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One question we hear a lot from our authors is about copyrights. We’ve written several articles about copyrighting books, fair use and permissions, and other legal matters when it comes to publishing, but we thought it would be helpful to talk about the copyright page in your book.

The copyright page is found at the front of the book, usually right after the title page. The format can be varied as there is no single accepted template for copyright pages. Just do a quick Google for copyright page samples and you’ll see. Generally, they will contain things like: copyright notice, ISBN, publisher information, contact information, rights and permissions, country book is printed in, author website, credits and disclaimers. Let’s review a few of these in more detail.

Copyright notice
This is one absolute requirement of a copyright page. The copyright notice includes:

• The copyright symbol (©) or the word “copyright”
• The year of copyright
• The copyright holder’s name or identifier

A typical copyright notice will look like this: © 2020 Cindy Tyler
Copyrights can have multiple years listed if there are multiple editions: © 2016, 2018, 2020 Cindy Tyler

ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit number used worldwide by the publishing industry and retailers to identify your book. If you plan to sell your book in stores or online, you must have an ISBN.

(You can buy your own at bowker.com or purchase one at a low cost from Vervante. If you purchase your ISBN through Vervante, you are the sole owner of that number and Vervante retains no rights to it.)

Rights and permissions
This is optional, but useful. Technically, your copyright serves to let people know that this is your protected work, however it can help with “fair use” issues to state limitations of how people can use your book’s content. A very simple statement can be: “All rights reserved.”

But a lot of people choose to include copy similar to this: “All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact (NAME / EMAIL /ADDRESS / ETC).

Disclaimer
Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, disclaimers are often included by authors on advice from their agents, publishers or lawyers as a way to add a layer of protection if the book’s characters resemble real-life people or situations, or if someone says the book’s content damaged their business, relationship, etc.  

For fiction, you could write something like this: “This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.”

For a nonfiction advice, how-to or educational book, you could write something like this: “Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.”

For books that provide health, wellness, medical, fitness or similar content: “This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.”

[[For the record: We are not lawyers and we are not offering legal advice here — any legal concerns and specific language should be directed to a copyright attorney.]]

More information
Other information we often see on copyright pages includes:

• Author website and contact information
• Name of publisher and publisher address
• Country in which the book was printed
• Credits for things like photos, design, illustrations, graphics, editing, etc.

If you have any questions about your book copyright page or any other step of the process – from editing to design to printing, production and sales, we’re here to help. Just send us an email at sales@vervante.com. We’re here for you!

COVID-19 has created a lot of chaos and disruption in the world, and finding easy ways to organize and track tasks, home schooling, and all the changes in our lives is as important as ever. All of this might explain why planners are so popular right now, with an insatiable market filled with people who want the perfect planner for keeping their life, business, finances, relationships, food, fitness and pretty much everything else on track.

If you’ve ever thought about creating and selling your own planner, now is the perfect time. You can get a head start creating versions for 2021, or you can create undated planners that work anytime, anywhere.

Choosing the right publisher to help you create your planner is one of the first and most important decisions you need to make. Why? Because who you use to create your planners will affect how your planner will look and function in so many ways.

Many people make the mistake of thinking planners are just like books, so they turn to the brand most often associated with books – Amazon. And yes, Amazon is good with printing perfect bound books (the classic style with the glued binding), but planners aren’t really books. Customers do not want a planner that is like a paperback novel. Planners must be functional and durable, which means a sturdy hardcover that will hold up to months of use, spiral or wire-o binding so they can lay flat and be written on, with tabs and pockets and stickers and all the extras that make them so unique and perfect.

When it comes to creating planners, here's a list of the exciting options we offer:

• beautiful, durable hardcovers with printed covers, faux leather or linen
• spiral and wire-o binding
• no pre-set page sizes
• custom printed die-cut tabs
• mixed color and black & white printed pages
• kiss-cut stickers
• paper pockets
• foil stamp
• metal corners
• ribbon markers
• custom packaging 
• printed and shipped from our warehouse in the U.S.

If this gets you fired up to start creating a planner, we’re excited too! We are here to offer guidance and support for every step, so please feel free to email or set up a call for your next steps.

Watch for a fun, new planner option we’re announcing in the next few weeks!! We will be sending photos and a new video shortly. And, we’ll be making our InDesign files available for a new 2021 planner available soon too.

One of the hottest products we’re seeing used during this quarantine for keeping home, work, school and life in order are PLANNERS. Makes sense, right? If ever there was something custom-made to help people survive during the chaos the coronavirus has created, it’s planners.

• Working from home: Planners can help people thrown into new settings and unfamiliar work conditions with setting goals, meeting deadlines, and staying focused and productive.
• Homeschooling: Kids of every age benefit from seeing their tasks, goals and achievements in planners made especially for them.
• Food and Fitness: Tracking workouts, organizing grocery shopping and meals, and keeping track of everyone’s routine helps assure better health and fitness for the whole family
• Finances: The uncertainty of work, income and employment means it’s more important that ever to be aware of expenses, track finances and stick to budgets.

IF YOU CREATE AND SELL DAILY PLANNERS, now is the perfect time to provide your audience with the tools and support they need to survive and thrive during the “new normal” we find ourselves living in. And we are here to help you make it happen.

• Offer special bundles or pricing for current planners
• Create an undated planner so people can start using it now without feeling like they are wasting the first few months
• Add new products that help your target audience use their planners for the challenges they face such as: section divider tabs, stickers, notepads, to-do lists, bookmarks, pockets, etc.

FOR PLANNER ADD-ON IDEAS, check out these videos to see options for add-ons, covers, etc, and how they work: PLANNER VIDEOS. Once you’re ready to get started, you can reach out to us at sales@vervante.com to get free quotes, instructions and expert advice.

A new planner might be just what your audience needs – let us help you create something they’ll thank you for!