I was about to post an overlong response in a comment thread on Joel Friedlander's The Book Designer blog, but on reflection, realized what I was about to post wasn't a response, it was a blog entry in its own right. The article associated with the comment thread is about Library of Congress registration information, and the subject of ISBN ownership came up in the discussion going on beneath the article, in the comments. And here's what I have to say about ISBN ownership:
In the case of an individual author who only self-publishes his own manuscripts (as opposed to someone running an imprint, publishing works by other authors) what does it matter, really, who's the registered owner of the ISBN on a book? There's no legal or regulatory tie between ISBN ownership/registration and copyright or intellectual property rights. ISBN registration only designates ownership of the ISBN, not ownership of the content of the book to which the ISBN has been assigned.
I've used Createspace's free ISBNs on all of my self-published books to date, and while this technically makes Createspace the 'publisher of record' in the ISBN records, I still retain all rights to the published material and I still own the copyrights. CS's terms of use state this explicitly, and CS is also very adamant that their company not be listed as Publisher on their clients' books' copyright pages.
ISBN ownership can help to establish the legitimacy of a publisher's claim to profits from a given book in a legal challenge situation, but given that CS has made it abundantly clear it never wants to be named as the publisher of record for any of the books it prints and distributes, the likelihood of CS trying to usurp my royalties seems pretty remote. Also, since copyright is the most meaningful measure of intellectual property ownership in the case of a book, and I own the copyrights on my books, the fact that CS is the registered owner of my books' ISBNs wouldn't allow CS to claim my intellectual property rights, either. One caveat: the financial and legal waters would be a bit murkier if I were running an imprint and publishing other authors' works as well as my own, and in that case I would absolutely want to purchase and register all the ISBNs in the name of my imprint.
While not being the registered ISBN owner prevents me from listing the books with wholesale catalogs myself, since Createspace now offers to create wholesale catalog listings as part of their service, it's a non-issue for me. My CS books are available on Amazon, Amazon UK, through Barnes and Noble, and through every other bookseller and retailer that stocks its inventory via the Ingram or Baker & Taylor catalogs, and that's most of them.
Borders is a special case, in that its online and in-store inventory is stocked from an internally-maintained catalog; the only way any publisher, indie or mainstream, gets her books listed with Borders is to get one of Borders' buyers to add them to Borders' internal catalog. Since my CS books are listed in the Ingram and Baker & Taylor catalogs, from which Borders draws entries for its internal catalog, I could approach a Borders buyer and inquire about getting my CS books added to Borders' catalog if I wanted to, but I haven't bothered.
True, my books aren't available through European wholesale book catalogs (since only the registered ISBN owner can list books with those catalogs), but since I'm not promoting my books in foreign markets nor releasing them in foreign language editions, I don't think I'm missing out on many sales there. Amazon UK is the #1 bookseller for English-language books in Europe, and my CS books are already listed on that site.
While not being the registered ISBN owner also prevents me from registering my books with the Library of Congress, I don't really care about that and I don't think anyone else does either---with respect to my books, anyway. It would matter if I were trying to get my self-pub books stocked by public and institutional libraries, but let's face it: self-pub books, novels especially, aren't likely to be stocked by those libraries anyway.
If I self-publish anything new in the future I'll most likely purchase my own ISBN/barcode blocks for the new projects, but only because "premium" or "expanded" distribution options offered by print and digital publishing service providers increasingly require that the author/imprint be the registered owner of the ISBN. Since this is already a requirement for Smashwords' premium ebook catalog, I expect it's going to become commonplace for ebooks to have ISBNs just like print books and hard media audiobooks.
Even so, I still see the whole thing as little more than an administrative hoop through which I'll soon be forced to jump and an extra expense I'll be forced to shoulder to make retailers' lives easier. Cost of doing business, and all that. I'm still not likely to list my self-published books with European wholesale catalogs, nor Borders' internal catalog, and I definitely won't bother registering them with the Library of Congress.
I have always maintained, and still maintain, that ISBNs are merely tracking numbers used by retailers, libraries and government agencies to organize, and retain control over, their inventory of books---nothing more, and nothing less. Some people (and I'm not talking about Joel Friedlander or anyone who's commented on his article) treat ISBN purchase and ownership like some kind of mark of legitimacy, and others even go so far as to tell self-publishers that if your book's ISBN isn't registered in your name, that fact alone makes your book a "vanity" project and you an amateur who doesn't deserve to wear the name "author".
