title: Every Writer's Guide to Copyright and Publishing Law, Second Edition
author:  Ellen M. Kozak 
description: It would be wrong for a writer to assume that the mere hiring of an agent or a lawyer absolves him or her of all responsibility to understand copyright and other publishing laws. For one thing, most lawyers are not schooled in the intricacies of these laws; for another, a writer could save a bundle of money by preparing well before going to a lawyer. But most importantly, it behooves a writer to have a working understanding of the laws that govern his or her work, because some of them are complicated, and pleading ignorance isn't usually a strong defense. Ellen M. Kozak provides a trim primer on such legal issues as the ever-evolving U.S. copyright laws (including the burgeoning field of electronic copyright), contracts, libel, fair use, work for hire, collaboration agreements, and dealing with copyright infringement. This is a modest, straightforward guide that explains the many complex laws behind the deceptively simple copyright dictum that "all works of sufficient length," according to Kozak, "... are covered by federal law once they have been fixed in a medium of expression from which they can be read back." <i>--Jane Steinberg</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  # ![image](../Images/00001.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  THE COMPLETE NOVEL
  
  
  
  
  
  ![image](../Images/00002.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  ![image](../Images/00003.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2015 Beth Kery
  
  
  
  
  
  Excerpt from _Glimmer_ copyright © 2015 Beth Kery
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover images © Melissa Ross/Getty Images and vesmil/iStock.com.
  
  
  
  
  
  (Adapted from a design by Sarah Oberrender)
  
  
  
  
  
  The right of Beth Kery to be identified as the Author of the Work has been
  asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
  1988.
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by arrangement with Berkley Publishing Group,
  
  
  
  
  
  A member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,
  
  
  
  
  
  A Penguin Random House Company
  
  
  
  
  
  First published in 2014 as an ebook serialisation
  
  
  
  
  
  First published in this Ebook edition in 2015  
  
  
  by HEADLINE ETERNAL  
  
  
  An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
  
  
  
  
  
  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only
  be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with
  prior permission 