One of the most common questions I get from new self-publishers is, “What do I put on the copyright page?” For some reason, the copyright page has the power to intimidate some people, with its small print and legalistic language, not to mention all those mysterious numbers.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a few necessary items on the copyright page, and others that publishers add for various reasons. I’ve treated the copyright page in some detail in other posts, so if you want background please check here: Self-Publishing Basics: The Copyright Page. In a guest post, Joanne Bolton supplied some useful information for books that are printed overseas, and you can find her post here: Copyright Page Requirements for Books Printed Overseas.
To see the place of the copyright page within the book as a whole, check out An Unabridged List of the Parts of a Book.
The only elements required on a copyright page are the copyright notice itself:
© 2009 Joel Friedlander
And some statement giving notice that the rights to reproduce the work are reserved to the copyright holder.
All Rights Reserved.
Next you’ll see two versions of the copyright page, one long page with a CIP data block and a short version. Feel free to copy and paste these into your book file. Just remember to put your own information in.
Sample of a Long Copyright Page with CIP Data Block
Here’s an example of a copyright page that has the necessary elements, then adds ordering information, web address, CIP Data block (I’ve put this in blue so you can identify what is included; replace this with your own or delete it if you’re not obtaining CIP), edition information, and printing numbers (the string at the bottom) and dates for future editions.
Copyright © 2010 by Bill Shakespeare
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Imaginary Press
1233 Pennsylvania Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94909
www.imaginarypress.comOrdering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.
Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Big Distribution: Tel: (800) 800-8000; Fax: (800) 800-8001 or visit www.bigbooks.com.Printed in the United States of America
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Shakespeare, William.
A title of a book : a subtitle of the same book / Bill Shakespeare ; with Ben Johnson.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-9000000-0-0
1. The main category of the book —History —Other category. 2. Another subject category —From one perspective. 3. More categories —And their modifiers. I. Johnson, Ben. II. Title.
HF0000.A0 A00 2010
299.000 00–dc22 2010999999First Edition
14 13 12 11 10 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A Short Copyright Page Example
Here’s a very short and to the point copyright page. It gives the necessary elements and not much more:
Copyright © 2010 by Wily E. Coyote
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2010
ISBN 0-9000000-0-0
Falling Anvil Publishing
123 Mesa Street
Scottsdale, AZ 00000www.FallingAnvilBooks.com
This is the quick and easy way to get generic copyright page language into your book. Even with this short example, your copyright page will do the job it’s supposed to do, and give interested parties the means to contact you for publishing-related questions.
Next: Tomorrow we’ll cover using disclaimers and giving credit on the copyright page. Watch for it, and let me know if you have questions about the copyright page. I’ll see if I can answer them.
Want to know more about copyright? Need some sample copyright pages to drop into your book? Confused about the things you read online about copyright? Check out this 30-page easy-to-read guide. Click The Self-Publisher’s Quick & Easy Guide to Copyright for more info, or Buy Now as PDF or Kindle.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Joel
I’m in London, England and just wanted to say how great your site is, such clear and pertinent information. I’m a (mature) student at Uni (again) doing photography and took some bookbinding courses last year, so am making my own books (printing, content, assembly, etc) and will refer to your site for crucial information such as I’ve found already on copyright.
Many thanks!
Thanks, Peter. I know several people making books in the way you describe, and they turn out amazing products. Good luck with your project.
Hi, Joe!
Do I need to give my publishing company a website address? Or are the above examples from commercially published books?
Thanks,
K
Hi Kay,
You can include a website address if you like, it’s not mandatory. What’s important is that someone who wants to contact the publisher finds some method to do that, whether it’s web, email, postal.
I was wondering with the copyright page if you published a book and just wanted to do a small number like the self publishing sites; can you change publisher with out it affecting your copyrights
thanks
m
Thanks, quick clear info, no long talk. Not so easy to find elsewhere.
My children’s book was printed by another publisher in 1998. That company has gone out of business and I am bringing it out with both Spanish and English test and one changed illustration. How do I set up the copyright page so that it reflects the new edition. I assume that this is now a 1st edition—-but, is there reference to it being printed previously in English? Of course the ISBN and address will reflect the publishers being changed.
Thanks for this information Joel, I was a bit confused by what content I should include but you have made this really straight forward in your article. Thanks very much!!
Joel. I’ve written and published short stories for a number of years. In the end, most went into a book again, by Avon Books London. But just as the book came out, Avon Books tanked. My Book, Escapades and Islands has an ISBN, but the book never went out into bookshops.
Now, with these same stories, I’m going to try again, on Kindle. Can I re -use my original copyright, and still add new unpublished stories beside those that were already published ? I, all through, had copyright.
Sincerely, Colin L Beadon
Colin, you have copyright in everything you create, at the moment you create it. When you put your material into a book, you can register the copyright for the entire book with the Library of Congress (U.S.) or your own national registry. If you change the content of the book, you should register a new copyright.
Joel,
Thanks for all that.
Hello I had a question about this section of the copyright page “1. The main category of the book —History —Other category. 2. Another subject category —From one perspective. 3. More categories —And their modifiers. I. Johnson, Ben. II. Title.HF0000.A0 A00 2010
299.000 00–dc22 2010999999″ I was wondering how do you tell what the letters and number combination at the end referenced to.
L, all of that information is part of the CIP block, which most self-publishers don’t need. It’s primarily of interest to librarians. For more info, see this article:
CIP: What it means, how to read it and who should get it
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