How to Create the Copyright Page of Your Book [with 6 Ready-to-Use Fiction and Nonfiction Samples]

The copyright page of a book is an industry requirement that must be placed on the backside of your title page (which is typically a black & white or gray scale version of your book cover).

The copyright page will be used by distributors to add your book to their databases, by booksellers to order your book and by anyone who wants to get in touch with the publisher or the author.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a copyright page with ease, and you’ll find six useful samples that you can copy and paste directly into your book file (with some noted exceptions).

Since, as the writer of an original work you want to make sure that the authorship of your intellectual property is well protected, keep in mind that copyright procedures are different for each country. If you live in the U.S., I highly recommend once you add your copyright page and before you go to print that you file your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office by visiting the page below:

www.copyright.gov

The official copyright certificate is required in order to assert your copyright in U.S. courts. Canadian law, for example, makes this application optional since the certificate isn’t a mandatory requirement to legally assert your copyright. If you live in any other country, I suggest that you seek local legal advice.

Note that even though the processing of your copyright application may take several months or longer in the U.S., depending on their backlog, it’ll become legally effective on the date that the Copyright Office acknowledges receipt of all the required documentation. This will be the case regardless of how long it takes the office to mail you the actual certificate of registration.

(Disclosure: I’m not an attorney, so I recommended that you consult with one in matters related to your copyright application as well as any legal disclaimers that may be required to appear on your copyright page).

Before we get to the sample pages, let’s discuss the eight different components of your book’s copyright page:

1) Copyright Notice

The copyright notice is made up of four elements: the “Copyright” word itself followed by the © symbol, the year of publication (YYYY format) and finally the author’s name “by John Doe.”

e.g. Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

Incidentally, you have the choice to either use your real name or a pen name. Don’t worry if you choose a pen name for privacy or other reasons, you’ll be supplying your real name when you register your copyright with the Copyright Office as the true owner of your intellectual property.

2) Publisher Notice

The publisher notice contains the name of the publisher, their mailing address or P.O. Box (optional) and their website address (optional). If you’re self-publishing your book, you’ll need to create a brand name to use for your book – this imprint will be associated with your ISBN.

e.g. Published in the United States by ABCDE Press, 12345 Street Ave. East, P.O. Box 277, City, State, Zip code.

The goal of this section is to make it easy for anyone to reach you if they want to get in touch with the publisher for ordering, or with the author to hire your services.

3) Edition Notice

The edition notice simply informs the reader and the book trade whether this is the first edition of your book or a revised edition (e.g. Second Edition, Third Edition, etc.). Also, if your book is in print, you can also mention the print run here.

e.g. First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

First Printing

4) Restrictions

This section identifies your restrictions as it pertains to the content that you’re publishing. There are many versions of this text out there and they all differ slightly, but you’ll find one of the most popular ones in the example below:

e.g. “All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.”

5) Credits

In this section you can give credit to those professionals who’ve helped you in the production of your book. They may include:

• Your cover designer
• Your editor
• Your book designer
• Your photographer
• Your illustrator, and so on

e.g. Cover Design: Jane Doe

Author Photograph: Jim Doe

<H3> 6) Bibliographic Record

In this section, you’ll add the bibliographic record assigned to your book by the Library of Congress. Please note that you’ll need to purchase an ISBN for your title before you can submit your request.

Visit this page to submit your bibliographic record request:

https://www.loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink

Visit this page to purchase your ISBN:

https://www.isbn.org

Here’s an example:

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

Doe, John.

Title of the Book: Sub Title

1. cm.

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

1- Problem-Solving. 2- Self-management. 3- Success. I. Title.

BF555.A55 2019 111’.1 –ab11 12-34567

7) Disclaimers

Now it’s the time to add any legal disclaimers that are necessary for your protection. The nature of your disclaimers will depend on your genre.

For example, fiction books need to stipulate that all characters are fictitious and do not represent any person, living or dead.

