Tag Archives: authors

Copyright and ISBN – simplified

By | | , , , , , ,
6 Comments

Copyright and ISBN (International Standard Book Number)*

In the simplest terms, copyright means ‘the right to copy’. In general it means the sole right to produce or reproduce work, or a substantial part of it. If it is unpublished, copyright includes the right to publish the work or any substantial part of it. By defining it by ‘substantial’ it is electing to leave out reproduction of minor parts of a work, as quotes are often used in reviews or discussions.

What is covered by copyright law? A work must be original and can include literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works or compilations. Copyright is granted the moment the work, whether professional or amateur, is created. There is no distinction between production of work for profit or hobby. Literary work includes anything that is written, such as speeches, essays and books and may be in any form. Dramatic works include the characters, scenes, relationship between characters, dialogue and dramatic expression. That’s interesting because I didn’t realize the characters we create as novelists would also be protected.

How do you obtain copyright in Canada? All powers to legislate copyright law are in the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada, by virtue of the Constitution Act 1867. Yet, copyright exists at the moment of creation of a work in Canada.

Some have promoted the ‘kitchen sink’ method of copyright. This was obtained by mailing a copy of the written work to yourself and once received, leaving it sealed in the envelope. You now had a copy of the work with a date and time provided by the post mark, proving your possession prior to any possible publication by someone else. My mother preferred that method, and had me mail her poems to her before she put them out to the public to give herself some assurance she could prove ownership.

The Canadian government offers a formal way to obtain copyright but it is not free. Currently, if the work and fee are submitted online, the cost is $50. If it is done other than online, such as by mail, the cost is $65 per work. Go to the official website to learn more – https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02281.html

How long does copyright last? Generally in Canada it lasts for the life of the author, plus 50 years. Therefore protection expires on December 31 of the 50th year after the author of the work dies. However, if the original author assigns ownership to another, either personal or corporate, it only lasts for 25 years after the author’s death.

The ISBN is different. It is a system of numerical identification, again provided by the federal government, for books, pamphlets, educational kits, microforms, CD-ROMs and other digital and electronic publications. Assigning a unique number to each published title provides that title with its own, unduplicated, internationally recognized identifier. Each different format of an electronic publication (e.g., Kindle, Kobo, EPUB, MOBI, PDF) that is published and made separately available shall be given a separate ISBN.

I didn’t know this. I was aware the print book had one ISBN and the ebook had a separate one, but this says each type of ebook requires its own number.

How is the ISBN used? Publishers, booksellers, libraries and others in the book industry use ISBNs to identify publications and determine the publishing country. An ISBN is required for the sale and distribution of a publication. Originally the numbers in Canada were 10 digits in length, but changed to a 13-digit number as of January 1, 2007. To learn more or apply for ISBN numbers, go to the government website – http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada/Pages/create-account-isbn-canada.aspx

Luckily, these numbers are free in Canada. The Library and Archives Canada assigns 10 numbers upon application. When they have been used, another 10 are assigned for your exclusive use.

*Information courtesy of Wikipedia and Library and Archives Canada

Pen name – yes or no?

By | | , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Should you use a nom de plume, or pseudonym as it’s more often called? As an author there are a number of reasons why you would want to use your own name. You are already known to a circle of people and can capitalize on that with your first publications. However, using a different name can be useful as well. We can all think of reasons why we might choose a new name:

  1. You have another life as a pediatrician and you want to write a crime novel
  2. Your name has always been awkward – Mr Stalker or Ms Bludgeon
  3. Your name can only be written in a foreign alphabet

Seriously, there are many reasons why you might consider a different name for your publications. See what they say on Write To Done for suggestions to consider – http://writetodone.com/use-a-pen-name/

Either way, I think it’s important to make the decision early in your career. Changing names mid-stream can create an uphill climb to make a new name known to your audience, a climb that you’ve already committed to for your first choice. There’s no point doing all that work twice, so pick your best name, be it your own or an invented one, and put it out there for all to become acquainted with right from the start.

