People often ask me how to write your copyright page and if it is even necessary. The short answer is that it isn’t strictly necessary as your book is automatically copyrighted the minute you create it.
So should we write a copyright page or not? And if so, how do we write our copyright page? Let’s break this down.
I would like to add at this point that anything I say should not be taken as professional legal advice. I am not legally trained, and I am advising you from my personal experience. If you are unsure about anything, my recommendation is to seek professional legal advice.
What is a copyright page for?
Your book is still copyrighted whether you have a copyright page or not. If that is so, do we really need a copyright page? My personal view is that a copyright page makes your book look more professional and discourages plagiarism. It lets people know that your book is not in the public domain.
Do you need a copyright page?
If somebody does copy your book, you can report it to Amazon whether you have a copyright page or not. Having a copyright page makes it more difficult for the copycat to claim that ‘they didn’t know’ that the book was copyrighted.
I feel that a book with a copyright page looks more professional and more complete. It’s an extra layer of protection for your book.
Should we register our copyright officially?
Every country will have their own copyright registry office and the process will take time and cost money. It provides an extra layer of protection but in my opinion it isn’t necessary. The only time you will use your legal copyright registry protection is if you are taking somebody to court. For me that is not really something I am expecting to do, especially as Amazon has a good system for dealing with copyright infringement. However, this is completely up to you and you will have to base your decision on your own expectations and situation.
Where should you place your copyright page?
Your copyright page or notice should go on the back of your title page. Look at any book on your bookshelf: you have the cover and the back of the cover, and then you should have a title page. Your copyright notice should be placed at the back of this title page.
However, I have seen books where this varies but in general the copyright page is on a left page of a book.
What information does a copyright page include?
This is a list of items that a copyright page may include, but it is not necessary to have all of them. It really depends on the type of book that you are creating, whether you use an illustrator or anybody else you want to credit, any disclaimers would also be option. Depending on where you are located, this could also vary as there are different requirements in different countries. This is a guide of what you could include:
- Copyright notice
- All rights reserved notice
- ISBN
- Disclaimers
- Permissions notice
- Credits
- Print Edition
- Ordering information (address)
- Author website
- Printing details
- Trademarks
- Publisher information
Examples of copyright notices (templates) that you can use:
The simplest would be a copyright notice followed by an all rights reserved notice:
©2022 [author or pen name]. All rights reserved.
Simple copyright page (I recommend this one for simple low content books using Amazon’s free ISBN):
Copyright © [Year of first publication] {Author or pen name]
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the copyright owner of this book.
More detailed copyright page (I recommend this one if you use your own ISBN and not Amazon’s):
[Book Title: Subtitle] by [author or pen name]
Published by [your name or company name]
[Your company address]
[Your author website]
Copyright © [Year of first publication] {Author or pen name]
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the copyright owner of this book.
For permissions contact: [your contact email address]
Cover by [book cover designer]
[any other credits you want to give like illustrator, co-writer, editor, etc.]
ISBN: [Print ISBN]
Technically, only the copyright notice and the rights reserved notice are required, but the other details may help your readers get more information about you as an author.
There are other elements you could add to your copyright page but for our purposes, as self-publishers of low content books, this is sufficient.
Ps. Have you joined the Facebook group? I’ve created a space for us to talk about producing low content books, as well as creating multiple income streams from home. Everybody is welcome, so if you are looking to create likeminded connections with some truly lovely people, ask questions and share your thoughts, head over and join us there.
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Very helpful, Nuria. The more higher content the book, the best I am guessing to put more information regarding copyright goes.
Thank you Luisa, yes I would say so.
Thanks so much for making work easy and not causing reinventions.
Thank you! Super useful!