Negligent publication is an issue unique to books that provide directions, instructions, self-help (especially medical), how-to information, and other guidance. Although a lot less common than suits for defamation and infringement, there are publishers who have been surprised by liability claims that they are liable because people were injured following advice published in their books.
Direction
Cases
Even though the First Amendment guaranty of freedom of the press makes it difficult for injured readers to hold publishers liable for their losses, cases such as these have been brought and occasionally won.
Soldier of Fortune
Perhaps you’ve heard of the notorious 1992 Soldier of Fortune case (more of an “unreasonable risk” case than an “ordinary negligence” case), where the family of a man murdered by a hired assassin obtained a $4 million verdict against Soldier of Fortune magazine for publishing the advertisement by which the assassin was hired.
Travel
Other cases less famous include: Fodor’s Travel Publications sued, unsuccessfully, for not warning readers of the dangerous surf conditions on a Hawaiian beach; G.P. Putnam’s was sued, unsuccessfully, for misidentification of a poisonous mushroom in its The Encyclopedia of Mushrooms, which caused two plaintiffs to become severely ill; and Rand McNally was sued, successfully, for publishing a science textbook that contained an experiment that seriously injured a student.
Good Practice
Karen the Newbie
Squat Bicep Curl
As a matter of good practice, especially where you can’t eliminate risks (for example, you can’t guaranty that a person beginning an exercise program described in your book won’t pull a muscle or have a heart attack), include conspicuous warnings that inform the reader of inherent risks and disclaimers that deny your responsibility and require readers to be responsible for the results of their actions. If the notice is not just a scary warning, but truly smart advice (“check with your physician before beginning this or any other exercise regimen”), you can prevent problems from even occurring…the best defense of all.”
Please use this article as an educational resource only, it is not meant to provide legal advice.
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
Isaiah 60:13
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
by Kathryn Ross
Christmas past
I remember when Daddy brought home the Christmas tree each year. In those days, we’d never think of using a fake tree. We weren’t quite into the trendy silver trees with revolving multi-colored lights, either.
No. Mom and Dad would only have a real tree!
Christmas Tree Farm
Two weeks before Christmas we’d head to the tree lot and choose a nice full pine in just the right shape. Dad trimmed the base, dragged it through the front door into the living room, and secured it in the tree holder.
We had to wait for the lights to be strung and each bulb tested. But soon, we could begin opening all the ornament boxes and set to tree-trimming. We gently placed three or four silvery icicles on the branches and spaced out the colorful glass bulbs and home-made ornaments. Daddy made sure the tree-topper angel was in place. Together, as a family, we stood back to assess our festive work.
The Beauty of the Christmas Tree
The beauty of this glorious work of nature, strung with man-made embellishments, immediately transformed the house. It cast a warm, restful glow throughout the living room—and our hearts. The pine scent’s restorative qualities alleviated stress and anxiety as it deodorized and freshened the entire house. With a deep breath, my whole body seemed rejuvenated and overflowing with a sense of great joy.
Our anticipation for Christmas Day increased as each morning passed with the comforting sight and scent of our wonderous Christmas tree. Mother kept it well-watered and checked the branches to be sure the greenery remained supple and soft. Tiny green needles peppering the carpet were easily removed with a daily vacuuming.
My favorite time to sit with the tree was in the evening. I’d turn all the lights off except for the glow of the bulbs on the tree. My once familiar home seemed entirely changed and beautified by its presence. Sitting in a chair facing the tree, breathing deep the healing properties of pine, and snuggling with my blanket or cat, the peace of the season permeated the sanctuary.
In these early days of my writing career, Christmas and its celebratory elements inspired me to wax poetic on the glory of the season. I still have my little green composition book from my childhood with neatly hand-written poems and short stories. Stirred by the delight, beauty, and sacred nature of mystery and wonder I felt deep inside, my words seemed to bubble forth from my spirit, ignited by His Spirit. Not that I understood such a truth then. In matured hindsight, I know these things now. I treasure them—as Mary—pondering them in my heart.
Christmas Present
I expect this is why the Hallmark Channel, in recent years, has become so popular with their nostalgic, romantic, guilty-pleasure Christmas movies we all love to joke about and binge watch—savoring every sappy moment of them. Their writers employ predictable cliché plots, lines, settings, and characters, and we don’t try to edit them. Only at Christmas could they get away with this, and we are happy to let them do so.
We all want to live in Hallmark Christmas villages with every small-town pleasure in kith and kin. Hallmark writers have tapped into a shared sense of wonder that Christmas bestows on young and old. But perhaps what they’ve tapped into is more akin to hunger—for the innocent, childlike, simple joys that Christmas awakens in our humanity. That restorative quality Christmas brings with it. We never want it to end.
I never want Christmas to end. Or my tree to leave.
But as in Christmases past, time marches on. Year after year, the big day comes and goes—followed by a week of family visiting. We see everyone’s trees and gifts—aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. They pay a call to our home, too. Parties. Shopping. And counting the days before a new year supplants the old, and our Christmas respite is packed up in boxes until next time.
On New Year’s Day, the tree, which has brought us so much joy, is dismantled and removed to the trash pile, awaiting the garbage truck and its ultimate destination in the dump.
