Angela Megasko, founder of MarketViewpoint, author of Ultimate Mystery Shopping and SkillBites customer, forwarded to me a blog post that was very disturbing. It concerned a woman who was about to launch her book when she discovered that it had been stolen! Someone from Nigeria had taken her book, put his own name on the cover and was selling it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online sites. Click here to read the full story. While she ultimately got the online sites to take down the stolen book, it took her considerable time and effort to do so.

What can be done about this? For one, you need to be vigilant. At a minimum, do a quick search every now and then to make sure your book hasn’t been stolen. For another, register your copyright. You own a copyright in the content you create without registering it; but when you do register it, you declare your ownership as a matter of public record, and if you need to sue someone to prevent them from infringing on your copyright interest, you would have broader remedies if you win. You can register the copyright yourself for $35, or you can hire SkillBites to do it for you. It won’t prevent the book from being stolen, but it may reduce the risk of theft and make it easier for you to pursue your claim to get your book back.