Understand what you own before you publish.

Copyright is about ownership and control of an original work. In the UK it arises automatically when an original work is written down — there is no registration form to complete and nothing to buy.

Owning copyright means controlling who may do certain things with the work. When a publisher traditionally acquires a book, the contract usually licenses or assigns some of these rights for particular formats, territories and periods. That is why rights clauses matter so much.

• Reproduction — making copies
• Distribution — issuing copies to the public
• Adaptation — for example, film, stage or abridged versions
• Performance — including readings and audio
• Translation into other languages
• Licensing any of these to someone else

This page is general information. For specific legal questions or complex rights arrangements, authors should take appropriate legal advice.

An ISBN is an identifier. It tells the book trade which edition and format a record refers to — the paperback, the hardback and the ebook normally each have their own. It is used for ordering, cataloguing and sales reporting.

Copyright concerns ownership of the creative work itself. The two are separate: buying an ISBN does not create copyright, uploading to Amazon does not create copyright, and publishing with Quill & Reed does not create copyright. You already had it when you wrote the book.

Whoever’s name appears as the publisher against an ISBN is recorded in the trade database. That is worth understanding, because it affects how the edition is listed — but it is not a transfer of your copyright.

Authors sometimes assume that because they own the book, they automatically control everything around it. In practice these are separate assets, each held in a different place.

Under Quill & Reed’s standard service model, the author receives the relevant retailer and platform payments through their own publishing accounts. Quill & Reed does not take a standard percentage of those royalties.

That does not mean the author receives the cover price. What arrives from each sale depends on the route and settings, and can be affected by several things.

• Retailer and platform terms
• Print costs
• Wholesale discount
• Distribution charges
• Taxes
• Returns, where applicable

Different platforms use the word “royalty” in slightly different ways. It is more useful to ask: after everyone else is paid, what arrives in my account for each copy?

This is a conceptual illustration only. The figures that replace “varies” depend entirely on the platform, format, market and settings you choose, and they change — check current platform terms.

We prefer author-controlled accounts because they keep things honest and portable. Quill & Reed may need authorised access to carry out agreed work, but access is not ownership, and nothing transfers to us.

• Transparency — you can see exactly what is listed and at what price
• Direct access to sales and reports
• Payments go straight to you
• Portability — your books stay put if you change provider
• No dependency on Quill & Reed remaining involved forever

The same principle applies. Under the standard service model the account is author-controlled wherever practical. Quill & Reed supports setup and ongoing administration, but the account should never become leverage over the author.

The author should control their author domain — something like janesmithauthor.com or johnsmithbooks.co.uk. Quill & Reed may help register and set it up, but you should never depend on us simply to keep your own web address.

Your reader list should remain your author asset. Depending on the package, Quill & Reed may help configure, segment, send or manage it. Ending the service should not erase your relationship with your readers.

This remains subject to applicable privacy law and the terms of the mailing platform used — readers’ consent belongs to the relationship they signed up to.

Authors can publish under a pen name. Publishing accounts, payment and tax details, and contracts will usually still require your legal identity privately — the pen name is what readers see. For tax or legal questions, take appropriate advice.