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A BOOK'S JOURNEY IN THE UK
Finishing the book is only the first step.
Behind every printed book sit a few quiet systems: automatic copyright, a 13-digit ISBN for each format, a copy for the British Library, and a small payment each time a library lends it. Here is how they work, with the official sources linked.
Plain English, with the sources linked.
WRITTEN now protected
Follow a book's journey
THE SHORT ANSWER
Three systems follow a UK book
from the desk to the library.
COPYRIGHT
In the UK, copyright starts when the work is created. There is no form to fill in, and it lasts 70 years after the author's death.
How long it lastsISBN AND DEPOSIT
Each format gets its own 13-digit ISBN, and a copy goes to the British Library within a month of publication.
See the rulesPUBLIC LENDING RIGHT
Registered authors receive a payment for each UK library loan: 12.40p a loan in 2024/25.
Follow the journeyA BOOK'S JOURNEY
Pick a stage to see which system applies to a book at that point. Each answer comes from the official source linked at the foot of the page.
This is a general guide to how the systems work, not legal or financial advice for a particular book or contract.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Library lending pays a little per loan,
while writing incomes have fallen.
12.40p a loan
Paid per UK library loan
Up from 11.76p the year before. No one can receive more than £6,600 a year, and the British Library reports 24,992 UK payments for 2024/25. Authors must register to be paid.
PUBLIC LENDING RIGHT · 2024/25
£7,000 vs £17,608
Earnings from writing, main-job authors
A survey for the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, run by CREATe at the University of Glasgow, found that earnings from writing for authors who spend most of their working time writing fell from £17,608 in 2006 (in 2022 money) to £7,000 in 2022.
AUTHORS' EARNINGS · 2022
In the same survey, 19% of authors earned all of their income from writing in 2022, down from 40% in 2006.
BEFORE YOU PUBLISH
Copyright needs no registration, so a dated record of your own drafts is simply good housekeeping.
List every edition you plan, from hardback to ebook, and check who is responsible for the ISBN for each one.
If you are the publisher, the British Library copy is due within a month of publication day.
Once the book is out, sign up for Public Lending Right before 30 June so library loans can count.
AUTHOR FACTS
GOV.UK says copyright protection starts as soon as a work is created. For written works it lasts 70 years after the author's death.
Since 1 January 2007 every ISBN has 13 digits. In the UK and Ireland they are issued by an agency run by Nielsen.
A jacketed hardback, a paperback and an EPUB of the same title each need their own ISBN, because each is a separate product.
The British Library must receive a copy within a month of publication. Five other libraries, from Edinburgh to Dublin, may request one within 12 months.
Public Lending Right is not automatic. The British Library asks contributors to sign up by 30 June to be counted in that year's calculations.
QUICK QUESTIONS
Short answers to the questions new authors ask most.
Do I need to register copyright on my book in the UK?
No. The UK government says copyright protection starts as soon as a work is created, so there is no official register to join. For a written work it lasts until 70 years after the author’s death.
Does every edition of a book need its own ISBN?
Each product form does. The International ISBN Agency gives the example that a hardback, an A-format paperback, a B-format paperback and an EPUB of the same title each need a unique ISBN. Since 1 January 2007 all ISBNs have 13 digits.
Who issues ISBNs in the UK?
The UK and Ireland ISBN Agency is run by Nielsen (NielsenIQ BookData). Publishers based in the UK or Ireland apply to it.
What is legal deposit?
Under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, the publisher of a printed work must deliver a copy to the British Library within a month of publication. The national libraries of Scotland and Wales, the Bodleian, Cambridge University Library and Trinity College Dublin can also request a copy within 12 months.
Do authors get paid when libraries lend their books?
Yes, if they register for Public Lending Right. The rate for UK loans in 2024/25 was 12.40p per loan, up from 11.76p the year before, and the most any one person can receive is £6,600 a year. The British Library asks authors to register by 30 June.
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