First, Second or Third Person Narrative

 

Let’s talk about First person, second person and third person narrative.

First person narrative is a point of view (who is telling a story) where the story is narrated by one character at a time. This character may be speaking about him or herself or sharing events that he or she is experiencing—the use of first-person pronouns. Many stories and novels are written I the first-person point of view. In this kind of narrative, you are writing the character’s story by their perspective. You are writing their story through their eyes.

 

 Example: “I left my keys on the kitchen counter but now I can’t find them.”

Second Person Narrative:

  Second-person point of view belongs to the person (or people) being addressed.

The biggest indicator of the second person use is pronouns like: you, your, yours, yourself or yourselves.

Example: “If you eat these fruits you will find that your health is much better to combat illnesses.”

A self-help book is written in a second person narrative. There are a lot of self-help books out there and when you buy one, you’ll see the narration and how it’s written. These books are a dime in dozen and the writer is addressing the reader when they write.

 

Third Person Narrative:

The third-person point of view/narrative belongs to the person (or people) being talked about. The third-person pronouns include he, him, his, himself, she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, and themselves.

 Example: “Candy used her paycheck to buy herself a new dress.”

 Most popular books are written as a third person narrative but let’s talk more about first person narrative for a bit.

It is easy to write a book using first-person narrative/point of view. Take a look at Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey, all of those books were written as first-person narrative.

Easy? Yes, the author publishes his/her book quicker, and are capable of producing several books within 6 months. Most of my books are written as a third person narrative, only The Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart and Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart are written as first-person narrative. My book Chandra’s Quest Book 1, the 2002 version, was written as a first-person narrative but when I decided to re-write the book, I chose third person narrative instead.

 Author’s that write as a first-person narrative, usually use what they know about the subject they are writing. Sometimes they will use personal experiences in their life and will use fractions of those experiences in their books.

  One of my sons told me that someone they know wants to write a book using first-person narration and use actual names of people he/she knows. Well, you cannot copyright your own name, or titles, or ideas, names are not copyrighted. The person who wants to write a fiction book can make subtle changes to the characters, like hair color, eyes, the character’s place of employment, relationship with other people or where they live. Making subtle changes can help avoid confusion and grievance.

Again, I want to state that names are not copyrighted. You cannot sue an author for using your name in his/her book. It would be considered frivolous and will not hold up in court, not even small claims. Food for thought.

The link below will give more info.

My books:

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart

MY Website

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How Long Does a Copyright Last?

I was asked this question several times. It’s not that hard to search for info on the subject but when your written work is questioned in whether you have copyright papers or not, I need to emphasize that everything you write and publish needs to be copyrighted. I’m not talking about fanfic, or blog entries, only books you plan on publishing. A few years ago, CreateSpace wanted proof that in the company of elves was my written work, and that I did not steal from that other author, Sandie Bergen. Really? I do not know that author, I only know that she used the title, In the Company of Elves for one of her books and it was in recent years that she wrote and published her book. February 1, 2016. Her book is a part of a trilogy, whereas my book, is a single novel. By the way, the author died in 2015. Just noting.

 As for my book, I originally published it in 2009, then revised it and published it as paperback in 2018 but published it as eBook in 2017.

2009

2017

 I came up with the title back in 2004, and started writing the book so yes, I have copyright papers for it. I had to prove my book was mine and by showing CreateSpace the copyright paper for the book, all was cleared.

After I researched the length a copyright for written work last, well I was amazed! This is what I came up with:

*The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: A copyright lifespan is 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

What happens to the copyright when an Author dies?

In modern US copyright law, for works made by individuals (not works made by corporations), works are protected for the author's entire life plus 70 years. In the U.S. and Europe, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. When an author dies, the ownership of the copyright changes. So, ownership in a copyright can be passed to an heir or to a third party via a will.

And that is why I say get a will and last testament set up.

I want to tell you that when you copyright your work, it will cost you. Digital copyright registration will run you $55 each written work. They will send you the paperwork through regular mail. However, if you're filing for one creative work and you're the only copyright holder, it only costs$35. Paper filings have $85 copyright fees.

