: Re: How to secure my written work from being stolen or copied before publishing? I'm a newbie in the field of writing. After writing a book, I need to visit a number of publishers. So, how do

@Annie587

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As Darkocean noted, the instant you write your story, it is protected by copyright law.

"Is there any official body who can control any type of theft or plagiarism of written content?" Yes. In the United States, that would be the United States Copyright Office and the court system. Other countries have similar organizations.

Theoretically, I suppose, you could take your work to a publisher, they could put somebody else's name on it, publish it, and claim that they never heard of you. But in real life, they're not going to do this. Worrying about such things is like, well, like worrying that the bank will take your money and deny that you deposited it, or that the auto mechanic will refuse to give your car back and claim that it's his. Such crimes are possible, but only the most dishonest and fly-by-night businesses are going to try such a thing. Sooner or later they'd get caught and have to pay huge damages, maybe even go to jail. Not to belittle your efforts, but do you really think your work is so valuable that a publisher would risk going to jail rather than give you your fair share of the profits?

New authors often ask this question. My advice is: Don't worry about someone stealing your work. Worry about writing something good enough that someone would want to steal it.

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