�They�re going to steal my story!�

Botswana is one of the 172 states that are signatories of the Berne Convention of 1886 (adapted a few times since). The Berne Convention says that as soon as you “fix” your writing, your right to ownership is established. You have ownership of that work for your lifetime plus 50 years. What this means is as soon as you write your story down on a piece of paper or type it into your computer, you own it.

You are the only person who can copy that piece of writing and the only person who can allow others to copy it. With that copyright you have economic rights (the right to earn money from your work) and moral rights (the right to have the work identified as yours and the right to object to any manipulation of the work).  These rights are not just within the borders of Botswana but in every state which has signed the Berne Convention which is nearly every one on earth.