Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Back to Basics - How to Layout the Copyright Page

I know, I know, we need to get back to the heart and soul of this Blog. I get many e-mails asking how to layout a Copyright page, so here it is in brief; hope it helps!

The Copyright Page is one of the few components in a book which is placed on the left-hand page. The typeface’s size is smaller than the book’s core text, but it should be legible. Eight- or nine-point type is suitable for the copyright information. The copyright is usually printed toward the bottom of the page and centered.

Your printed copyright information should include the publisher’s name, the city and state of publication, the copyright symbol (©), the month and year of each edition of the book, as well as your name and the names of contributors to the work, such as photographers and artists. Follow with specific copyright information about reproduction and permission. Finally, include where the book was manufactured and a book printing numbering system.
Example:

Plain and Simple Books, LLC, North Bend, Oregon
© Copyright January 2008 by Carol Denbow
Artwork © January 2008 by Joe Talent
ISBN: 0-937861-00-0
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
(Space here reserved for the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(Note: the lowest number in the chain represents this printing. If you do a second printing, you will delete the “1,” for third printing delete the “2,” and so on.)

The Copyright should be centered on the page. My example is not centered only because Blogger won't let me do that.

If your book is fiction, you will want to include a statement such as this: “This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.”

For more on book production, read A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story (ISBN 9780615199245) by author Carol Denbow

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