Be Sure to Copyright your Entries
The title says it all. Some of my work here has been reprinted without permission--especially troubling because while I'm working on another novel, I'm working out ideas for another book on writing here. In any case, I would strongly suggest writing the obvious at the end of any entry: This work is copyrighted by (your name and your literary agency if you have one). Please don't reproduce without permission. Okay--that's it. Go forth and post entries on Red Room.
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Dale Estey says:
There is a "Copyright and
There is a "Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy" section under Red Room's 'About us' heading. Don't know if it does you any good.
I gotta ask - do you really find Kafka a "gloomy eastern european". His friends thought of him as quite the chucklehead (he left them laughing when he read his works to them).
Thaisa Frank says:
Thanks for the pointer, Dale
Will answer you about the gloomy Eastern Europeans via mail. I was partly kidding. And partly not.
Mary Wilkinson says:
Thaisa, I am interested in
Thaisa, I am interested in your comment. I have just started to copyright some material that I have written. I mean I hate to sound pretentious about it but I feel it is mine and that it cannot be used otherwise. But, does putting copyright really prevent anyone from using the material. Who is to know otherwise?
Thaisa Frank says:
copyright
I don't think it's worth it to copyright in an official way. But even though you own your own words, the boundaries on the internet get blurred. I realized that if I had put a copyright note on the bottom of everything I wrote, it would give me more clout. Although quoting Red Room's policy gave me more clout in this case.
Mary Wilkinson says:
Clout? What does that mean
Clout? What does that mean Thaisa?
Thaisa Frank says:
Clout
It means that there are teeth in your bargain, that you've anticipated that someone might thinkingly or unthinkingly copy something. It's illegal to reproduce work over the internet; but people do it all the time, knowing that it's illegal, or thinking it's not important. It's costly to get legal help and to have a lawyer right a "cease and desist letter." But if someone is in the process of reproducing your work, they will see your copyright notice--and then have to be in the position of erasing your copyright notice, posting it as it is, implying they got permission, or having second thoughts and not posting. The first two options are illegal, and you can call someone on them. I'd rather someone take the third one. (Actually, thare a couple of times when my work was reproduced without permission and I found out about it much later (once in a Harper/Collins _Reader's Choice_ book). But it was getting publicity, the original book was cited, along with reviews, etc.--and I was happy that it was out there even though I could have made a fuss.)
Mary Wilkinson says:
Wow! Thanks for the
Wow! Thanks for the insightful comment. It seems like writing is up for grabs and free to whoever feels hungry for it. Not that I'm saying mine is in demand but I feel protective of it, like a mother would with her child, no matter what. Thaisa, great points. truly, mp
Thaisa Frank says:
thanks, Mary
and I don't think any writer--or any one who creates, for that matter--should feel apologetic about claiming it as theirs; I think feeling apologetic about what one creates is just one of the ways that our society doesn't support creativity. but I'll get off my soapbox now....