Horsefeathers. There may be compelling business reasons for this or that indie author to purchase and register his own ISBNs, and there are definitely compelling business reasons for imprints to do so. But that's all they are: business reasons.
Showing posts with label copyright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label copyright. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Build A Manuscript Shell - Copyright Notes, Headers & Footers
Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words Or Less):
The series based on content from my how-to reference book on self-publishing, The IndieAuthor Guide, marches on. In the series, I present topics from the book to the extent of detail possible in a blog post. Note that I'm not covering editing, designing your own book cover, creating your brand or publishing to the Kindle here, since those topics are already presented on my website in the form of free pdf guides. I’ll include links to previous posts in the series here in the Bottom Line It section. So far, I've posted topics on Publishing Options, Rights, Royalties and Advances, What's the Deal With ISBNs And Bookstores, Choosing A Publisher , Getting Organized, parts one and two of DIY Formatting For POD, A Word About Industry Standards, Build A Manuscript Shell - Page Setup and Build A Manuscript Shell – Set Up Front Matter. Today's post is Build A Manuscript Shell – Copyright Notes, Headers & Footers.
Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Ain't Got Nuthin' But Time Version (Can't Promise It Won't Go On Forever):
A Note About Copyright
I provide this information here because we've just finished setting up the front matter section of the manuscript shell, which should include a copyright page, and which may be raising some questions in your mind about copyright.
Per the United States Copyright Office, in the U.S. “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
In response to the question of whether or not copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is mandatory in order to receive copyright protection in the U.S., the Office responds, “No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.”
In response to the question of why a copyright should be registered at all if copyright already exists, the Office answers, “Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law.”
In other words, a registered copyright affords an author maximum protection in a court of law if he or she should ever need to bring a case of copyright infringement.
Having said that, legal matters are outside the scope of this book and nothing herein should be construed as legal advice. If you are uncertain whether or not to obtain a registered copyright for your work in the U.S., I encourage you to obtain Circular 1, Copyright Basics, from the U.S. Copyright Office website, and confer with an attorney for further guidance. For information about copyright law and enforcement outside the U.S., confer with an attorney versed in international copyright law.
Set Up Headers And Footers
Headers and footers will appear on your chapter pages, but not on the first page of each chapter. This is why you selected the ‘Different first page’ option for headers and footers in the Page Setup section.
In The IndieAuthor Guide, text in the header is right-aligned on odd-numbered pages and left-aligned on even-numbered pages. This ensures the header is always aligned to the outer margin of each page, not the inner margin, near the Gutter. Likewise, in the footer page numbers are right-aligned on odd-numbered pages and left-aligned on even-numbered pages. This is why the “Different odd and even” option exists for headers and footers in the Page Setup section.
Recall that these instructions are based on the use of Microsoft Word™ 2003, but can be adapted to any major word processing program from that year or later. To find the functions named here in a different word processor, just search on the desired item in your program's help files. Also, as with all these posts on the subject of setting up the Manuscript Shell, you may find it's easier to follow along if you open your word processor program in one window and keep this blog open in a second window, then switch back and forth between the two as needed.
If you want the text and page numbers in your headers or footers to be differently-aligned on odd- and even-numbered pages, as they are in many mainstream-published books, you need to insert four placeholder pages in each chapter of your manuscript shell, as detailed below.
Chapter Page, Header Content, Footer Content
1, No header, Right-aligned page number in footer
2, Left-aligned header text, Left-aligned page number in footer
3, Right-aligned header text, Right-aligned page number in footer
4, Left-aligned header text, Left-aligned page number in footer
If your header and footer content will be centered on every page, you still need to insert one placeholder page for the first page of the chapter (which won’t have a header), and a second placeholder page to represent how headers and footers should be formatted on every other page of the chapter. In that event, you can go back and de-select the ‘Different odd and even’ checkbox in the Page Setup dialog.
Begin by inserting placeholder pages, without headers or footers. If you've already set up your front matter per this series, page nine is the first page of your first chapter. Enter the name or number of the chapter and apply your custom chapter heading Style to it. Enter a few carriage returns and a page break.
For header and footer formatting with differently-aligned odd- and even-numbered pages, you must set up three more placeholder pages. On pages ten and eleven, enter a few carriage returns and a page break. On page twelve, enter a few carriage returns and a Next Page Section Break, as described previously. For books with identically-aligned headers and footers, you only need to have one additional placeholder page (page ten) with a few carriage returns and a Next Page Section Break on it.
