How do you get something copyrighted?

How to get something copyrighted without publishing it?

• Hey. This probably sounds like a stupid question. Like,"Why don't you just publish it?" Well, I'm currently working on a novel and I want to share an excerpt will people and some quotes, but, since my book isn't finished yet I can't even begin to think about getting it published. I'd like to share some of my work without it getting stolen, because I've worked EXTREMELY hard on it. I became curious when I saw that this girl on YouTube, CassJayTuck, posted her work in her blog, cassjaytuck.blogspot.com, and said it was copyrighted. Thanks!:)

• Answer:

  It's already copyrighted from the moment you type it into your computer. You're kidding yourself if you think that small pieces of a novel you haven't even finished yet have any inherent commercial value. They're good for getting people to comment on your plot, characters and writing style, or for generating pre-release buzz. Look at it this way: if somebody "steals" these pieces, what do you imagine they'll do with them? They can't sell them, because you haven't given them the complete story. If they want to write their own story from them, then as long as they don't use any recognisable phrases or sentences from your writing, you can't stop them. (Copyright doesn't protect ideas for stories.) Even if they copy your writing word for word and try to continue the story, they'll have saved themselves, at most, 1% of the work. (Even a whole chapter would be only 2% or 3% of a complete novel.) The only person who would do that is someone who isn't (yet) a good enough writer to realise how little work he's saved himself by copying your work - in other words, someone who isn't yet good enough to write something that stands a chance of earning money.