This question gets asked by readers a lot here at Indies Unlimited: How can I protect my manuscript from being taken by someone I let read it? And as common as the question is, it’s an easy answer: you can’t.
That’s not the answer most people want to hear, but Indies Unlimited is an “Alternative Facts Free Zone,” so only the truth appears here. And the truth is, you really can’t stop someone from doing unauthorized things with a document you give them.
The good news is that most people don’t do untoward things with your document. Most people do what was asked: read your manuscript and then either provide you feedback or write a review. However, occasionally, an unscrupulous person may share your book. Like I said, there’s really no way to stop someone who wants to do wrong with your file, if they have it.
While you can’t guarantee anything, there are some things that people do to try to prevent readers from sharing their work, taking credit for their work, or uploading it to pirated book sites. Here are a few:
Vett Readers. If you’re going to give someone a manuscript to read, you should somewhat trust them. If the person approached you in a weird way and asked for your book, or something just seems off in the course of your conversations/online interactions, don’t give them your book. Trust your gut. Tell them you’ve given out all the available review or beta copies, and don’t send them your stuff. People tend to be more particular with beta readers (who read drafts that could go through major revisions based on the feedback) than they are with ARC (advance review copy) readers. With beta readers, if possible, go with people you’ve met before and have a good feel for (members of your writers group, for example). The longer you write, the more readers you will find, so, if you find loyal readers, tap them for ARCs and beta reads.
Watermarks. This does not actually keep a person from sharing your document. It’s effectiveness is in its deterrence power. You can read more about digital watermarking here, but the core concept is a security watermark is an electronic way to mark a document so that if it’s copied, you know whose version was copied. If you were to use a different security watermark on each ARC you sent out, and you found your ARC on a pirated book site, you could figure out who shared your ARC. The deterrent effect works because the potential sharer, once told your book has a digital watermark, will know that they will be caught if they share the file. And no one wants to be caught, right? Well, we can hope that’s right. But, some people may not care, may not believe you, or may be tech savvy enough to remove the watermark. The other problem with digital security watermarks is that the software to add them to your document is expensive (several hundred dollars). If you simply want to add the visual watermark, you can do that easily via Microsoft Word. A standard watermark will remind readers you don’t want the document copied or shared and might deter some who would have been careless.
A reminder/form. Most authors, when they send ARC or beta copies, include very simple instructions in the email. They say something to the effect of “I appreciate you reading this. Please, do not share this document.” They’ll also put the copyright symbol on the pages, just as another reminder to readers that this is someone’s work and it shouldn’t be shared. Some authors ask readers to fill out a form before receiving manuscript. The form (which you could create via Google Docs), uses similar language to the email but asks the reader to check a box that says something like, “Please acknowledge that you will not share this document with others.” This is not a legal contract, but when people have to check something contract-like, they tend to take it more seriously.
Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Some people do require readers to sign nondisclosure agreements, where they promise not to share the documents or reproduce them. These are legal contracts, and if the person shared your document, you could sue them (but you’d have to prove it was them who shared it, which might be hard). Most people do not use NDAs for manuscripts. It just takes a lot of time and effort to get these things signed and sent back and forth. Oddly enough, the only person who has ever asked me to sign an NDA is my little brother, and it was not for a book (it was for tech product). And even then, I found it to be a lot of drama. It just confirmed my previous opinion that little brothers are total pains.
Copyright Pre-registration. This is the least recommended method, as it’s expensive, and unnecessary in most cases. In order to protect themselves against plagiarism, many authors register a copyright with their nation’s copyright office. In the United States, a copyright is only available after the work is published. However, the US Copyright office does offer something called pre-registration. The purpose is to “allow an infringement action to be brought before the authorized commercial distribution of a work and full registration.” It was designed for works that were expected to be possibly infringed upon prior to their release (any book in the Harry Potter series after book one, or the newest Avengers film). The US Copyright office does not recommend pre-registering your work. They say, “for the vast majority of works, pre-registration is not useful.” It is also expensive at $140 (four times the $35 cost to register a single work by a single author). Even if you pre-register, you still have to register (and pay the registration fee) once the work is published. And, of course, neither registering, nor pre-registering, prevents a person from copying your work. It just gives you the option of legal recourse.