Set Up Headers
Go back to page nine and select the Header and Footer option of the View menu. The cursor jumps up into the header section, and the Header and Footer toolbar is displayed.
Notice that the Link to Previous button is selected in the Header and Footer toolbar by default---in Word™ 2003, it is always selected by default at the start of each new section you create. Its current setting is displayed in the header or footer onscreen as well. This option should never be selected for your headers, even if you intend to use centered headers, because the first page of each chapter won’t have a header but subsequent pages will.
You don’t want a header on the first page of any chapter. Leave the header blank. The far right button, next to the Close button, is the Show Next button. Click it to go to the header on the second page of your chapter.
The second page of your chapter is an even-numbered page. If the Link to Previous button is selected, click it to de-select it. In a book with centered headers, the header on this page should be center-aligned. In a book with headers aligned like this book, the header on this page should be left-aligned so it will appear near the outside margin of the page. Enter your desired text (book title or chapter title) in the header. Apply formatting options as desired, including desired text alignment. Click the Show Next button.
If your page headers are all center-aligned, you don’t have any more page headers to set up. Click the Previous button to get back to page nine of your manuscript, then skip ahead to the Set Up Footers section on the following page. Otherwise, read on to complete your header formatting.
The third page of your chapter is an odd-numbered page, which means its header should be right-aligned. De-select the Link to Previous button if applicable. Enter the same header text as on the previous page and apply the same formatting, but make the text right-aligned. Click the Show Next button.
The fourth page of your chapter is an even-numbered page, which means its header should be left-aligned. If the Link to Previous button is selected, click it to de-select it. Enter the same header text as on the previous page and apply the same formatting, but make the text right-aligned.
Instead of the Show Next button, this time click the Show Previous button, located immediately left of the Show Next button. Click it two more times to get back to the blank header on the first page of your chapter.
Set Up Footers
Click the Switch Between Header and Footer button, to the immediate right of the Link to Previous button, to switch to the footer.
Again, by default, the Same as Previous button is selected. Click it to de-select it. Insert the page number (and any other desired text) in the footer. Apply desired formatting, including desired alignment. Page numbers will be either centered or right-aligned.
By default, page numbering will display the actual page number of the word processing document. If you want page numbering to begin with “1”, click the Format Page Number button (highlighted above) to display the Page Number Format dialog box.
In the Page Number Format dialog box, click the Start At option to select it and accept the default number setting of “1”. Leave all other options in the dialog set to their defaults and click OK.
On the Header and Footer toolbar, click the Show Next button to go to the footer on the second page of your chapter. Insert the page number (and other desired text, if applicable) and apply desired formatting, including left-alignment of the page number.
That’s all there is to footer setup, regardless of whether or not your footers will be differently-aligned on odd and even pages. Since all chapter pages will have footers, all even-page footers will be formatted the same as one another, all odd-page footers will be formatted the same as one another, and Link to Previous is always selected for a new section by default, you don’t need to do any footer setup for subsequent chapters/sections. Word™ will automatically continue inserting the correct odd- and even-page footers as pages are added to the manuscript.
As for headers, Word™ will continue to insert the correct odd- and even-page headers as you add pages to your chapter, but because you don’t want a header on the first page of any subsequent chapters/sections you will have to repeat the header setup steps for each chapter/section in your manuscript.
An even number of pages (two or four, depending on whether or not you want differently-aligned headers and/or footers) are inserted as placeholders for each chapter/section to ensure the first page of each new chapter/section will always be an odd-numbered, or right-hand, page. This is pretty standard in mainstream-published books, and while I don’t generally kowtow to mainstream conventions this is one case where I do, simply because it’s what readers are used to and have come to expect. Later on, as you type or paste chapter text into your manuscript, you may find the chapter/section ends on an odd-numbered page. If that’s the case, insert a page break to create a blank even-numbered page at the end of the chapter.
The last page of each chapter/section should always be an even-numbered page, and should always end with a Next Page Section Break. After you’re finished typing or pasting in chapter text later, if you find some of your original placeholder pages are still there at the end of the chapter/section, delete any extra, blank pages—but again, make sure the last page of the chapter is an even-numbered page, and that it ends with a Next Page Section Break.
