If you’re going to self-publish your book, you’ll have to take care of copyright registration. But first, some details.
The purpose of copyright is to make sure no one else uses your writing and passes it off as theirs without paying or compensating you. This is something self publishers are very concerned about.
Here’s something you should know. Copyright of your self-published book does not apply to the ideas in your book, but only the expression of those ideas. You can’t copyright an idea. They’re free for everyone to use. (They’re worth even less than a dime a dozen.) It’s the expression of that idea that is truly yours.
If I write a book telling people how to build a picnic table, you can take that information and do exactly the same thing. What you can’t do is use the same words I used to convey that information.
In other words, for your self-published book, take an idea, any idea, and put it in your own words, and you haven’t broken any copyright laws.
Next, you don’t have to do anything for copyright to exist for your self-published book. The moment you’ve finished writing your book’s first draft, your copyright exists. Technically, and legally, nothing needs to be done.
Practically, howevever, if you’re ever in a court situation, you’ve got to be able to prove when you finished that draft. The best way of doing that (forget about mailing yourself a copy of your manuscript) is the Library of Congress. They have all the forms and the storage facilities to help you ‘register’ your copyright. The cost is nominal, and the peace of mind is well worth it.
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