Finish writing your book. In the U.S., you have automatic legal copyright protection of your book, in whole or in part, as long as it's in a fixed medium such as print or electronic document. You must send finished copies of your book to the Library of Congress to secure official registration of your copyright. To avoid any possible confusion internationally, include a copyright page in your book that features either the standard copyright symbol of a C in a circle or the word "Copyright" followed by the year the book is published and the author's or copyright owner's name. "Copyright 2010 by John Doe" is an example of this.
Research the copyright protection offered by the foreign country where your book will be released. Find out if the country where your book will be released is one that signed any of the treaties listed earlier. If so, your book has copyright protection in that country similar to that of the U.S. About a dozen countries either have not signed a treaty or the Library of Congress is unclear on the country's status in deciding to sign. Copyrighting your book in one of those countries requires separately registering for copyright protection with that country's government.
Copyright your book with the Library of Congress by completing Form CO or Form eCO. You'll find these copyright registration forms at the U.S. Copyright Office's website. Pick one form and follow its instructions on registering your book. Form CO is a form you'll need to complete online, print and mail to the Library of Congress along with a check or money order for $50. Form eCO is a faster and cheaper electronic registration alternative that you can complete and submit online along with a credit card payment of $35.
Send two physical copies of your book to the Library of Congress. If you're mailing in Form CO and your registration fee, you can include two physical copies of your book along with these registration materials. If you choose to copyright your book electronically, you'll need to send two physical copies of your book to the Library of Congress using a shipping label that you'll create while registering online. Ship your book, payments and forms to: Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20559-6222.