Set up a second chapter/section as you did the first one, inserting and formatting desired headers and footers the same as for the first chapter/section. Two placeholder chapters are enough for the manuscript shell, so we’re done with chapter setup for now.
Up Next: Set Up Back Section
The series based on content from my how-to reference book on self-publishing, The IndieAuthor Guide, marches on. In the series, I present topics from the book to the extent of detail possible in a blog post. Note that I'm not covering editing, designing your own book cover, creating your brand or publishing to the Kindle here, since those topics are already presented on my website in the form of free pdf guides. I’ll include links to previous posts in the series here in the Bottom Line It section. So far, I've posted topics on Publishing Options, Rights, Royalties and Advances, What's the Deal With ISBNs And Bookstores, Choosing A Publisher , Getting Organized, parts one and two of DIY Formatting For POD, A Word About Industry Standards, Build A Manuscript Shell - Page Setup and Build A Manuscript Shell – Set Up Front Matter. Today's post is Build A Manuscript Shell – Copyright Notes, Headers & Footers.
Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Ain't Got Nuthin' But Time Version (Can't Promise It Won't Go On Forever):
A Note About Copyright
I provide this information here because we've just finished setting up the front matter section of the manuscript shell, which should include a copyright page, and which may be raising some questions in your mind about copyright.
Per the United States Copyright Office, in the U.S. “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
In response to the question of whether or not copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is mandatory in order to receive copyright protection in the U.S., the Office responds, “No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.”
In response to the question of why a copyright should be registered at all if copyright already exists, the Office answers, “Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law.”
In other words, a registered copyright affords an author maximum protection in a court of law if he or she should ever need to bring a case of copyright infringement.
Having said that, legal matters are outside the scope of this book and nothing herein should be construed as legal advice. If you are uncertain whether or not to obtain a registered copyright for your work in the U.S., I encourage you to obtain Circular 1, Copyright Basics, from the U.S. Copyright Office website, and confer with an attorney for further guidance. For information about copyright law and enforcement outside the U.S., confer with an attorney versed in international copyright law.
Set Up Headers And Footers
Headers and footers will appear on your chapter pages, but not on the first page of each chapter. This is why you selected the ‘Different first page’ option for headers and footers in the Page Setup section.
In The IndieAuthor Guide, text in the header is right-aligned on odd-numbered pages and left-aligned on even-numbered pages. This ensures the header is always aligned to the outer margin of each page, not the inner margin, near the Gutter. Likewise, in the footer page numbers are right-aligned on odd-numbered pages and left-aligned on even-numbered pages. This is why the “Different odd and even” option exists for headers and footers in the Page Setup section.
Recall that these instructions are based on the use of Microsoft Word™ 2003, but can be adapted to any major word processing program from that year or later. To find the functions named here in a different word processor, just search on the desired item in your program's help files. Also, as with all these posts on the subject of setting up the Manuscript Shell, you may find it's easier to follow along if you open your word processor program in one window and keep this blog open in a second window, then switch back and forth between the two as needed.
If you want the text and page numbers in your headers or footers to be differently-aligned on odd- and even-numbered pages, as they are in many mainstream-published books, you need to insert four placeholder pages in each chapter of your manuscript shell, as detailed below.
Chapter Page, Header Content, Footer Content
1, No header, Right-aligned page number in footer
2, Left-aligned header text, Left-aligned page number in footer
3, Right-aligned header text, Right-aligned page number in footer
4, Left-aligned header text, Left-aligned page number in footer
If your header and footer content will be centered on every page, you still need to insert one placeholder page for the first page of the chapter (which won’t have a header), and a second placeholder page to represent how headers and footers should be formatted on every other page of the chapter. In that event, you can go back and de-select the ‘Different odd and even’ checkbox in the Page Setup dialog.
Begin by inserting placeholder pages, without headers or footers. If you've already set up your front matter per this series, page nine is the first page of your first chapter. Enter the name or number of the chapter and apply your custom chapter heading Style to it. Enter a few carriage returns and a page break.
For header and footer formatting with differently-aligned odd- and even-numbered pages, you must set up three more placeholder pages. On pages ten and eleven, enter a few carriage returns and a page break. On page twelve, enter a few carriage returns and a Next Page Section Break, as described previously. For books with identically-aligned headers and footers, you only need to have one additional placeholder page (page ten) with a few carriage returns and a Next Page Section Break on it.
