The writing process is a solitary journey where your creativity and imagination can explore in the privacy of your writing space. Once your work is published, however, you and your work become public, increasing your visibility, your vulnerability, and the need for personal and professional protections.
Here are sixteen actionable tips to help you protect your work, feel at ease promoting yourself online and in-person, and ensure your personal and professional assets are secure.
Per the United States Copyright office, “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” However, there are benefits to officially registering a copyright when writing a book. Copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to:
• reproduce the copyrighted work• prepare derivative works• distribute copies• display the work publicly (including social media)
Registration is voluntary, but is required before you can file a copyright infringement lawsuit, and registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. If you do suspect someone has stolen your work and you want to file a lawsuit, you will be a step ahead and have a distinct advantage. Many authors choose to officially register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. This may be something your publisher can assist with, so check with your publishing contact.
Using a home address on websites, newsletter footers, or book materials exposes your location to the public, which can lead to unwanted contact, harassment, or security risks. Authors have the option of getting a P.O. Box or private mailbox for all author-related mail. This protects privacy, maintains safety, and keeps personal lives separate from writing careers. It also reduces identity-theft risks, since a home address is a key piece of personal data often targeted in scams or phishing attempts.
A P.O. Box can be obtained for a fee from the U.S. Postal Service through an online or in-person application. A private mailbox can be obtained for a fee from companies such as The UPS Store.
Authors should obtain and use a dedicated, author-specific email address to not only protect their privacy, but to complement their brand and keep communications organized. Separating personal and professional emails prevents accidental exposure of private information and keeps author-related messages such as reader inquiries, collaboration requests, and publishing correspondence from getting lost in a busy personal inbox. An author-branded email also looks more professional on websites, newsletters, and marketing materials, helping establish credibility with readers and industry professionals. In addition, authors frequently sign up for numerous digital platforms, events, and services, so keeping these logins tied to a dedicated email account adds an extra layer of safety and organization.
A dedicated author email address is also necessary if you plan to distribute an email newsletter. This protects your main inbox, builds sender credibility, and ensures deliverability to readers.
Everyone, including authors, should use strong passwords and a trusted password manager to protect their digital accounts from unauthorized access or hacking. Strong passwords are long, unique, and hard to guess, making it more difficult for hackers to break into websites, email accounts, online banking, publishing dashboards, and social media profiles. Because it can be challenging to remember a long list of complex passwords, a secure password manager can store them and generate new ones as needed. A password manager can also prevent individuals from reusing the same password across multiple accounts and platforms, and from using weak or compromised passwords.
Two-step authentication (2FA) provides a powerful extra layer of security beyond passwords, and is becoming more common across all types of platforms and websites online. Also known as “two-factor authentication”, it is a security process that requires users to provide two different forms of identification to prove identity when logging into an account online. Since passwords can be stolen, guessed, or leaked, 2FA makes it much harder for unauthorized users to access important accounts. This protects an author’s website, social media, newsletter platforms, publishing dashboards, banking information, email accounts, and more from being hacked or misused. Two-step authentication is free, easy to set up, and widely available across major online platforms, making it one of the simplest and most effective security measures for authors to implement.
Authors can protect their websites by combining strong security practices with ongoing maintenance. As noted above, using strong, unique passwords and enabling two-factor authentication on the website login, hosting account, domain registrar, and related email accounts, can add extra layers of protection. In addition, it’s important to keep all software, files, plugins, and themes updated to the latest versions to prevent any vulnerabilities. Many website builders also offer security tools or plugins that add protection through malware scans, firewalls, and limits on failed login attempts.
Using a contact form on your author website keeps your email address hidden, protecting you from spam bots, phishing attempts, and unwanted contact. With built-in spam filters or CAPTCHA, it also keeps your inbox cleaner than a publicly posted email address would. Contact forms help control the type of messages you receive by allowing you to include required fields or categories such as media requests, event inquiries, or reader questions, which keeps communications organized and easier to manage.
Authors should remove their phone number, personal address, and personal email address from any lists or platforms that expose their private information unnecessarily. This includes public directory sites such as people-finder databases, online phone books, and community directories that make contact details searchable. Authors should also review marketing and mailing lists such book promo services, newsletter platforms, or author databases to ensure their personal information is not displayed or used as a public-facing contact point. In addition, event registrations, writing workshops, and professional memberships sometimes publish member details, so authors should check their profiles and remove any personal information. Authors should also ensure their phone numbers are included on “Do Not Contact” lists to reduce unwanted contact from solicitors and scammers.
There are many benefits to having dedicated social media pages and accounts for an author business. Keeping personal communications separate from professional ensures any private details such as family photos, vacations, and hobbies stay out of public view. A dedicated author page or account strengthens branding by keeping all book-related updates, events, promotions, and reader interactions in one place, making it easier for readers, agents, and industry professionals to follow you with being inundated with unrelated personal posts. In addition, if an author hires a virtual assistant or social media manager, those individuals can access the author pages and accounts without having access personal accounts.
