A question for writers

[PredatorSmile]

Hello, guys. Are there some authors in here ? Of course there are ! I recently wrote a collection of short stories and sent them to be registered at the U.S. Copyright Office. I’ve done this before, and thought the general fee to register a Literary work was $ 30 but it recently changed to $ 45, and I did not know.


Since my collection of short stories was rather large, I had to break it off into several different anthologies. Basically, three books. I sent them with a money order for $ 30. Now, the fee has changed. What’s going to happen to my works ?


Should I mail the difference to the copyright office ? Write them to explain the situation and wait for instructions ?


What should I do ?

 

[CharleyH]

Hello, guys. Are there some authors in here ? Of course there are ! I recently wrote a collection of short stories and sent them to be registered at the U.S. Copyright Office. I’ve done this before, and thought the general fee to register a Literary work was $ 30 but it recently changed to $ 45, and I did not know.


Since my collection of short stories was rather large, I had to break it off into several different anthologies. Basically, three books. I sent them with a money order for $ 30. Now, the fee has changed. What’s going to happen to my works ?


Should I mail the difference to the copyright office ? Write them to explain the situation and wait for instructions ?


What should I do ?

Sending anything to the US Registry means squat, really. Sell them, dammit! SELL THEM STORIES!

 

[PredatorSmile]

Sending anything to the US Registry means squat, really. Sell them, dammit! SELL THEM STORIES!

Yeah, but I'd like to know that my works are registered and copyrighted and that some random thief can't just steal them and claim them for himself or herself. Got it ?

 

[CharleyH]

Yeah, but I'd like to know that my works are registered and copyrighted and that some random thief can't just steal them and claim them for himself or herself. Got it ?

The US registry gets you copywrite in your country. If a person abuses your story in Amsterdam? The court case goes there. Can you afford such a court case? They are usually upward of a million? May as well keep a copy of your story and register mail one to yourself and others for a date rather than US register. Its the same difference - copywrite and intellectual property laws are sloppy and grey areas ... : )

 

[Oblimo]

What should I do?

Get a copy of Writers Market and submit like a fiend.

Copyrights are not like patents; you don't need to register them. Your copyright in your work already exists.

 

[kane_new]

Hello, guys. Are there some authors in here ? Of course there are ! I recently wrote a collection of short stories and sent them to be registered at the U.S. Copyright Office. I’ve done this before, and thought the general fee to register a Literary work was $ 30 but it recently changed to $ 45, and I did not know.


Since my collection of short stories was rather large, I had to break it off into several different anthologies. Basically, three books. I sent them with a money order for $ 30. Now, the fee has changed. What’s going to happen to my works ?


Should I mail the difference to the copyright office ? Write them to explain the situation and wait for instructions ?


What should I do ?

Copyrighting your stories really isn't something you need to do. When you write something you are automatically the copyright holder. What you should do is register it with the writer's guild. http://www.wga.org/subpage_register.aspx?id=1183 It's $20 for five years and they keep your manuscript on file. That way if there is ever any question as to your ownership of the story you have the date that the manuscript was registered as legal proof.

 

[gargouille]

Yes, the fee went up recently for some work. http://www.sfwa.org/beware/copyright.html

 

[Seattle Zack]

Don't pay a fee to "copyright" your stories, they're automatically copyrighted (as soon as you write them, technically, but as soon as you make them available for public viewing, for all intents and purposes). The advice above is good, though, just sell them. What are you waiting for?

What exactly are you afraid of? If you post a story it will be stolen and instantly marketed and then you'd be out millions of dollars? Go after 'em. Search for sentences from your work at Google, and let Laurel know about anyone ripping off your work.

Friend of mine at a local writing site I belong to just went through this (but it wasn't for millions, more like five hundred). Another writer had stolen his story and it was published in an anthology. He sued, and proved his case by producing an archive of his own website where he had published a rough draft of his story.

So, maybe that's kind of a quandry, but don't send money to someone that promises a seal of approval and a secret decoder ring. Post it to a site (like Lit, perhaps) where it may be ripped off but you can verify your copyright.