I suggest spending the $85. You download and print the paperwork, fill it out, sign your name on it and send it to the Copyright office. I know, $85 can be quite a bit for some people but in the long run it’s worth it.  

Side note: Copyright your written work. I want to add that titles can’t be copyrighted. Copyrights cover works fixed in a tangible format, but because titles are typically short, they don't fall under copyright protection. So no, you can't copyright a title to a book, song or movie.

That is why when you search for a specific title on Amazon or other online bookstores, you might find various similar titles, but the content is not the same as what you’re looking for. I was searching for, Stranger Things, just to see how many books were out there with a similar title and wouldn’t you know it, I found many. So instead I decided to call my book, The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual phenomenon, instead of Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon.

You can find this book on Amazon, just the eBook version.

The Stranger Things

Let’s Talk about What Can’t Be Copyrighted

Two years ago, when I revised my book, In the Company of Elves, CreateSpace, the publishing company, informed me to show proof that the book in question is in fact my personal work. I was beside myself. Of course there wasn't a problem. They just wanted me to show them proof of copyright. 

I copyrighted the original book back in 2009 long before I revised it. I had no problem sending poof, however after finding out that another author, had published a book under the same name and she or should I say someone who she knows, complained-- I was irked! 

The author passed away back in 2015, that is what was posted but her sister in law or someone who is in charge of her written work really should have done their research. 

I am the original author who thought up the title, In the Companyof Elves, many years ago. But as I had mentioned in my book, The Other Sideof Things Part 1, you cannot copyright titles. Below is a list of what can’t be copyrighted. This is for the people who get triggered over seeing their name or title in a book. If your name is Julie or Vic and you see it in a book, remember the names are common and can be used.

There are many things that cannot be copyrighted, they either don’t fall under the jurisdiction of copyright or don’t qualify for its protection. There are also exemptions and that place some content immediately into the public domain. So, if you’re wondering about the things you can’t copyright, here is a short list of five of the more important ones.

Public domain images, written work, et cetera: 
Is in reference to creative materials such as patent drawings that are not protected by copyright, trademark, patent, or any other intellectual property laws. A public-domain work can be used without cost. The written work or image has not been copyrighted.

Titles and Names

Copyright protection does not extend to titles, names, slogans or short phrases, the Copyright Office has made that very clear. You cannot copyright your name, the title of your post or any short phrase that you use to identify a work. The reason is that copyright is designed to protect works of creative authorship, it is not designed to protect how that work is identified in the marketplace, the same goes for people and places. Furthermore, such short phrases rarely meet the requisite level of creativity to be considered for copyright protection.

Caveat: Titles may not be copyrighted.

Recipes: recipes also fall under this category. Specifically, the listing of ingredients (even if it's your own recipe ingredients) is not protected by copyright. This applies to formulas, compounds, and prescriptions as well. There are exceptions however, such as when recipes are compiled in a cookbook for instance or if the recipe is accompanied by “substantial literary expression,” a term that refers to text such as directions, or when there is a combination of recipes, there may be a basis for copyright protection.

Ideas: Ideas, methods, and systems are not covered by copyright protection, because they are not fixed into a tangible medium of expression.  For a work to be copyrighted, it has to be written down, saved to a hard drive or somehow otherwise fixed. For example, if you give a speech but fail to write it down first and it isn’t recorded, there is no copyright protection. Likewise, if you tell an idea to a friend, you don’t receive copyright protection if they run with it and use it for themselves, that is, unless you write it down. However, even ideas that are fixed do not receive protection in and of themselves. Rather, it is the expression of the idea that is protected.

Commonly Known Information: This category includes items that are considered common property and with no known authorship. Examples, include standard calendars, height and weight charts, telephone directories, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents. A phrase such as “The sky is blue” also falls under this category since there is no known authorship associated with it.

Fashion: Contrary to what you might think, fashion (that is, a shirt, dress, or other article of clothing) is not protected by copyright law. Despite the fact that copyright law protects such things as architectural design works (Circular 41) or works of the visual arts (Circular 40), fashion is all about clothing and accessories, which under copyright law are considered “useful articles." It is possible however, to copyright a specific fabric pattern (Burberry plaids for example), but not the actual dress. It should be noted that while designs can't be copyrighted, they can be patented.

