What to Put on Your Copyright Page

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 is 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 does not 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 is not liable for how the reader uses it, and, where relevant, that it is not professional advice. Match the wording to your subject.

Keep It Clean

The copyright page should be quiet and tidy. It is typically set in a smaller size, often centered 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 is 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.