As part of our “When it comes to publishing–First things first” series, we continue to address the topic “What’s the difference between online self-publishing and traditional publishing?” In today’s post we cover ownership and rights. Do you still own your work if it’s traditionally published? Do you own your work if you self-publish it? Alas, the answers aren’t always laid out in a way that’s easily understood by the author, but let’s take a stab at it.

First of all, let’s clear the air about who “owns” your book’s content. The truth is, whether you go down the traditional or the self-publishing path, you–the author of your written work–retain the copyright. So, unless you knowingly transfer these rights to someone else, your book–regardless of who prints and distributes it–will always have you listed as the author.

Specifically, US Copyright Law protects that right to ownership of your written work. As stated in the Copyright Act of 1976 (codified as U.S. Code Title 17), the requirements for a valid copyrightable work are that it be an original work of authorship, and that it be fixed in a tangible medium of expression (a digital file, paper, audio recording, etc). For all intents and purposes, you were designated the creator and owner of the work as soon as you finished it!

Traditional Publisher Rights: Modify, Improve, Print and Sell.

As mentioned, the author of the original manuscript always retains the copyright to the finished book. That’s true even with traditional publishers, although some might find this fact surprising since the publisher’s editors, copyeditors, and artists make great contributions and transformations to the author’s written work (these “helpers” are making your book better!). The author generally grants the publisher the right to make these modifications and have the necessary control over the manuscript that will transform it into a finished and profitable book.

In traditional publishing, the three essential rights granted by the author to the publisher are rights to print, publish, and sell the book. In your contract you allow the publisher an exclusive right to print and sell your book. You should be careful, however, because it is precisely this grant of rights clause that may eventually pose problems for some authors.  In transferring the right to print and publish the book in a binding contract, you must be careful not to hand over rights that will have the effect of being perpetually retained (everlasting) by the publishing house, and thereby prevent the author from capitalizing fully from his or her creation.

Often, the question is how far to extend  the publisher’s right to publish and sell, in terms of both geography (U.S. only, international) and type of book–print, ebook, audio, etc. And, if it’s not clear by now, that’s why you want a lawyer to review any publishing contract you’re faced with. Think about what printing and distribution rights you feel comfortable handing over to your publisher, because a bad decision can come back to bite you. For example, I’m currently working with an author that had their book traditionally published in print, and they now want their book to be available in the Amazon Kindle. Unfortunately, this author granted his publisher the rights to digital ebook distribution, and for some reason they’re not pursuing the Kindle option. The author’s hands are tied in this situation.

Self-Publishing: “You have the right to remain…”

…Owner of everything? Pretty much so. If you self-publish your book you have the final say as to the editorial and overall quality of your published book–good or bad. You make the final decisions, in a broad sense, about formats and distribution options. Paperback? Hardcover? Ebook? Audiobook? List price? –it’s your call. You even decide on font type and size. Of course, you’re typically paying out of your pocket for these “rights.”

Retail distribution through self-publishing can get a little more hairy since your choices are limited. Online self-publishing sites like Lulu.com, CreateSpace, Wordclay and Blurb all have specific formats and pricing schemes for retail distribution that may or may not serve your needs. Their trim sizes and distribution channels vary widely. As a matter of fact, at the end of the day you may choose to use more than one of these services to achieve your distribution goals. I’ve done this on many occasions for the authors I’ve worked with. The great thing is, however, that you control all of this. You can make revisions to your work when you decide to; You can remove or add a new format–create a hardcover version, a Spanish-translated version, a Kindle version–at your discretion.

In summary, traditional publishing and self-publishing do work differently when it comes to print, distribution and selling rights. However, the work is always considered yours from the day you create it–and it stays that way.

Thanks again, and till next time–Keep publishing!

Henry

Henry Hutton
PublishandSell.com

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