Here is the thing about copyright… as soon as you write something it is copyrighted.
BAM done. Conversation over.
Unless you need to prove you wrote that work. Huh. Hmm. Or Amazon comes to you and says ‘Hey, are you the owner of this work and also prove that you are.’ And I was like I wrote it didn’t I? What the actual hell Amazon? But how many people steal books and put them up as their own to make a buck? A lot more than there used to be. And when you do not go through Amazon as your publisher they want to verify you own that work. I get it. I don’t want my work stolen. So yeah I want to prove it is mine and I want others to prove theirs is theirs… just in case it isn’t. But at this time they do not require hard ass evidence. I just find the copyright is damn easier than pissing around proving my work is mine in other ways with them.
So I register my copyright. And it seems excessive and unnecessary. And I never used to do it. Because i knew written words were cover by copyright once they were put on paper anyway. So why bother? But I do bother now as a self-published author, yeah.
But registering a copyright:
- Puts it into public record you are the author
- You get a certificate of registration
- If there ever is a dispute your evidence is your copyright and its date and so forth if someone should claim your book as their own or profit from your book without your permission
Mailing it to yourself does not provide this protection… but I considered it. But companies like Amazon wouldn’t take That as proof. Yeah, I mailed it to myself in 2016 and here is a picture of that envelope… so, yeah, I own it.
So I do it but I’m paranoid and I don’t know what sort of evidence I will need in the future with self-publishing to show that this was indeed my work. So I do it now, just in case I need it. Maybe unnecessary but no harm no foul, eh?
So Yay? Or Nay?
Do I Need to Copyright My Book Before Publishing on Kindle?
While copyright notices don’t cost much money, some people might find it hard to part with $35. If you really are on a shoestring budget, then you might want to forego the copyright notice. Another thing to consider is the investment. The common Amazon book only makes about $100 to $200 without any major marketing. If you aren’t willing to push your book towards the top, then putting this money into it will cut your profit by about 15-30%.
https://amyharrop.com
So there are pros and cons to it really. I am overly paranoid, yes, so maybe I do not need to and my profit line is slim to nill, true, so there is That fact. But every day I improve my marketing skills and write more and more books. Worth it? Maybe not. But I do it.
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