Passing on Your Left

By | | , , , , , , ,
4 Comments

Walking trail IMG_0670

There are a lot of biking and walking trails where I live on Vancouver Island. They’re well used, mostly gravel although some lengths are dirt and lead through streams and over tangled tree roots. The trails lead past farm land, up steep hills, through dense forest and down old train routes.

When you’re riding a bicycle and approach people who are walking ahead in the same direction, the practice is to call out – “passing on your left”. It’s the polite way of giving notice that you’re overcoming walkers and to let them know you are there if they don’t hear you approach.

This morning as I walked along, I thought of how my writing is going. I’m not passing anyone these days. It’s been slow for a while now and will probably stay that way for a few more months. Life has happened to me, and it will take some time to sort it out, recover and regain my equilibrium. So it is others who are calling out to me – “passing on the left”.

But you see, I don’t mind that. Those who call out give hope to the rest of us who are moving at a slower pace. It’s as if they say – “I’m blazing the trail for you. Don’t give up hope, just keep on and soon you’ll see where we are going.”

Thank you everyone for the call out.

 

Favourite Books

By | |
Leave a comment

Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Burns. This book is so charming, we still quote from it although I read it years ago. Grampa owns a hardware store in town and his son works for him. Gramma won’t let him keep moonshine in the house, so every morning Grampa goes to his son’s house, into the closet and takes a whopping big drink of the gutrot he keeps there. Then he stamps his foot to allow it to go down. His 14 year old grandson’s favourite expression is, ‘Boy howdy, Grampa.’ It is a very sweet story.

To All Appearances a Lady, by Marilyn Bowering of Victoria, British Columbia. A very charming but sad story of whites and Chinese in western Canada in the 1850’s, with the opium trade and head tax. The story travels forward to the grandson in the Canadian Navy and back to the adventures of the past.

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. I read this book while still in high school. Because it is such a tome, it took a while to read. My mother complained that I was cranky the whole time I was reading it and was relieved when I was finished. But then my sister started it. Same scenario, a cranky read. Great book, a classic.

The Pale Horseman, by Bernard Cornwell. When I started this book I didn’t know the author Cornwell, but said to my husband, you are going to love this book. I discovered it was the third in a series and quickly got the first two. Great series. That got me onto the Richard Sharpe books by the same author and I read about nine of them before I moved on.

Open Season, by Linda Howard. I have read most of Linda Howard’s books but this one stands out along with Son of the Morning. Open Season has a wonderful tongue in cheek effect even while the bad guys murder a fellow right in front of Daisy, who has set out to find herself a mate, urged on by hormones. Son of the Morning, is much more gritty with a young woman running desperately for her life. She ends up doing some time travel, which is not typical Howard, but in its own way it is just as compelling as the first book. Both great books.

Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. I didn’t read fantasy until my son urged me repeatedly to read this book. When I finished it was I was so impressed that I continued on to read much more of this author. But this is definitely the best. It is not a small tome, but a few years later I was compelled to read it again, it had left such an impression. The young man at the heart of the story comes from a long line of mathematicians. He says about himself that he wasn’t as smart as his forefathers who were code breakers during the Second World War, so he became an engineer. The descriptions of these guys are hilarious, quirky, nerdy. Great fun.

A Son of the Fur Trade, the Memoirs of Johnny Grant. This is a book edited by Gerhard J Ens from the journals of a man who lived in the 1800’s in what is now Canada and the States. Grant called himself a half breed, his mother a native Indian, his father a Hudson’s Bay factor from Quebec. One of several children, he refused to cooperate with the attempts at education that his family made, and soon went his own way. He did business in Utah and Montana, travelled by horseback all over the central plains, was in Manitoba when Louis Riel conducted his uprising. In fact, Riel locked him up in case he tried to interfere. I found this book while doing family genealogy research and found it not just fascinating but a valuable source of information of the times.

Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet. I had already read many Follet books when I came across this one. By far his best novel, this book captured my attention. The characters are wonderful, compelling and highly motivated. It is a story of the church, the crown and corruption, all worked around the construction of the wonderful stone cathedrals in England and France. Truly a fine work.

The Holy Bible. I never tire of the wisdom and guidance to be found inside this book of books. Even when I am too tired to read much, a few lines, a paragraph are often sufficient.

What are some of your favourite books? Why did they make that list?