How To Create a Book Copyright Page Template KDP
A copyright page is traditionally found at the beginning of a book and is used to identify copyright ownership, printing information, and publisher contact information. A book’s copyright page often also serves as a place to dedicate the book. Although not required, it is always recommended to include a copyright page for the book as it provides the reader with important information about the parties involved in creating the book. Let’s see an example of a copyright page and how to create a copyright page. A free copyright page template is included at the end of this article to help you easily make a copyright page for your book. Also, note that the author’s work is copyrighted from the moment it is written. This means that the author owns the copyright in the book, whether or not it contains copyrighted pages.
Before we get into all the elements of a copyright page, let’s look at an example copyright page for Periwinkle Smith AND THE BIG PINK SPOT.
What Is a copyright page Template KDP?
A copyright page aims to inform readers that a book isn’t in the public domain.
You own the intellectual property under copyright. No one may reproduce your book without your consent. Additionally, this website has information that will be useful to merchants, librarians, booksellers, and distributors.
The copyright page is located in the front matter on the verso of the title page. For more information, see my essay on front matter and rear matter.
Several components on a copyright page have different functions.
To enable customers to acquire additional books from the author or publisher, traditionally published novels sometimes include much publisher information. Instead, self-published authors frequently link to their author’s websites.
Is a Copyright Page Necessary?
Yes, a copyright page is necessary if you wish to give your book an additional measure of protection, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, a bestseller, or a book that only sells 20 copies.
Your book is still protected by copyright even if you don’t have a copyright page. It is not strictly necessary to copyright your book on a specific page. Copyright protection begins the moment you start writing.
However, without the copyright page, it might be more challenging to demonstrate your ownership in a court of law.
A copyright page identifies you as the owner while discouraging plagiarism. A “No Trespassing” sign comes to mind. You are still not permitted to trespass without it. However, the movement supports the concept.
What Does a Copyright Page Include?
Technically, a copyright page only needs to include the rights reserved notice and the copyright notice. The other components, though, might provide readers with additional information about you as a writer, printing specifics, or legal disclaimers that eventually matter to someone.
I’m aware it seems absurd. But do not fret. Below, I’ll go over each of the 15 components of a copyright page and give an example.
How To Create a Book Copyright Page Template KDP
1. A copyright notice
This is your opportunity, as the author, to take ownership of your work and declare to the world that it is yours. The copyright notice is divided into three sections:
The word “Copyright” with the glyph for copyright.
Name of the copyright holder: The copyright notices for the author and illustrator are typically listed in that order. Depending on your agreement with your illustrator, they might or might not have a copyright. It is sufficient to state “Copyright 2022 [author’s name]” if copyright has been granted to the author because this covers both text and graphics. Author copyright might be listed under your name, while illustrator copyright is listed under your company name if copyright was assigned to your business.
Author copyright might be listed under your name, while illustrator copyright is listed under your company name if copyright was assigned to your business. You must identify your illustrator as the copyright owner if your contract does not explicitly provide you with ownership of the work.
Always adhere to the terms of your contract when using illustration copyright to ensure accuracy.
The publishing year is: Not the year the book was written but the year it was released. Two copyright years may be mentioned if this is the book’s first publication.
2. Reserved rights
Anyone who reads your copyright page knows that you have the right to replicate the work thanks to the words “All rights reserved.” It is acceptable to include these terms, but if you want to be more specific, you may use the phrase below.
3. Contact details
How would you like to be contacted after that? It is imperative to mention this. By providing your contact details, someone can get you to ask for permission to duplicate the work partially. If they want to purchase the rights to publish the book in another nation, they will use it to contact you. They cannot request these privileges or permissions if they can’t get in touch with you — which might be cash taken from your pocket!
4. LCCN and P-CIP data
CIP (Cataloging-in-Publication) (Cataloging-in-Publication) Any book you want to obtain in a library must have data or a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN). Each book in the Library of Congress’s cataloged holdings is given this identifying number. Additionally, libraries use this number to place orders for and track down books. For every book, traditional publishers submit CIP Data. Unfortunately, self-publishers are unable to obtain CIP data. Instead, they are getting a P-CIP number. However, simple.
See my post What is CIP Data, P-CIP Data, and How to Get P-CIP Data for details on obtaining P-CIP data.
5. ISBN
Every book has an ISBN, and listing it on a copyright page is a good idea. But you’re not required to list only one. It is entirely okay to mention all of those ISBNs on the same copyright page if you have various editions of your book (for instance, a hardcover and a paperback, or one published through IngramSpark and one through KDP), saving you from having to make separate copyright pages for each book.
Just be sure to make it clear which edition each ISBN refers to before listing them. For instance:
- ISBN hardcover
- ISBN for paperback
- Kindle ISBN
Check to visit my article How to Buy an ISBN, When to Buy an ISBN, and What ISBN Means for additional details on what an ISBN is.
6. The book’s edition
When a book’s edition is listed, readers can determine whether this is the first time it has been published or if there have been previous versions. The phrase “First Edition” or “Third Edition” can be used, or you can be a little more specific and use terminology like “First Edition: March 2022” or “First Hardcover Edition: March 2022.” There are rarely second editions of picture books and novels because they don’t frequently change. This language is, therefore, wholly optional. Nevertheless, listing an edition is helpful to let your readers know when content was last updated in nonfiction that needs to be kept current.
7. location for printing
People want to know where a book was printed, even if it is not necessary to list the nation where it was published. Spell out the complete name of the country if it was printed there: Printed in the United States of America.
8. Key for a printer
What print run a book is on is revealed by the printer’s key, sometimes referred to as the number string or the number line. If you’re printing books, this is your chance to announce how many times the book has been published. Every time a print is made, the lowest number is eliminated.
For instance, if a string of numbers reads “10 9 8 7 6 5 4,” you are on the fourth print run.
Please note that starting with ten on the left presupposes your copyright page text is positioned to the left. Your copyright text should read as follows if it is centered:
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
This makes it possible to uniformly remove numbers from the left and right, keeping the text in the middle.
Since there are no print runs for print-on-demand books, the number string is not used.
9. References
You are not required to provide credit to your book’s editor or designer. However, if you choose to do so, the copyright page is the best area to include an acknowledgment.
This is also an excellent area to include additional credits, such as a gratitude list for everyone who offered assistance during the book-writing process (researchers, beta readers, and friends who had a heavy hand in the book creation.)
10. Permissions and copyrights of third parties
This is the spot to say anything in your book inspired by a third party and offer credit. Give the necessary credit where it is due, whether for the font used, the cover image, inside images, a passage from another book, or anything else.
11. Disclosure
Readers identify too readily with characters in books. Therefore, including a disclaimer, particularly in a longer work of fiction, is advisable. The following disclaimer language is possible: This is a fictional piece. Any similarity to real people, alive or dead, actual events, or real places is coincidental. Similar phrasing is suggested for nonfiction or memoir. The most OK language depends on the subject and can be found in other works in your genre.
12. Dedication
The copyright page frequently includes dedications from the author and illustrator. They may be positioned at the top, bottom, or on a separate page from the copyright page. In a book, dedications are optional and only at the author’s discretion.
