The popularity of eBooks has indeed opened a plethora of new opportunities for readers and authors. As a reader, you need not always keep a heavy book with you. All you have to do is reach into your backpack, find your phone/tablet/Kindle and jump into the world of your favorite author. At the same time, numerous emerging authors all around the globe have also benefited immensely from self-publishing eBooks. On platforms like Amazon, features like Kindle Direct Publishing allow new and emerging authors to garner a wide reading audience quickly and efficiently. The eBook self-publishing process is not only cheap and easy but also highly sustainable. However, the joys of wider accessibility and fear of content theft are two sides of the same coin. If you are an author and have published your book, you must know that eBook protection is of utmost importance.
You want readers to interact with your book, but at the same time, you also want them to acknowledge the uniqueness of your work and appreciate the hard work you put into it. Appropriate eBook protection measures will prevent anyone from copying, distributing, and selling your work illegally.
Regrettably, there are no foolproof ways you can adopt to prevent someone from copying and selling your work. Nevertheless, there are some measures you can take to maximize the security of your eBook.
Here are some important things you must keep in mind while self-publishing your eBook.
eBook Protection Through DRM
DRM refers to Digital Restrictions Management, and it helps ensure only the right people can access your eBook. There are numerous DRM software available in the market, and you can take your pick depending on the kind of security measures you need.
You can change and modify the settings and controls as and when required. For instance, with a DRM, you can limit the access of the book to those who have purchased it on the device of their choosing.
Platforms like Amazon, Apple, Google Play, and Adobe apply their DRMs for the eBooks on their platform. Even if you are self-publishing via these platforms, we recommend researching DRM and adding additional security measures yourself.
Add a Digital Watermark to Your eBooks
This is not a sure-shot method to protect against copying your content, but it does help add a layer of security.
With digital watermarking, you can plaster your name or sign on every page of your eBook. This watermark cannot be easily deleted or removed. Hence, even if someone downloads your book illegally, the watermark will protect your work from being copied.
Add an Official Copyright Notice
An official copyright notice works as a great warning for those who would want to copy and share your content illegally.
Add the notice at the beginning of the book reminding the readers that the work published by you is your own and anyone who tries to copy and share it illegally will be culpable for copyright infringement.
However, we also recommend understanding copyright laws in your region properly before publishing an official notice with your eBook.
Use Password Protection
Under password eBook protection measures, all the readers who purchase the book are sent a passcode to access the book. With additional measures, passcode access can be restricted to one device only.
Through this measure, all those who download the book illegally won’t be able to read it. Nevertheless, keep in mind that this won’t stop people from borrowing passwords from their friends and family.
Market Your eBook
This step can play a major role in preventing content theft. Market your eBook extensively and make a place for it in your niche. Gradually, people will start recognizing your work and develop a close relationship with your writing.
In such a scenario, if a third person claims your work to be their own, the readers loyal to you will recognize your work instantly.
If you self-published your work, some ways in which you can market your book are:
- Post book updates on your website
- Write blog posts related to your eBook
- Utilize social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Goodreads, etc.
- Give incentives to buyers
- Provide coupon codes with your eBook
Set Up Google Alerts
Through Google Alerts, you will be notified each time someone tries to download your book illegally. You can select some sentences from your eBook, and you will be notified each time someone uploads these sentences anywhere on the web.
This is a good way to track who is trying to access your book, but it can also be very confusing. Someone copy-pasting a sentence doesn’t necessarily mean they are trying to download or steal it. Often, people do some research about books and read some reviews before deciding to invest in them.
Enforce Editing Restrictions
You can secure your eBooks by restricting people from editing them. Additionally, you can also restrict people from copying anything from your eBook using the copy feature on computers.
This prevents people from making changes in your work to claim it as their own. Almost all DRM software comes with this feature.
Limit to Fixed Locations
This is not a highly advisable eBook protection measure as it also minimizes access options for people who have purchased your eBook.
With fixed location settings, you specify certain locations like IP addresses or geographical ranges from which people can access the eBook.
Depending upon the type of eBook and target audience, sometimes publishing houses also use this preventive measure. For instance, textbooks can be restricted to a certain school, libraries, etc.
As a self-publishing author, if you are also catering to a specific set of audiences, you can opt for these kinds of eBook protection measures.
In Conclusion
Authors want more and more people to read their work, but in this digitally driven world, it is also important to protect your work from predators.
With the plethora of online reading platforms available, you can never know who might download your work illegally and copy it. Hence, it is desirable to take appropriate preventive measures to avoid this from happening.
Do proper research before implementing these measures to ensure they fulfill all your requirements. To know more, please write to us at KITABOO@hurix.com
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