I love how bestselling indie fiction writer Dean Wesley Smith refers to the power of copyright helping a writer as a Magic Bakery. Each time you write something, you own all kinds of story rights – translation, eBook, film, and printing in many different formats. The more you write, the more these little slices of pie – these rights – can be sold off, as part of one big magic bakery. How is this possible? Because you own the copyright.
So, in order to take full advantage of copyright and rights selling, we need to know the basics. I am not an intellectual property lawyer or accountant, so please check all legal and tax advice before making any rights selling deals. With that said, here we go:
Copyright vs. Story/Publishing Rights
Um, this is going to sound confusing, but there’s a big difference between copyright and the story rights. Let’s pretend you own a library full of stuff that you have written. Copyright is the ownership you have over every short story, book and article you’ve written (it must be your content, not someone else’s or public domain). Copyright can’t be taken away from you unless you sign it away. But, much like a library, you can charge others to ‘borrow’ your stories. Then they can change the content, republish it, publish a snippet, or repackage it however they like.
Copyright is ownership. Story rights are lent out to buyers, usually for a specific purpose and period of time.
You own the bakery. You sell the slices.
Taking this analogy further … Since you own the rights to each of those slices, you can sell them over and over and over again. Countless fiction writers have made buckets selling their story rights to all kinds of buyers. The more you write, the more copyright you have to sell the rights. Say that ten times fast! 
Copyright Law
My stuff belongs to me. The first page of every one of my books, and included right in the beginning of each digital file, is the copyright page. My work is copyrighted to me, because I created it. I’m also protected by law from anyone stealing it or getting paid for the rights that I didn’t sell to them.
I am granted the copyright to every one of my stories as soon as it comes out of my jumbled head and into a Word document. Even when it’s just a bunch of rough-draft junk, it’s still copyrighted. You can take a further step and register the copyright with the U.S. government for $35 if you want to.
Copyright Myths
Since copyright and story rights are both confusing topics, especially for a creative soul like a writer, many myths have cropped up. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Myth One: You have to mail your story to yourself to gain copyright. Nope, you own the copyright as soon as it becomes words on a screen or page.
Myth Two: You have to register copyright before mailing a story to agents/editors. Nope, you own the copyright as soon as it becomes words on a screen or page. Agents and editors can’t steal your work.
Myth Three: Somebody is going to steal my idea and make a mint off it. Well, someone could have the same or similar idea as you. But are they really going to put in the time and hard work to make it a great novel, and then put in the hours to sell it and market it – and then readers are going to buy it en masse? HIGHLY unlikely. So go ahead and generate as many ideas as you want. Oh, and put in the work, too. Nobody can make a mint off unused ideas. 
Creative Commons License
Sometimes writers offer free online articles, stories or even entire novels using the Creative Commons License. It’s a basic balance between traditional copyrights and just giving your hard work away. The Creative Commons License is a simple and standardized way to release the copyright and grant permissions for others to use your creative work.
I would use the Creative Commons License if I was offering a story as a loss leader to generate more interest in my work overall. I’d give the story away for free and grant copyright permissions to anyone who would like to use it. Used wisely, the Creative Commons License can help boost book sales. However, I’d use the standard license verbiage so that there’s no misunderstanding about the story’s copyright.
(Copy)Right and Wrong
Copyright is a powerful tool for a writer and can be under-used. Here are simple do’s and don’ts to keep in mind:
DO:
- Put the copyright disclaimer on every story you offer to the public, even if it’s just the little “c” and your name.
- Learn more about copyright. “The Copyright Handbook” by Stephen Fishman is a great place to start.
- Find ways to sell your story rights to multiple buyers.
DON’T:
- Sign or give away the copyright to your work unless you know exactly what you’re doing. This includes giving away eBook rights, translation rights, and the whole shebang with traditional author contracts.
- Plagiarize another’s work. Duh. Serious legal trouble, yo.
- Be intimidated by copyright and story rights.
Happy (copy)righting!
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