Those are some of the main options people employ when they’re worried their work might be taken. While this is a concern some authors have, cases of pre-published work plagiarism is rare. So rare that I’d recommend you not to lose sleep over it.
Adobe Acrobat lets you add a watermark and also encrypt the document, which prevents copy/paste of the text.
That’s useful to know. Thanks, Richard.
I’ve always read – and I researched this too – is that you own the work as soon as it’s created whether it is copyrighted or not. Also, if it created on a computer, there are markers with each document – Created On dates that verify the date you wrote it. So either way, you’re pretty safe.
RB Frank, you are correct in that you have a copyright to the work the moment you put it in tangible form (ie write it down). However nice that may be, you cannot sue for copyright infringement unless you have registered a copyright with the United States Copyright office. If someone else were to register work you created, they would be presumed to be the owner of the work, and you’d have to prove they lied on the forms (which would land them in jail, if proven, because lying to the federal government is a pretty serious crime).
Now, you might be able to sue for other things (unjust enrichment, perhaps?), but the only way to sue someone for copyright infringement is to have a registered copyright. And I’m talking for the US only. Copyright laws vary by country. If you’d like to know more about US Copyright law, check the government’s copyright FAQ section: https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html. This section notes that you can’t sue for infringement without a registered copyright.
This topic is rather like worrying about being struck by lightning. Yes, the danger is there, and no, there’s not much you can do about it besides stay off hilltops and out from under trees during a storm. Thanks for some of the options which at least make us feel better about it. 🙂
(I’m all for aluminum foil in my crash helmet, but to each his or her own.)
LOL. That struck by lightning analogy is so hilarious to me, because when I was a reporter in Kansas City, I had to cover a seminar on the real and present dangers of getting struck by lightning. I kid you not. I was shocked to discover all the ways I could be struck by lightning, even though the odds are pretty slim. So, there are always people out there looking out for problems that aren’t likely to happen.
But, the cool thing is, once you hear the facts, you can choose what to do. Ignore all the tips, ignore some of the tips, or take to heart the ones that most jibed for you. I mean, does one really need to shower during a thunder storm?
In my opinion, I suggest everyone should take the time to read the copyright office publications very carefully one evening without pulling your hair out.
I always register my final manuscript with the US Copyright Office just prior to self-publication or submission. I use the Standard e-Copyright online submission form with the $55.00 fee. This standard fee covers the title and entire manuscript text submission and not just the title.
Images are considered a collection and registered separately from the text, also for $55.00.
Doing it this way protects All your rights.
Even though it takes 6 to 8 months for processing, your work is fully registered at time of registration as soon as you pay on line and upload your file. They send you a nice email telling you this.
If you do not register your work, prior to publication, then you can only claim losses from others from the day you register, and cannot make claims prior to that date, and your claims are reduced as to what you can collect.
Check the pre-registration section carefully in the US Copyright office bulletin about it, I believe, it is intended for works with multiple authors and/or work of hires, like tv shows or serial compilations being registered under one name.
I hope this helps.
Allen, I completely agree with you on registering a copyright. If you’re doing a single work by a single author, then you can pay the $35 registration fee, so it’s a little cheaper if it’s just one author, one work (which is what I typically do). And yes, the timeline isn’t bothersome. I just got my copyright certificate last weekend for a work I registered in September 2017. But, the copyright was valid as of registration. Thankfully, no one has copied the work (phew!)
Pre-registration was intended for works that are high-commodity items (like the next James Patterson book) that can get leaked in advance of publication. Generally, the copyright office does not recommend doing a pre-registration unless you’ve got some real concern that copies are floating around and might get infringed upon prior to the work’s publication.
Gosh, I have never worried about that before….If I was a bestseller, I would and I hope someday to have that problem. I have often thought about posting an unpublished work chapter by chapter on WordPress, but I am not sure that is a good idea now. What do you think R J?
Many people post their chapter by chapter work on their blogs or on Wattpad (which IU has written about before). Like I said, generally thieves only want to steal work they are certain will do well, so they tend to go for books that are out and have sold well in the past or books from big name authors. I wouldn’t get overly concerned about posting a few chapters of an unpublished novel. I’d hesitate about posting the whole thing. However, if you want to tease your readers with a preview, that’s a good idea. Lots of people do it.
Thanks for sharing your information on this subject, R.J. I appreciate it. 🙂 — Suzanne