Set Up Headers
Go back to page nine and select the Header and Footer option of the View menu. The cursor jumps up into the header section, and the Header and Footer toolbar is displayed.
Notice that the Link to Previous button is selected in the Header and Footer toolbar by default---in Word™ 2003, it is always selected by default at the start of each new section you create. Its current setting is displayed in the header or footer onscreen as well. This option should never be selected for your headers, even if you intend to use centered headers, because the first page of each chapter won’t have a header but subsequent pages will.
You don’t want a header on the first page of any chapter. Leave the header blank. The far right button, next to the Close button, is the Show Next button. Click it to go to the header on the second page of your chapter.
The second page of your chapter is an even-numbered page. If the Link to Previous button is selected, click it to de-select it. In a book with centered headers, the header on this page should be center-aligned. In a book with headers aligned like this book, the header on this page should be left-aligned so it will appear near the outside margin of the page. Enter your desired text (book title or chapter title) in the header. Apply formatting options as desired, including desired text alignment. Click the Show Next button.
If your page headers are all center-aligned, you don’t have any more page headers to set up. Click the Previous button to get back to page nine of your manuscript, then skip ahead to the Set Up Footers section on the following page. Otherwise, read on to complete your header formatting.
The third page of your chapter is an odd-numbered page, which means its header should be right-aligned. De-select the Link to Previous button if applicable. Enter the same header text as on the previous page and apply the same formatting, but make the text right-aligned. Click the Show Next button.
The fourth page of your chapter is an even-numbered page, which means its header should be left-aligned. If the Link to Previous button is selected, click it to de-select it. Enter the same header text as on the previous page and apply the same formatting, but make the text right-aligned.
Instead of the Show Next button, this time click the Show Previous button, located immediately left of the Show Next button. Click it two more times to get back to the blank header on the first page of your chapter.
Set Up Footers
Click the Switch Between Header and Footer button, to the immediate right of the Link to Previous button, to switch to the footer.
Again, by default, the Same as Previous button is selected. Click it to de-select it. Insert the page number (and any other desired text) in the footer. Apply desired formatting, including desired alignment. Page numbers will be either centered or right-aligned.
By default, page numbering will display the actual page number of the word processing document. If you want page numbering to begin with “1”, click the Format Page Number button (highlighted above) to display the Page Number Format dialog box.
In the Page Number Format dialog box, click the Start At option to select it and accept the default number setting of “1”. Leave all other options in the dialog set to their defaults and click OK.
On the Header and Footer toolbar, click the Show Next button to go to the footer on the second page of your chapter. Insert the page number (and other desired text, if applicable) and apply desired formatting, including left-alignment of the page number.
That’s all there is to footer setup, regardless of whether or not your footers will be differently-aligned on odd and even pages. Since all chapter pages will have footers, all even-page footers will be formatted the same as one another, all odd-page footers will be formatted the same as one another, and Link to Previous is always selected for a new section by default, you don’t need to do any footer setup for subsequent chapters/sections. Word™ will automatically continue inserting the correct odd- and even-page footers as pages are added to the manuscript.
As for headers, Word™ will continue to insert the correct odd- and even-page headers as you add pages to your chapter, but because you don’t want a header on the first page of any subsequent chapters/sections you will have to repeat the header setup steps for each chapter/section in your manuscript.
An even number of pages (two or four, depending on whether or not you want differently-aligned headers and/or footers) are inserted as placeholders for each chapter/section to ensure the first page of each new chapter/section will always be an odd-numbered, or right-hand, page. This is pretty standard in mainstream-published books, and while I don’t generally kowtow to mainstream conventions this is one case where I do, simply because it’s what readers are used to and have come to expect. Later on, as you type or paste chapter text into your manuscript, you may find the chapter/section ends on an odd-numbered page. If that’s the case, insert a page break to create a blank even-numbered page at the end of the chapter.
The last page of each chapter/section should always be an even-numbered page, and should always end with a Next Page Section Break. After you’re finished typing or pasting in chapter text later, if you find some of your original placeholder pages are still there at the end of the chapter/section, delete any extra, blank pages—but again, make sure the last page of the chapter is an even-numbered page, and that it ends with a Next Page Section Break.
Set up a second chapter/section as you did the first one, inserting and formatting desired headers and footers the same as for the first chapter/section. Two placeholder chapters are enough for the manuscript shell, so we’re done with chapter setup for now.
Up Next: Set Up Back Section
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