If
you are new to self-publishing it’s important to tick all the legal boxes
related to releasing your work, so you don’t run into trouble. It’s
particularly worth noting for hybrid authors, whose traditional publishers have
previously done all this work for them.
Listed
below are some of the legal requirements for self-publishing in Australia, and
a few tips to set you straight.
Copyright: Don’t pay for
this: there is no ‘fee’ for retaining your copyright in Australia, and you
don’t have to register—copyright protection is automatic upon creation of your
manuscript.
However,
you do need to include a copyright page (or imprint page) in the front of your
book to assert your copyright. As this is the first page checked by librarians,
booksellers and distributors, it’s important.
Your
copyright page displays your copyright notice, ISBN, reservation of rights, and
any Prepublication Data Service (formerly known as Cataloguing in Publication) or
edition information. It’s also the place to attach any disclaimers, or
contributor credits (such as acknowledgement of cover designers etc.). A short
primer on the copyright page, and a template to create one, is available here.
Copyright
lasts for the life of the author until 70 years after their death. You can find
out more about copyright in Australia at the Arts Law Centre here.
For
issues of copyright, the Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL) is a genuine non-profit
organisation that protects author copyright, collects licence fees and
distributes royalties. Membership is free, and you can claim payment for use of
your work—particularly handy for authors who have books distributed in
government or educational settings. You can join CAL here.
Cover
image/font usage: You can’t just grab a cool image or font off
the internet and stick it on your self-published book’s cover—a photographer or
artist’s image, or a typographer’s font, is copyright protected. You can only
use them by paying a licensing fee or obtaining permission from the copyright
holder.
If
you’re creating your own book cover, or providing images to a cover designer,
it’s up to you, as the publisher, to ensure those images are legally obtained
and paid for or are available through a royalty-free site (like Shutterstock).
Using
quotes: In
Australia, quoting a single line from another book may be considered a
copyright infringement if the part you’re quoting ‘distils the essence of the
work’.
If
you’d like to use a quote in your book, even as an epigraph, you need to obtain
permission from the copyright holder—the author and the publisher—and attribute
the quote, and you might have to pay a licensing fee.
Some
texts are considered ‘public domain’—works published in the US before 1923, for
instance—but you need to check Australian law carefully before using any
quotes.
Legal
deposit: Every
book published in Australia, or published by Australian authors or
organisations, for free or for sale, must be deposited with the National
Library of Australia (NLA) and the relevant State library.
Even
if your book is printed overseas, if you’re an Aussie author, you’re obliged to
deposit. One copy should go to the NLA, and one copy should go to the
State/Territory library in which you reside. You are obliged to cover the cost
of the books and postage yourself. If you’re working with a self-publishing
service, it is you, not the service, who is responsible for deposit—but check
with your service, so there’s no doubling-up. ISBNs are not a requirement for
books to be eligible for deposit.
Ebooks: With
improvements in digital technology and storage, the NLA is now requesting that
self-publishers who only release in ebook deposit an electronic copy of their
book via their new edeposit service. Print: Find out where to
deposit here. If you publish in both print and ebook, you
only need to deposit one format.
Legal
deposit isn’t
really a chore: it’s a way to be confident that your work will always be
accessible over time. Contact the NLA if you have any queries
about legal deposit.
If
you are still confused about legal requirements of self-publishing contact
the Arts
Law Centre of Australia for a great info sheet covering most of the basic issues
for self-publishers. They also offer legal advice to subscribers at radically
reduced rates.