If your book is nonfiction, then you need to clarify that you’re not responsible for any errors of omission, and that your information doesn’t replace the advice of experts (i.e. your content does not replace the need to consult with a physician, a lawyer, a certified accountant, etc.)

Here are some examples:

Fiction Books:

“Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.”

Nonfiction Books:

“Although this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein. This publication is meant as a source of valuable information for the reader, however it is not meant as a replacement for direct expert assistance. If such level of assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.”

8) Third-Party Permissions

If you’re reprinting content under copyright by third parties, then you must first obtain written permission from their publisher. You’ll need to contact their publisher’s rights-department in order to make this request.

Keep in mind that reprinting grants are a source of revenue for publishers, so always expect to be asked for payment.

Here’s an example of a permission grant:

“Our deepest fear…” from A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. Copyright © 1992 by Marianne Williamson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishing, Inc.

Without Further Ado, Here Are 6 Ready-to-Use Copyright Pages for Fiction and Nonfiction Titles

You may copy and paste the samples below directly into your book, with the exceptions of the ISBN and the bibliographic information, which you’ll need to request from the websites mentioned above.

Example 1: Short-Length Copyright Page for Fiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Example 2: Medium-Length Copyright Page for Fiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press, 12345 Street Ave. East, P.O. Box 277, City, State, Zip code – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

First Printing

Cover Design: Jane Doe

Author Photograph: Jim Doe

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Example 3: Full-Length Copyright Page for Fiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press, 12345 Street Ave. East, P.O. Box 277, City, State, Zip code – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

First Printing

Cover Design: Jane Doe

Author Photograph: Jim Doe

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

Doe, John.

Title of the Book: Sub Title

1. cm.

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

1- Problem-Solving. 2- Self-management. 3- Success. I. Title.

BF555.A55 2019 111’.1 –ab11 12-34567

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

(If applicable, any third-party reprinting permissions go here)

Example 4: Short-Length Copyright Page for Nonfiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

Although this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein. This publication is meant as a source of valuable information for the reader, however it is not meant as a replacement for direct expert assistance. If such level of assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Example 5: Medium-Length Copyright Page for Nonfiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press, 12345 Street Ave. East, P.O. Box 277, City, State, Zip code – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

First Printing

Cover Design: Jane Doe

Author Photograph: Jim Doe

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

Although this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein. This publication is meant as a source of valuable information for the reader, however it is not meant as a replacement for direct expert assistance. If such level of assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Example 6: Full-Length Copyright Page for Nonfiction Titles

Copyright © 2019 by John Doe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by ABCDE Press, 12345 Street Ave. East, P.O. Box 277, City, State, Zip code – <your website URL>

First ABCDE Press Edition, 2019

First Printing

Cover Design: Jane Doe

Author Photograph: Jim Doe

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

Doe, John.

Title of the Book: Sub Title

1. cm.

ISBN 000-0-000-00000-00

1- Problem Solving. 2- Self-management. 3- Success. I. Title.

BF555.A55 2019 111’.1 –ab11 12-34567

Although this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein. This publication is meant as a source of valuable information for the reader, however it is not meant as a replacement for direct expert assistance. If such level of assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

(If applicable, any third-party reprinting permissions go here)

Next Steps

You’re now armed with some solid copyright-page samples that you can put to work right away with a simple copy and paste.

Before going to print, however, check that all the names and numbers are 100% accurate since you’ll be gathering information from multiple sources.

Ensure that you triple-check:

• The spelling of your title and subtitle as well as your name
• The year of publication
• The name of your publishing company and all contact information (full street address, P.O. Box number, website URL, etc.)
• The spelling of the names of anyone being credited
• Your ISBN
• All bibliographic information from the Library of Congress
• Any permission information from third parties

Your copyright page will be used by book distribution channels to catalog your title in their inventory systems, by booksellers to order your book and by anyone else who wants to get in touch with the publisher – so make sure it’s accurate!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of publishing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Nonfiction Authors

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

How Long Does it Take to Write a Book to Help Grow Your Business?

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert: 11 Reasons Why You Should

Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.