Europe when I was in the Army) or New England where I grew up. Sometimes I write about places that have left a marked impression on me, such as California wine county.

 

Once I have my story, I flesh out my characters, my conflict, the romance, and then target the heat level to what I want for the story, be it sweet, sensual, steamy, or spicy. With Christmas in Bayeux,  I was shooting for steamy.  A big part of my writing is researching as well. I flesh out a plot and start to writing. The whole creative process is invigorating!

 

When I first wrote “Christmas in Bayeux,” was about 10-12,000 words and was published in 2010. When I got the revision of rights in 2018, I decided to do a content edit, flesh it out, and develop the characters more. It took me about 2 years to do that content edit. The story was now about 40,000 words long, novella size.  I pretty much self-edit along the way, so my editing was done shortly after the content edit. 

 

After I was satisfied with the edit, my beta reader read the story and offered suggestions.  My beta reader typically reads for spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but also looks at other story elements as well. Beta reading takes time, and I don’t rush her. She’s done when she’s done.  That’s where patience comes in. 

 

However, this is a good time to go about securing your Copyright. 

 

A copyright is a legal way to protect your intellectual property. Legally, a book you created is your intellectual property and you want to protect it. 

 

From Copyright.gov:  Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression.

 

Again, from Copyright.gov:  Copyright exists automatically in an original work of authorship once it is fixed, but a copyright owner can take steps to enhance the protections. The most important step is registering the work. Registering a work is not mandatory, but for U.S. works, registration (or refusal) is necessary to enforce the exclusive rights of copyright through litigation. 

 

If you ever need to take someone to court for a violation of copyright, having registered your copyright is the best way to prove you have the copyright. 

 

How to go about doing that? 

 

You can start here to register for your copyright:  https://www.copyright.gov/registration/

 

Last year, when I registered some of my stories the cost was about $65.00. You can register for the copyright yourself. You don’t need a lawyer to do it. 

 

While a copyright registration isn’t a MUST, it’s a good to do it to protect yourself in case someone else infringes on your copyright. 

Here is the video I did for the original Christmas in Bayeux

Buy Christmas in Bayeux

 

 

 

Copyright Your Work

The Pros, The Cons, The Ugly

What is a copyright? In a nutshell, it's where you register your written work with the Library of Congress (Washington DC). You can also register any film, vocal work, and music with them.

Many authors ask "Do I have to register a copyright?" "Aren't I protected without having to register?"

Technically, you have the copyright as soon as you write down the word. It's your intellectual property. You can still publish a short story, novella, and novel without having to register a copyright.

So what's the benefit of registering a copyright? It's absolute proof you own the copyright in a court of law. And that's the best protection you could have.

Just recently I heard about the following scenario: An author used the KDP Select Program on Amazon to promote their book. A pirate site came along, pirated the work and attempted to pass it off as their own. They approached Amazon and asked them to take down the work. Amazon contacted the original author and told them they had to prove they had the true copyright. What's an author to do? If you can prove you have registered your copyright, you've just foiled the pirates and kept your work in good standing.

The Pros:

By registering your written work with the Library of Congress you have absolute legal proof of the copyright that will hold up in a court of law.

The Cons:
It's time consuming, costs money, and is a pain the butt. Why put up the hassle?

Let me stress: it is up to you as the author to decide if you want to register your copyright with the Library of Congress. Do your homework. You know your own situation. Remember your work is copyrighted the minute you put it on paper. You're just registering it – offering legal proof to others that the work is yours.

Recently, I decided to register some work with the Library of Congress. There are 3 options:

1. Paper
2. CO form
3. Electronically


Being kind of Internet savvy, I decided to register electronically. The benefits? It costs only $35.00, easily paid with a credit card, and it will take 3 months to receive a paper copy of proof in the mail. I went for it. Guess what? The electronic filing system is picky. It's best supported by using Internet Explorer. I have Safari. One day it worked, the other, it didn't. If you're a Safari user, be aware it's not the most compatible system and it might work one day and not the next.

You have to register for an account which is free. There are 3 steps, the form, the payment, and then uploading your work.

Take your time filling out the form. Don't rush. If its your first time, give yourself about 20 minutes. Once you're done, then you're directed to pay. This part is easy and goes quickly. You should be redirected back to the copyright area where you are prompted to upload a copy of your work. Fini.

The Ugly

Using the CO form is similar. You fill out the form on your computer (downloaded from the copyright site), sign it, send it off with your payment of $50.00 and copies of your work to the Library of Congress. Turn around time is 6 months.

The TX form is nasty. Download it from the website, fill it out, enclose hardcopies of your work (1 if unpublished, 2 if published) and $65.00. Turn around time is 10 months.

See the benefits of filing electronically?

Does anyone want to share their copyright experiences? Pros? Cons? Ugly? Why do you do it? Or why not? I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, & feedback.

Smiles
Steph