When it comes to social media, we always recommend sharing only the details and events you are comfortable with the public knowing. This includes any information in your account profiles.
Authors can monitor online activity around their name or book title by using free tools such as Google Alerts. To set up Google Alerts, simply enter the names, keywords, and book titles you would like tracked, and how often you want updates. When there are new mentions of you or your book, reviews, interviews, or discussions, Google will send you an email with the details. By flagging these instances, authors can address suspicious listings or piracy-related mentions. It’s also a great way to obtain some book marketing insights by showing where organic buzz is happening.
Rather than providing a personal phone number for meetings or communications, there are many online conferencing platforms that can be used by authors. Giving out your phone number can lead to unwanted calls or texts. A platform like Zoom, on the other hand, allows authors to meet without revealing private contact details, and keeps communication within clear professional boundaries. Zoom also offers useful features such as video, screen sharing, chat, and recording, that make it a great solution for interviews, collaborations, virtual events, and coaching sessions. Authors can host structured meetings, use waiting rooms, include participants selectively, or end sessions at any time, giving them far more control than a phone call.
Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are legal contracts that protect an author's unpublished work, ideas, or sensitive project details from being shared or stolen by collaborators like editors, translators, beta readers, or ghostwriters. They create a confidential relationship to protect intellectual property during the development, editing, and publishing process. NDAs legally bind others to secrecy, preventing unauthorized use or disclosure of content or business strategies.
Authors can use NDAs when sharing their manuscripts or ideas prior to publication, and before officially registering the copyright. Early drafts, concepts, and unpublished materials are sometimes vulnerable, and NDAs legally require the recipient to keep the content confidential and use it only for the agreed-upon purpose. They can reduce the risk of leaks, plagiarism, or premature release of book details.
Unfortunately, publishing and Hollywood-related scams continue to plague the industry, targeting authors with false promises, misleading information, and overpriced, fake services. Some are impersonating real people and companies as a way to deceive authors. The ultimate goal of these scammers is to take your money and never follow-through on their promises or services offered.
Authors can protect themselves and their work by understanding common red flags and staying vigilant. Some red flags to look for include:
• The email URL doesn’t match the company name, has hyphens or additional words, or ends in “gmail.com”.• The website URL has hyphens or additional words that differ from the company name listed.• No phone number is provided, or, the phone number that is provided is outside the United States.• There are many spelling errors or grammatical issues in the email copy.• There is no pricing transparency.• They use the title “literary agent”, or, are offering a “traditional publishing” deal, but ask you for money up front for editing, supplies, etc. Legitimate literary agents and traditional publishing houses will never ask for money up front.• Their website contains testimonials, but no actual authors or books they’ve worked with.• Their website contains incomplete copy, broken links, or spelling/grammar errors.
To learn more about common tactics and approaches scammers are using, and to see a complete list of red flags, we encourage you to read, “I’ve been receiving daily emails and phones calls about various “opportunities” for my published book. How do I know if these are scams or legit?”, and watch ALC President Keith Ogorek’s recorded webinar, “How to Recognize a Publishing Scam and Avoid It”.
Authors should research any service or individual who contacts them, verify identities through official websites, and consult trusted writer communities or professional organizations before pursuing any opportunities.
Many authors are using digital platforms like PayPal and Venmo to pay for goods and services. These platforms may display real names, photos, emails, or even transaction details by default, which can reveal personal information. To protect that information, authors should review each platform’s privacy features to hide personal details, and to set transaction visibility to “private”. Using a dedicated business account can further separate personal and professional payments.
Professional writing organizations and platforms like The Author Learning Center provide resources and guidance on topics such as copyright, contracts, cybersecurity, privacy practices, business operations, and more. They also provide community support, connecting authors with peers who share advice, best practices, and warnings about common scams.
In addition, membership in some organizations may include access to vetted service providers, discounts on legal or business tools, and up-to-date information on emerging threats that might affect an author’s work or online safety. These organizations give authors a trusted network, expert knowledge, and practical tools that strengthen their personal and professional protections.
Authors should consult an intellectual property (IP) attorney whenever they have questions or concerns about protecting their creative work, avoiding legal issues, or navigating complex publishing or business contracts. An IP attorney can clarify rights related to copyright, trademarks, contracts, licensing, collaborations, and adaptations, where misunderstandings can lead to loss of rights or costly mistakes. Authors should also consult an IP attorney if they suspect their work has been stolen or plagiarized, and need to seek legal recourse.
Protecting your writing and author business doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does require taking action, forming good habits, and remaining vigilant. By securing your intellectual property, safeguarding your personal information, and treating your career like a professional business, you can create a stable foundation for long-term success, without worrying about your personal or professional assets being vulnerable to attacks.
Photo credit: Thx4Stock from Getty Images; Photo credit: Kenneth Cheung from Getty Images; Photo credit: Supatman from Getty Images
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