I made a BIG mistake . . .

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johnjohn

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I'm a first time author (non-fiction) and I went through the whole process backwards. I wrote the manuscript first and now I'm looking for an agent.

This wasn't the mistake I made, though. In an effort to make sure I have all my facts right, I printed up 20 to 30 books and sent them to people to review. One of my books might have landed into the hands of a competitor, and now I'm wondering what can I do to make sure my work is copyrighted and protected? I've spent three years on this book and the last thing I want is someone stealing it. Unlikely? Yes. Possible? Absolutely.
 

Soccer Mom

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Honey, if there are 30 copies of your ms out there and everyone knows it was written by you, how on earth could it be stolen? It's not like competitor can try to pass it off as his.

Deep breath.


Oh, and :welcome:
 

underthecity

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You shouldn't have a whole lot to worry about. Your work is copyrighted the moment you typed the words. Copyright protection isn't necessary for yourself. If your competitor does indeed steal your work, then you'll have to get a lawyer and take him to court. In court you can prove with your computer records and whatever printer you used to print your books that you wrote the book first. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Now, regarding the first issue you raised. There is nothing wrong with writing the book first then seeking a publisher. It's kind of how I did my first book (see my avatar). Once you find your agent or publisher, there might be an issue regarding the 20 to 30 pre-printed copies of your book floating around out there. You'll have to notify the agent because it's possible he could accidentally come across one of those copies somehow and wonder what the hell it is.

Regarding agents, though, check out agentquery for tons of information.

Good luck,

allen
 

maestrowork

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If you have worked on this for three years and have 30 copies floating around out there, chances are you have a big long trail to prove you're the rightful author of this work, just in case someone does decide to steal it. But the chance is rather slim. Oh, and what Allen said.
 

Pamster

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Welcome to AW johnjohn, I agree with the others I don't think you have anything to worry about. I would go to agent query and start thinking about which agents to send queries out to on this book. Good luck! :D
 

Novelhistorian

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I completed both my nonfiction books before I sold them. I'm glad I did, too, because I'm no good at writing outline/proposals, and knowing what was in each chapter made it much easier to write, without having to guess.

I agree with the other posters. You've got no worries about copyright, though you may have a little explaining to do about the self-published copies. Good luck.
 

Hillary

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I think the "Don't worry!" bases have been covered... So I'll offer a smile and a "Welcome aboard, John." :)
 

johnjohn

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Thank you for the warm welcome . . . and the "No worries." This forum is one of the best I've found on the web. I've been using it for the past few months to help me find agents and build my proposal.

About the copyright problem, I understand that:
  • The 20 or 30 people sent the book to can testify for me in the case that something happens, but how do they know I didn't take the work from somewhere else?
  • The chances of anything happening are slim
  • I have proof of my work and research over the past three years
  • My work is technically copyrighted as soon as I write it

What I'm looking for, however, is solid proof. It will make life easier in case something ever does happen, and it will also help me sleep at night ;) So if anyone has any suggestions (besides not to worry), I'd appreciate them! If you know of a place I can submit my work to be copyrighted (with a stamp or approval), that would be great.

About the agent hunt: I've been searching for over a month now. I've queried roughly 20 agents and have had no bites thus far. That's the main reason I started to worry, as I was sure it wouldn't take this long. As a side note, I'm thinking my query might not be solid enough.
 
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benbradley

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You can get your work "offiicially" REGISTERED (as you say, it is "technically" copyrighted as soon as you write it - but it is REALLY copyrighted as soon as you write it! Read the copyright.gov site) by sending it (not sure if a printed copy is needed, or a CD-R with the file would be okay - and I think they demand TWO copies - read the site) to the US Copyright Office with $45. Details are at http://copyright.gov. Read through a bunch of that site, it has good info.

But (from other threads I've read on copyright in AW threads) this is generally NOT done by the author, it's only done by the publisher once they decide it is to be published (and they wait until the final book is published and printed - there are things such as Uncorrected Proofs or Advance Reading Copies but sending those would only register the copyright to the UP's/ARC's, not the final book which is bound to have a few corrections).

It's my strong understanding (again, from other threads here) that unpublished books don't get stolen (why would they? They don't have a track record, and the person who steals it still needs to get an agent or publisher interested in it), it's the PUBLISHED books that people think of as valuable enough to steal (See the plagiarism train wreck thread).
 

johnjohn

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ben:

Thank you for the link! That's exactly what I was looking for.
 

wee

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I'm a first time author (non-fiction) and I went through the whole process backwards. I wrote the manuscript first and now I'm looking for an agent.

Uhhh.... tongue-in-cheek, right? This is the correct order. :D Trying to publish a book that hasn't been written yet is generally considered a publishing faux pas.

This wasn't the mistake I made, though. In an effort to make sure I have all my facts right, I printed up 20 to 30 books and sent them to people to review. One of my books might have landed into the hands of a competitor, and now I'm wondering what can I do to make sure my work is copyrighted and protected? I've spent three years on this book and the last thing I want is someone stealing it. Unlikely? Yes. Possible? Absolutely.

If your 'competitor' is that 'toopid, to try something like that, it will probably take little more than a call from a competent attorney to make him give up. I'm just guessing. If he is a true writing 'competitor' then he won't want anything to do with your manuscript -- he will have his own he's trying to get published. Everyone on here could leave manuscripts at my front door as free gifts and I would thrust my fist in the air & yell, "Bah! I'm writing my own book!"

Maybe fewer copies next time? Because someone is apparently not too trustworthy.


wee
 
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