Protected by the First Amendment

Expressive Use: Using someone’s name, image or life story as part of a novel, book, movie or other “expressive” work is protected by the First Amendment, even if the expressive work is sold or displayed. Therefore, using a person’s life story as part of a book or movie will not be deemed a misappropriation of the Right of Publicity.

 NOTE: I’ve never used an actual person’s life story, but I grant permission if someone wanted to write about me, after my death. By that time, I’ll be dead and won’t really care except maybe my children or grand-children. Of course, it depends on the content of the written work.

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Can you Copyright an Idea or Title?

(Can you copyright an idea or a title?)

Copyright protection does not extend to titles, names, slogans or short phrases. You can not copyright your name, the title of your post or any short phrase that you use to identify a work. Ideas can not be copyrighted because they are not fixed into a tangible medium expression. 
However,copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship. In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark.

Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act specifically states: “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in such work.

Derivative works: there can be a lot of gray area between an uncopyrightable idea and an infringing derivative. Example, you can write your own book about a boy wizard and a wizard school, but you can’t use any of the characters from Harry Potter.

What I think: 

well, those rules do not apply to Fanfic, I suppose. If you're writing fanfic, which usually is posted on Fanfic websites, the short stories are not copyrighted. I will post a blog entry about Fanfiction writers in the coming weeks.

I am going to relate an experience I had earlier this year.
I finally published the revised version of my book, In the Company of Elves.  A book I originally wrote back in 2005 and copyrighted and published it with Instantpublishers in 2009. Uploading the revised version  to Kindle was no problem but when I uploaded the file to CreateSpace to publish a paperback version, I received an email from them that my book was suspended until I showed proof that I own the rights to the book. When I called CreateSpace to ask them why my book was suspended, they told me there was some confusion regarding another book by the same title! Another indie/self-published author used the same title. I was surprised and irked but since I had the original copyright papers for my book, I sent a copy of it to CreateSpace.  All was taken care of and the paperback version of my book is for sale. 

The other author's book was published in 2016 under the same title. I already had a book with that same title up on Amazon since 2009. The content of both books are very different, however they are both categorized as fantasy. Her book is a part of a trilogy whereas my book is just one single novel. I assume she decided to use her subtitle as the main title instead of using Cat's Tales as the main title. Confusing isn't it. 

Example:

Chandra's Quest 

Chandra's Quest Book 2: Twisted Embers

Chandra's Quest Book 3: Immortality

I don't know if the author did it intentionally but I did find out that the author has long since passed away. her sister in law takes care of the distribution of the author's books. What the author did does happen. But you can't copyright titles as stated above.

Can someone steal an idea for their own book?

Yes! It happens. My advice to all authors, especially indie/self-published authors, don't post your book's information on your website (especially if you're still working on it) until you're almost ready to publish it. A person may use a title you come up with, that's fine, there are many similar titles on online bookstores, however keeping your idea for your book furtive, helps. We all have a rival who is jealous and downright mean-spirited, who may go to extremes to damage your progress or reputation. Just noting. 

*Can anyone use the idea from a book that you published? Anonymous

Answer: Yes they can, as long as they change a few things, and make it their own. Some writers who write the scripts for actors for certain TV shows, have used ideas from unknown authors. If an author wants to claim that the producers or writers of a show used his/her idea for their script, remember ideas are not copyrighted so basically it's hard to prove. 

What I think: I personally think that if your idea is used in a show or movie, may they link your book as a source, giving the unknown author credit! It can be, "This story is loosely based on a book by," it's that simple. A lot of indie/self-published authors have seen their ideas used in TV shows like the syfy channel.
It is a compliment to have someone like the idea that you used to write your book, however you won't see royalties from it and it's not fair to the struggling writer.

Copyright Certificates

How long is the copyright certificate valid?

*As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

In conclusion, ideas, names and titles are not protected. To all my fellow indie/self-published authors, good luck and be vigilant with your work. 

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Cecile Garcia (author)

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