Let's Talk Legal - Copyright

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If you’re self-publishing, your book absolutely needs a copyright page. This is one of those small details that signals “this is a real book,” not a rough draft.

👉 What a copyright page does:

Establishes legal ownership of your work
Tells readers how the content can (or can’t) be used
Protects you if someone copies or republishes your content
Makes your book look professional and complete

The good news? You don’t need to write this from scratch.

🛠️ Formatting Tools Make This Easy

If you’re using a formatting tool like Atticus- this is the one that I used for text-heavy books, but they do have built-in copyright page templates.

💥 Atticus includes built-in copyright page templates that:

Auto-populate standard copyright language
Let you quickly add your author name, pen name, or publisher name
Keep everything formatted correctly for Amazon KDP

In most cases, you just select the copyright page, fill in a few fields, and move on.

No guesswork. No Googling random templates.

❓ Do You Need to Buy a Copyright?

Short answer: No, not to publish your book.

In the U.S. (and many other countries), copyright is automatic the moment you create original work and put it in tangible form (like a manuscript).

That said, there is an optional extra step.

🔐 When You Might Want to Register Your Copyright

You can officially register your copyright through the U.S. Copyright Office. This is optional, but some authors choose to do it because:

It gives you stronger legal protection if someone steals your content
It allows you to seek statutory damages in court

If you want to do this, you can get started at copyright.gov.

Most authors publish first and only register later if their book gains traction or contains high-value content.

✅ Bottom Line

Your book needs a copyright page
You do not need to purchase a copyright to publish
Tools like Atticus already include templates so you don’t have to think about formatting
Official registration is optional, not required

This is one of those “set it once and move on” steps—don’t let it slow you down.

📘 Keep building. Keep publishing.

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