So you have officially written a book (yay!) that is edited and ready to distribute to audiences. Before you take that momentous next step, chances are you will want to get your hard work copyrighted. The process may sound overwhelming, but rest assured that it’s not difficult—in fact, compared to actually writing a book, I think you will discover it’s an absolute breeze!

First of all, it might help to touch on what a copyright is and why it is even necessary. A copyright simply creates a public documentation of your intellectual property (aka your book). Once you have gone through the trouble of copyrighting your work, you’ll include a specific page at the beginning of your book to let everyone know. This typically includes your name, the publication date, the reservation of rights (that standard disclaimer that no part of the book may be republished at length without permission), the copyright symbol, the book’s edition, and an International Standard Book Number (ISBN).

So why should you bother with the copyrighting process at all? While your work always automatically belongs to you as its creator, a copyright simply makes it much easier to prove if necessary. This protects you from anyone attempting to plagiarize your work or profit off it somehow.

Just keep in mind that copyrighting does not protect facts or ideas. It could be argued that there are no truly unique ideas out there anymore—so while your book likely shares some elements (tropes, themes, protagonist characteristics, etc.) with past books, so too will future books share some elements of yours. It is not necessarily a copyright infringement unless the similarities are basically copied and pasted.

Now, let’s move on to the actual process of copyrighting your book.

1. Go to the government’s copyright website.
That would be the Library of Congress’s official site. Filing your application online is much quicker than submitting a paper application. It takes around two months to process it online versus roughly one year for paper. It is also significantly cheaper—between $45 and $65 for online submissions versus $125 for paper.

2. Choose your category.
On the registration page, scroll down to see the various options for copyrighting. These include Literary Works, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Motion Pictures, Photographs, and Other Digital Content. You’ll want, of course, to choose Literary Works. Once you click on that, choose “Register a Literary Work.”

3. Set up your online account.
Assuming that you do not already have one, you will need to create an account to access the U.S. Copyright Office’s online portal. It’s a standard form that requires your personal information, a user ID, and a password. Even if you are using a pen name to publish your book, I recommend filling everything out using your legal name for a smoother process.

4. Choose the correct application.
Now that you’re registered and logged in, you will notice that the standard cost for submissions is $65. But if you click on “Register One Work by One Author,” you will see that a $45 registration option appears. This is assuming you are only copyrighting one book at a time—if not, check out the other options.

5. Fill out your application.
Simply click “Start Registration” and fill out all the wonderful nitty-gritty details of your book.

6. Time to pay up.
Here is where you submit payment for the U.S. Copyright Office’s filing fee. You will notice an item in your online cart, so just click the “Pay – Credit Card/ACH” option and you will be redirected to the U.S. Treasury’s website. This is where you can choose to either pay by direct deposit or via credit or debit card.

7. Submit your manuscript.
After confirmation of your payment, you’ll see a prompt telling you to submit a copy of your book. What they’re looking for, according to the U.S. Copyright Office, is the best edition of your book.

But what exactly does that mean? If you’re only planning on selling your book via digital platforms like Kindle, then obviously that is the edition you will be expected to send them. If you are selling both digital and paperback copies of your book, then send them the paperback version. If you are going all the way and offering hardcover, paperback, anddigital options, send the U.S. Copyright Office your hardcover version. In short, hardcover beats paperback beats digital.

And that’s it! You should hear back from the U.S. Copyright Office in approximately eight weeks, confirming that your copyright registration is complete.

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.