Resources Formatting Guides
What to Put on Your Copyright Page
A plain-English guide to the copyright page in a book: what it must include, what is optional, and how to write one that looks professional.
The copyright page is the small print near the front of a book, usually just after the title page. Readers rarely stop on it, but a missing or messy copyright page is one of the quickest ways a self-published book looks amateur. The good news is that it's easy to get right once you know what belongs on it.
What the Copyright Page Is For
The copyright page declares who owns the work, states the terms of use, and gathers the book's publishing details in one place. It doesn't create your copyright, which exists automatically the moment you write the book, but it announces it clearly and professionally.
What to Include
A clean copyright page usually contains most of the following:
- The copyright notice: the word Copyright or the symbol, the year of publication, and your name. For example, Copyright 2026 Jane Author.
- A rights statement: a line reserving your rights, such as "All rights reserved," often followed by a short sentence saying the book may not be reproduced without permission.
- A disclaimer, which differs for fiction and nonfiction (see below).
- The ISBN or ISBNs for the edition, if you have them.
- Publisher or imprint name, if you publish under one.
- Edition or printing information, such as First edition.
- Credits, such as cover designer or editor, if you wish to acknowledge them.
- A website or contact, which is optional but useful.
The Fiction Disclaimer
Fiction usually carries a line making clear the story is invented, along the lines of: this is a work of fiction, and names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to real persons or events is coincidental. This protects you and sets reader expectations.
The Nonfiction Note
Nonfiction often includes a short disclaimer instead, noting that the book is for information, that the author isn't liable for how the reader uses it, and, where relevant, that it isn't professional advice. Match the wording to your subject.
Keep It Clean
The copyright page should be quiet and tidy. It's typically set in a smaller size, often centred or left aligned depending on the book's style, and it should never be the most eye-catching page in the book. Consistency with the rest of your front matter matters more than length.
Let the Details Fill Themselves In
Because the copyright page pulls together facts you enter elsewhere, the title, author, year, ISBN, and publisher, it's a page that benefits from being generated rather than retyped. Koberger includes a copyright page that can draw live details from your Book Details, so the year, author, and publishing information stay correct and consistent without you editing them by hand. For the wider structure, see our guides to front matter and back matter.
Bottom Line
Your copyright page needs a copyright notice, a rights statement, the right disclaimer for your genre, and your publishing details. Keep it clean and consistent, let the facts flow in from your book's details rather than typing them twice, and your book will look professional from the very first pages.
Frequently asked questions
What do you put on a copyright page?
The copyright notice (the © symbol, the year, and the author or publisher name), a rights-reserved statement, the ISBN, the edition or printing, and often a disclaimer for fiction. Nonfiction may also credit the editor, cover designer, and any permissions.
Is there a copyright page template?
Yes. Most books follow a standard copyright page template: the copyright line, a rights-reserved statement, the ISBN, a disclaimer, and credits, in roughly that order. You can adapt a template to your book, or let a formatter build the page from your book details.
Do you need a copyright page?
It's strongly recommended. The copyright page isn't what creates your copyright, which exists automatically, but it states your ownership clearly, carries your ISBN, and makes the book look complete and professional.
Where does the copyright page go?
In the front matter, usually right after the title page. In print it often sits on the reverse of the title page; in an ebook it appears as its own short section near the front.