{"id":30566,"date":"2026-06-19T03:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=30566"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:12:31","slug":"self-publishing-copyright-checklist-what-to-do-before-you-publish-by-kelley-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/19\/self-publishing-copyright-checklist-what-to-do-before-you-publish-by-kelley-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do Before You Publish by Kelley Way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-30567 size-full\" title=\"Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist What to Do Before You Publish by Kelley Way\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Self-Publishing-Copyright-Checklist-What-to-Do-Before-You-Publish-by-Kelley-Way.png\" alt=\"Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist What to Do Before You Publish by Kelley Way\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Self-Publishing-Copyright-Checklist-What-to-Do-Before-You-Publish-by-Kelley-Way.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Self-Publishing-Copyright-Checklist-What-to-Do-Before-You-Publish-by-Kelley-Way-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=Kelley+Way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kelley Way<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cSelf-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do Before You Publish.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Protecting Your Work Before Publication<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s face it, traditional publishing is not for everyone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The number of self-published authors continues<\/strong> to grow as technology makes the self-publishing process easier (until it comes time to market, but that\u2019s a whole different conversation).<\/p>\n<p>With so many authors choosing self-publishing, it\u2019s more important than ever to know what to do to protect your work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Below is a checklist of copyright-related<\/strong> tasks to take care of before you publish:<\/p>\n<h2>Verify Rights and Permissions<\/h2>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>1. Make sure you have all the rights and permissions you need.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Double-check that all your content is original to you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">If there\u2019s anything that\u2019s not original to you, make sure a) it is not copyright-protected or b) you have permission to use it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>2. Make sure you have contracts in place for any co-authors or service providers.<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">I\u2019ve known a number of authors over the years who came to grief because they did not have a written agreement in place with their co-authors, ghostwriters, illustrators, or other people who put their hands (physical or digital) on the manuscript.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Save yourself the hair-pulling and have signed agreements that state who owns the copyright and how and when people will get paid.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>3. Fill out the copyright notice page.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">This is the page at the front of the book that states what year the book was copyrighted and who the owner is.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Some other information you can put on this page:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><b>Contact information for permissions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>This tells people how to contact you if they want permission to use your work.<\/li>\n<li><b>Disclaimers.\u00a0<\/b>This is more for trademark or right of publicity issues, but a disclaimer can be helpful to show that you\u2019re not trying to claim ownership of a trademark or model a character after a real person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px;\">For example, most movies have a line in the credits that says something along the lines of \u201cThis is a work of fiction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px;\">Any resemblance to real people, living or deceased, is coincidental.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><b>Permissions or limitations.\u00a0<\/b>You could give limited permissions on this page, e.g., saying it\u2019s okay to quote from the book as long as the quote is three sentences or less.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px;\">You can also put limitations on this page; a popular one these days is \u201cYou may not use this work to train AI software and\/or large language models.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>4. Keep copies of notes and drafts.<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">There are two reasons for this.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">First, it can show the work is original to you and not AI-generated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Second, it can establish that the work existed in a certain format at a certain time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">If there is a copyright infringement lawsuit or if the Copyright Office claims the work is AI-generated, having these drafts and notes will prove helpful.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Those are the key steps to take before you publish to protect your work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In Part 2 next month<\/strong>, we\u2019ll cover what to do after your book is published to maintain and enforce your rights.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to take a closer look at your manuscript or make sure everything is properly in place, feel free to reach out at kaway@kawaylaw.com or visit <a href=\"https:\/\/kawaylaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/kawaylaw.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to read more articles like this one Writer\u2019s Fun Zone? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/contact-beth\/#signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subscribe here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/07\/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-the-california-consumer-privacy-act-ccpa-by-kelley-way\/kawaylaw.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"kawaylaw.com noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-19891 tc-smart-load-skip tc-smart-loaded\" title=\"Kelley Way\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-240x300.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB-640x800.jpg 640w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/way18CRWEB.jpg 700w\" alt=\"Kelley Way\" width=\"150\" height=\"188\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English, followed by a Juris Doctorate. Kelley is a member of the California Bar, and an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy novels. More information at <a href=\"http:\/\/kawaylaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kawaylaw.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Self-Publishing Copyright Checklist: What to Do Before You Publish shares essential steps to safeguard your intellectual property.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[5323,4062,7963,7965,4458,1299,447,1444,7966,7967,934,2562,2590,6620,7964,7962,7961,7129,245,7618,4744],"class_list":["post-30566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-ai","tag-checklist","tag-co-authors","tag-contact-information","tag-content","tag-contracts","tag-copyright","tag-copyright-office","tag-disclaimers","tag-drafts","tag-kelley-way","tag-limitations","tag-manuscript","tag-notes","tag-notice-page","tag-original","tag-permissions","tag-rights","tag-self-publishing","tag-service-providers","tag-traditional-publishing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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