Value of copyrighting

Now that I have my second novel completed, now comes the necessary steps in copyrighting, publishing, and finally marketing it. I cannot stress enough how important it is for any author to copyright their work. No matter how well the intentions of the rest of the world seem, no one can afford to let their guard down. How loathsome anyone would feel if they worked strenuously for months, even years, only to send their work out without it being copyrighted and have it be claimed by some dubious source as its own. The only way to authentically prove that a writer's work is actually their own is to copyright. That way, if someone does try to make a false claim, leverage will favor the original creator. While it is unfortunate that we must all have to consider such realities, especially in the literature world, it is a definite necessity.