Last month, in our first edition of Book Synthesis, we discussed the first few pages of the front matter of your book: the first blank page, the title page, and how to format both the front and back of these pages. This month we’re moving forward just a few pages and discussing the copyright page. Obviously, the copyright page is a must for your book to give it a traditional feel and to protect the author’s rights.
© How do you make that “C” in a circle? ©
We’ve all seen the copyright symbol in books before, but do you know how to make one? You should if you are self-publishing and completely formatting your manuscript yourself. Here are simple instructions on how to create the symbol for your copyright page:
On a mac: option (alt) + g = ©
On a pc: hold down the ALT key and then type 0169 on the ten key pad to the right (make sure your number lock is on) = ©
or hold down CTRL and ALT at the same time and then type C = ©
or depending on what version of Microsoft Word you are using, click on Insert, click on Symbols, and look for the © there.
Where does the copyright page go?
Most books place the copyright page on the back of the title page, whether that be the soft title page or full title page. Both are acceptable. Whichever you choose, the copyright page should always fall on the left side in your front matter. The copyright information should never be on the very first page as soon as you open the front cover. The information contained in the body of your copyright should be justified to the left or it can also be centered. Again, either is acceptable.
Depending on the length of your copyright information, the body usually starts half way down the page and ends right at the bottom of the page. If you examine textbooks or nonfiction-type books, you may find that the copyright fills up an entire page. Also, if you use a lot of quotes with special permission, these are often cited on the copyright page which can also make the body take up more of the page. Need a good example of this? Examine any book by Stephen King. He is notorious for quoting songs and they are always given credit on his copyright page.
No matter what, the copyright page of a fiction book should be limited to one page or half of one page. If you have too many quotes to cite, move these to the end matter of your book (more about that in a later post).
What information does a good copyright page contain?
For the sake of most books we review here at LLBR, without song quotes or other citations, I’m going to examine a very simple copyright. The first line of your copyright, again either justified to the left or centered half way down the page, contains the year and either your name or publishing company:
Copyright © 2010 by Shannon Yarbrough
There should be a single space after this line.
For the next line, you have several options. Most authors put the title of their book, or the name of the publisher. I’ve also seen people include the format of the book and what edition it is. I would probably not include the edition, unless this is NOT the first edition of the book. This is also a good place to put your ISBN. You can also incorporate all of this information into the second line if you want. Here’s an example of the second line incorporating all of these options:
Sitting Next to Nothing
Second Edition, Paperback – published 2009
ShanLian Wordlit Press
ISBN: 123456789
There should be one single space after this body of information. If your book had a previous edition with a copyright as well, cite it on the next line. For example:
Sitting Next to Nothing, 1st Edition Hardcover - Copyright © 2007 Shannon Yarbrough
If this is your first edition, you can disregard this line. I would also probably delete the “Second Edition, Paperback – published 2009″ line from above as well.
All rights reserved.
Your “all rights reserved” text should come next. What does this mean, you ask? For copyright purposes, it means you as the author (and publisher) hold all the rights to the book such as distribution, creation, marketing, etc. If you are completely and totally formatting your own book and not using the formatting services of a print on demand company, then it is perfectly okay to include an All Rights Reserved notification in your book. Most copyright laws in most countries no longer require such notices. In my opinion, it still gives your copyright page a professional feel. Here’s an example of how this text should be worded:
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
I’ve seen several versions of this statement, and for those who prefer something a little more simple, just the words “All Rights Reserved” will do. This is usually followed by “Printed in the United States of America.”
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
You can also break this into two lines if you prefer, with a space between.
The Countdown.
You may have seen a row of numbers on a copyright page as well, that look like this:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
If so, the smallest number to the right is what edition you have of this book. So if you see a 1, then it means this is a first edition. This system is usually used in textbooks, but it is completely acceptable in fiction books as well. The row of numbers should stand alone though.
Is this real life?
You’ve all read this before or something like it:
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All characters and events in this work are figments of the author’s imagination.
There are several ways to word this, and this statement is optional unless you are worried that someone might actually try to sue you for using their persona, even if you didn’t intend to. So, I’d probably included it just in case. Here’s the version I like which I use in my own books:
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
What else can I put on my copyright page?
I prefer to have nothing else on the copyright page, however, to save pages I have seen self-published authors (and some traditionally published books as well) put their acknowledgments and dedication at the top of the copyright page. If you do this, I suggest you put these in italics to create a distinction between them and the copyright information at the bottom of the page. For a good example of this, check out LK Gardner-Griffie’s copyright page of Nowhere Feels Like Home.
What should a copyright NOT contain?
For the most part, in books I review, the copyright page usually contains most of the information I’ve reviewed above. The one thing I see the most which should not be on your copyright page is the “stripped book” statement that says if you bought this book without a cover, then the author and publisher have not been paid. You usually find this statement on the copyright of mass market sized books. The reason is because if you pick up one of these books and open the front cover, you’ll notice a UPC bar code printed on the inside cover. Because of the small cost of these books, publishers usually allow bookstores to strip off and return just the cover of the book for credit. The rest of the book is intended to be discarded.
A self-published book is never printed in mass market, so while this statement may give your copyright page a traditional feel, it is actually a false statement in regards to a trade paper or hardcover copy of your book.
Quick Review:
- Your copyright page goes in the front matter, usually on the back of your title page on the left side. It should not be the first page in the book.
- Your copyright information should either all be centered or justified to the left and should start half way down the page. It should not cover more than one page.
- Your copyright page should contain the year, your name, and the publisher’s name.
- Your copyright page should contain the ISBN of your book.
- Your copyright page can contain citations of quotes used in the book, or these can be moved to the back matter of your book and cited there.
- Your copyright page should mention what edition this book is. You can spell it out or use the line of numbers.
- Your copyright page should list previous copyrights if your book has any.
- Your copyright page should contain an All Rights Reserved statement.
- Your copyright page should tell where the book is printed, although this is optional.
- Your copyright page should contain a “This Book is Fiction” statement if your book is fiction.
- Dedications and acknowledgments on a copyright page are okay as long as they are separate from the copyright information.
- Your copyright page should not contain a “stripped book” statement if your book is self-published.
My best advice for good examples of copyright pages, if you need them, is to go to your bookshelf or bookstore or library and examine the copyright page of several books. Take note of where they start on the page, what they have in common, and what is different. You can also use the “Search Inside” feature on Amazon.com to take a look at copyright pages of books as well.
Now, all of this information above is good and makes for a nice copyright page with a traditional feel, but when it comes down to actual copyright laws, the information you have on your copyright page can be minimal at best and still protect you. Here’s a (made up) example of a very simple copyright page which still contains all the pertinent information:
Copyright © 2010 by Shannon Yarbrough
Are You Sitting Down?
ShanLian Wordlit Press
ISBN: 123456789
First Edition
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the USA
This book is a work of fiction.
That’s it! As you can see, copyright pages can be complex if you want them to be and if you want to use the examples I’ve spelled out above, or they can actually be quite simple.
In next month’s Book Synthesis post, we’ll take a look at the Table of Contents, Acknowledgment, and Dedication Pages. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them to this article or email us. See you next month!
