Ownership of Your Writing

Copyright

The copyright is owned by the author.  It is a good idea to register your book with the Library of Congress.  It costs about $20 and identifies the moment at which copyright begins.  However, copyright actually begins at the moment your book is finished, whether registered or not.

If you think your book will continue to be published after your death, you would want to establish a limited liability company (LLC) ahead of time.  In the LLC you can have other people as "members" such as spouse, children, etc., who would continue receiving income from the publication of your book.  This would keep income from sales of your book out of probate.  It is safer than a trust in some states, particularly in Nevada.  If you have a trust, you can put the LLC in the trust.

Agent

If you have an agent, he/she would get a percentage of your gross or net income from the book.  In fact, the publisher will pay the agent who will take their cut and send you your portion.  The contract you would sign with an agent can also be with your LLC if you prefer.  As long as your book is in print and selling, both you and your agent will be getting money. 

Publishing Rights

The author through the agent sells the book to a publisher for a period of time, say ten years.  If your book goes out of print, the rights return to the author and the agent is out of the loop at that time.

ISBN

Every book you write needs an ISBN  (International Standard Book Number).  For each form your book takes you will also need an ISBN, each is a different product and needs its own number--for each edition in a foreign language, each needs its own ISBN;  a hard copy needs its own, a paperback needs a different one, as does an e-book, audio book, large print edition, and so forth.  At this date of writing, an ISBN costs about $125 for one number, but you can get several numbers so that ten might only cost $25 each.  The Nielsen Company is an ISBN agency for international publications.  The R. R. Bowker Company is an ISBN agency for American publications.  The ISBN indicates the geographical location of your publisher.