Korean Job Discussion Forums

toomuchtime

Hey there.
Question for ya'll: I am in the process of writing a children's book and will be sending copies of the illustrations and manuscript to publishers soon. I am curious about how I can protect my work from being ripped off. What's to stop a publisher from saying 'no' to the manuscript and then just ripping it off? They could re-write it a bit, or do any number of things to it to make it seem that someone else wrote it.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

TMT.

the_beaver · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

toomuchtime

[/quote]
Back in the day we sent a copy to ourselves with registered mail and left it unopened in the event that it would be needed for such a contingency.[/quote]

I heard that kind of stuff a long time ago too. But all that really does is put a date on one's invention/creation. If a publisher were to re-write a manuscript in a similar, but slightly different manner, could they get away with it?

toomuchtime

[/quote]
Back in the day we sent a copy to ourselves with registered mail and left it unopened in the event that it would be needed for such a contingency.[/quote]

I heard that kind of stuff a long time ago too. But all that really does is put a date on one's invention/creation. If a publisher were to re-write a manuscript in a similar, but slightly different manner, could they get away with it?

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Cheaper still, scan it in or part of it, and upload it to a site like Geocities. In the unlikely event a publisher steals your work, you have a copy on a third party site with an electronic "paper trail" on their server showing creation time.

tomato · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:47 pm Post subject:

Hello, Too Much Time!

I think you can copyright a work which has not already been published.
Contact the copyright office about that.

Good luck on your publishing venture.
We need more creative teachers like you.

Zenpickle · Joined: 06 Jan 2004 Location: Anyang -- Bisan

Many publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts because they're worried of being accused of ripping off someone's work. If they'll accept unsolicited stuff, then I guess just take your chances. Registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office is easy and not expensive. I've registered manuscripts and scripts with it.

Cherry Ripe · Joined: 14 Sep 2004

You can register your work very cheaply and easily through the internet with a US-based company called WriteSafe. Should find it by Googling.

canuckistan · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 2:30 am Post subject:

The copyright issue came up with my school last year. They wanted to copy/reprint some parts of my ESL books to make their own book. From what I understood, they're not allowed to use more than 10% of the original material, the rest they can use if they make the necessary changes to the arrangement and body of the text so as not to run afoul of the 10% original material rule.
How significantly one would have to change the body and arrangement of the text to be deemed sufficiently unplagiarized remains a mystery to me.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Squid · Joined: 25 Jul 2003 Location: Sunny Anyang

Post yourself a copy. Simple and cheap.

If a publisher decides to use it without paying you they'll do so out of the area. If you luck out and catch them at that, they'll hope your desire to be published outweighs your determination to pursue them over it. If you do pursue them they'll then bank on having way deeper pockets than yours to defend themselves and every red cent they earn from your material.

Welcome to the wonderful world of publishing and good luck Laughing

Zenpickle · Joined: 06 Jan 2004 Location: Anyang -- Bisan

JennyJJ · Joined: 01 Mar 2003

WHy would you send an unsolicited manuscript to any publisher? Contact them first - establish what they are interested in - and then send them a few samples - then proceed.

If it is interesting good kid's stuff - I have a contact in Taiwan that you might want to communicate with.

BTW - I've published six books in two countries - and never had the "theft of intellectual property" problem. It seems like an easy to do idea - but it would require a LOT of work and usually - since the publisher is going to get 90% of the money (okay and about 100% of the risk for the cost of printing and distributing) - they would like you to go ahead and do about 100% of the grunt work writing it. They are interested only in the bottom line.