By Jennifer Braddock – Editor

Every new writer has that one fear: What if someone steals my story? You’ve poured your soul into your manuscript.

The idea of someone swiping it and cashing in is the stuff of literary nightmares.

Take a breath. The good news? You have more protections than you think, and they’re easier to access than you realize.

Ways Writers Can Protect Their Work:

  • Copyright Automatically Applies: The moment you put your story into a fixed form, like typing it in a document, saved in the cloud, or printed out, it’s automatically protected by copyright law. You own it, even if you haven’t registered it.
  • Register with the U.S. Copyright Office: While copyright is automatic, registration adds teeth. It gives you the right to sue for statutory damages and attorney’s fees if someone actually does steal your work. It’s cheap insurance, about $45 to $65 to register online at copyright.gov.
  • Keep Good Records
    Save dated drafts, emails to critique partners, and notes to yourself. Metadata and timestamps can be useful evidence of originality and creation dates.
  • Use Trusted Sharing Platforms
    If you’re sharing with beta readers or critique groups, choose platforms with built-in version tracking. Google Docs or Dropbox are good options. If you’re really concerned, ask your readers to sign a simple non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This isn’t common in most writing circles.

Myths to Avoid:

  • Poor Person’s Copyright: Mailing your manuscript to yourself is outdated and largely useless in court.
  • Someone Will Steal It Just Because You Shared It: In reality, theft of unpublished stories is incredibly rare. It’s good to have confidence that you have a great story. Most professionals have enough ideas and are too busy creating their own work to bother with stealing yours.
  • Your story deserves to be heard and not hoarded: Equip yourself with the facts, take a few simple steps, and then speak up boldly. After all, the bigger risk isn’t theft, it’s never letting anyone read your work at all out of fear.

Your Call to Action:

Ready to protect your writing and publish with confidence? Share this post with your writing group and check out our guide to registering your first copyright step-by-step.

Do you have questions or comments? Ask Besty Bot about the writing craft and how to publish your book with Best Chance Media!

Copy and Share This Post on Your Social Media:

💡Worried about your story getting stolen? Learn how to protect your work, what counts as first publication, and why fear shouldn’t stop you from sharing. #WritingTips #Copyright #AmWriting #IndieAuthors #WritersCommunity https://bestchancemedia.org/2025/01/09/how-to-safeguard-your-manuscript-from-theft/

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Published by Alan O’Hashi, Whole Brain Thinker

I’ve been involved with community journalism since 1968 when I wrote for my junior school paper, the "Tumbleweed," through high school and college and then wrote for the "Wyoming State Journal." I put aside my newspaper pen and began Boulder Community Media in 2005. There wasn’t much community journalism opportunity, so I resurrected my writing career as a screenwriter. My first short screenplay, “Stardust”, won an award in the 2005 Denver Screenwriting Center contest. I've made a number of movies over the years. Filmmaking is time-consuming, labor and equipment intensive. I recently changed my workflow to first write a book and make a movie based on that content. - Electric Vehicle Anxiety and Advice - This is a memoir travelogue of three trips covering 2,600 EV miles around Wyoming (2022) - Beyond Heart Mountain - Winter Goose Publishers released my memoir in February (2022) - The Zen of Writing with Confidence and Imperfection - This is a book recounting how luck planed into my signing a book deal after a 15-minute pitch meeting. (2020) - True Stories of an Aging Baby Boomer - War stories about living in a cohousing and lessons others can learn when starting their communities (2021) - Beyond Sand Creek - About Arapaho tribal efforts to repatriate land in Colorado (PBS - TBA) - Beyond Heart Mountain - Based on my memoir about my childhood in Cheyenne facing overt and subtle racism toward the Japanese following World War II (PBS - 2021) - New Deal Artist Public Art Legacy - About artists who created work in Wyoming during the Great Depression (PBS - 2018) - Mahjong and the West - SAG indie feature which premiered at the semi-important Woodstock Film Festival (2014) Over the years, I’ve produced directed, filmed and/or edited several short movies, “Running Horses” (Runner Up – Wyoming Short Film Contest), “On the Trail: Jack Kerouac in Cheyenne” (Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival, Top 10 Wyoming Short Film Contest), “Gold Digger” (Boulder Asian Film Festival), “Adobo” (Boulder International Film Festival), “A Little Bit of Discipline” (Rosebud Film Series), and two feature length documentaries “Your Neighbor’s Child” (Wyoming PBS and Rocky Mountain PBS), and “Serotonin Rising” (American Film Market, Vail Film Festival). He also directed and produced the award winning stage play “Webster Street Blues” by my childhood friend Warren Kubota. Boulder Community Media is a non-profit production company dedicated to democratzing media in all their forms - large and small screens, printed page and stage by providing sustainable and community-based content. I mostly work with community-based media producers, organizations, and socially-responsible businesses to develop their content via – the written word, electronic and new media, the visual and performing arts in a culturally competent manner – I’m what’s commonly called a niche TV and movie producer. Along with all this is plying my forte’ – fund development through grant writing, sponsorship nurturing and event planning.

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