editorial

Copyright Issues: What Most Authors Don't Know and Publishers Don't Tell Them

Irene Watson

Every year, when we put out a call for entries for our Literary Awards Program I get emails similar to the one I just got:

Each year I attempt to enter your contest, but I can't do so even though I have two books that have been published.  I want to enter my second book since the final edited version of my book was copyrighted and published on 2/18/10.  However, it doesn't say it on the book because I copyrighted the draft at the end of the year 2009.  I even have the final copyright documents from the U. S. Copyright office that I can send with the book to prove it.  It's just too much trouble to have my publisher update this information in my book, then wait to get the book redistributed with the information, and I'm unsure how much this will cost me just to enter one contest I may not win.  Why does your company make it so hard for poor, thriving authors who are just trying to get know?

My response to this author was:

It isn't our intent to make it hard for anyone.  We have to set guidelines and that's what we've set.  [Books must have 2010 copyright date. (Copyright date is on the copyright page of the printed book.) ] It's unfortunate your publisher didn't tell you to copyright the book for the following year.  Many traditional publishers copyright the books for the following year if the book is published during the last quarter of the year. They never copyright the book during the last quarter of the present year. In fact, we are already getting books for review that are copyrighted for 2011. [e.g. Words of a Journey.  This book was released in mid-August but has a copyright date of 2011.]

The author responded with:

I uploaded the unedited version electronically before I shopped my book to a publisher.  Are you saying that I can choose the year in which I want my book copyrighted when I electronically copyright my draft?   

The book was suppose to be released in 12/09.  But due to delays and the holidays, it didn't get released until 2010.  But my publisher still keep the 2009 date on the publisher's page and I didn't know that it was something I should have insisted be updated.

Yikes!  First of all, let's do some thinking. Aside from our strict rules that the book must be copyrighted in the current year, any book that is published/released with a copyright of 2009 in December of 2009, will automatically become "last year's book" on January 1st, 2010. Readers want "current" books and with a million titles published yearly they will seek out those that are new titles. 

The unfortunate part is that many authors don't even consider this as an issue. And, many publishers aren't aware either, especially when it comes to some vanity/subsidy publishers.  Their main thrust is to get the books published and suggesting things like this to authors is not in their radar field. Many are just printers disguised as publishers and don't have personal contact with the authors, and certainly not to advise them of things like changing the copyright date.  Others hire cheap off-shore staff that only answer questions with script. 

So, like the author mentioned above, many go on thinking they were doing the right thing and turning the blame on us, that set rules/guidelines, indicating we are unfair to new authors.  Maybe so, however, no one else can be responsible for the authors' lack of research but the authors themselves. Saying "I didn't know" doesn't fly in the age of the world wide web where we can find anything and everything searchable.

The publishers that are aware of copyright dating and work with the authors to get as much mileage for the books as possible don't even publish books in the last quarter of the year.  Any authors that want to capture the holiday season sales should have had their books published in August or by mid-September with a full-fledged marketing campaign in place and flowing by the end of September or earlier.  "Christmas in July" isn't just a term loosely used, it's reality - this is when the holiday season starts in the buying industry.

Bottom line:  If releasing your book in the last half or quarter of the year, copyright it for the following year.  Give your book the added advantage of it being a "new title" for an extra year.

Comments?  I'd like to hear from you here.

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