A sorrowful melancholy washes over me when I see disposed Christmas trees abandoned by the side of the road.
Even so, the pine scent lingers, and random needles might be stumbled upon in forgotten corners of the room in ensuing months. I may pause before vacuuming them up and cherish a transporting moment when I mentally return to my sanctuary in the glow of a glorious Christmas tree.
The Glory of Christmas
I’m glad we have seasons. There is a comfort in the repetition of precious moments throughout our lives. We hope that when Christmas comes around each year, we are grown a bit wiser and more able to appreciate the glory and beauty of the day. We hope we can better capture it in words on paper that may only ever be read by its writer—and the loving God Who so generously inspires our words with His Word made Flesh, dwelling among us.
Under the glow of the Christmas pine, I’m reading. I’m writing. I’m pondering things in my heart. Deep things shared with my Savior. I remember His birth and the beautification of the pine tree trimmed in lights and ornament remnants of lives lived from year to year.
A tree that was planted purposely for this job. Lived its allotted number of years. Was chopped down, to die. And then raised up in my home, alive again in a more glorious manner than before, transforming the entire atmosphere of my home with a newness of life.
It is a metaphor of Jesus Christ—His birth, life, death, resurrection, and the transformed life He lives in the home of my heart. Like the healing scent of pine, He vanquishes stress and anxiety, deodorizes and freshens the atmosphere of my life—beautifying the place of my sanctuary—and rejuvenates me with an overflowing sense of great joy, a glorious place for His feet to rest.
Be ye blessed this Christmas as you ponder—and write—about these truths in your own life.
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
By Kathryn Ross
Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. In addition, she shepherds writers through the steps book development and production. Her passion to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, produces readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.
If writing is your passion, never give up! So many things may get in the way — time or the lack of it, discouragement, the need to earn a living, life …. The list goes on and on, especially if your goal is to be published by a traditional publisher. Your support group can provide you with the extra push you may need for Tip #2 — Never give up!
The Author Toolbox
Candee Fick talked about the time issue in her article, So Little Time to Conquer this Mountain where she shares her tips and strategies in her busy life and offers a very helpful tool, The Author Toolbox. This article is about perseverance, keeping that goal in sight so that we never give up.
As writers, we all deal with discouragement whether we are trying to get published, or are already successfully published. Our journeys may be different, but the difficulties are similar if not the same. In today’s publishing industry, the age of the ebook and ease at which someone can get published independently has changed the course of the industry.
Why do we write? For me, it’s a passion for story. There is a story I can’t get out of my mind until I put it on paper. That’s how Hidden Bloodlines started — it was a story that perpetuated itself for two years before I attended my first writers conference in Estes Park, Colorado. As an attorney and dietitian with multiple articles and one published nonfiction book, writing was my life, but my passion was fiction — a story to share. However, I quickly learned that writing fiction is a totally different “animal” than nonfiction. It is a different art and it was important that I learn the craft. Future articles in the Publish Don’t Perish Series will talk about this craft and how to achieve the necessary skills for success.
NEVER GIVE UP!
For those interested in becoming published by a traditional publishing house, the road may be long and bumpy with uncertain forks. For those who don’t want to wait the years most likely involved with a traditional publisher, you may want to go the Indy way. Regardless of which avenue you choose, when you reach that publication goal , it doesn’t end. There are millions of books out there and you may ask, “How will anyone find me? Can I make a living writing? How successful can I be? Is it even worth it?” The Publish Don’t Perish Series in Thyme for Writers will help you discern the path that’s right for you. It will hopefully answer your many questions and help you avoid time consuming mistakes. I for one made mistakes that cost me years. Keep your eyes open for future posts that will steer you clear of these mistakes and make your road smoother. Remember, Tip #2 is critical — NEVER GIVE UP!
Have you brought home the bird yet? We’ve just about reached our “free” turkey with earned points from our grocery receipts at the local market. We’ll bring home a frozen 20 pounder and wrestle with it in the sink to rinse, clean out the innards, season and plop in a roasting pan with pats of butter slathered over it.
Sage: Get Under the Skin of Your Story
Hours later, the house smells amazing and our tummies rumble with anticipation for succulent gobble-ready slices on our plate, the traditional companion to stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
This year, though, I’m considering the addition of a leafy twist for added substance and spice in my turkey prep. Not that my old stand-by recipe of garlic salt, pepper, and butter isn’t enough. But with the sliding of sage leaves between the skin and meat, greater potential for lip smacking satisfaction is released as the efficacy of the herb permeates the bird with flavor.
Though primarily used today in the kitchen, sage, a member of the mint family, had been used for thousands of years in the sick room. Greeks and Romans discovered its medicinal qualities in the curing of snake bites, as well as a tonic for colds, fever, constipation, and even seizures. Add to that its effective uses promoting hair growth and whiter teeth, sage has lived up to its Latin name, salvia—meaning, to save—for centuries.
Why should a man die who has sage in his garden? Ancient Proverb
When it comes to the strong, spicy flavor of sage, a little goes a long way. Use dry sage leaves sparingly to add import to poultry, pork, and beef. Steep sage tea for a battery of health benefits. Tie dried leaves together and burn them, releasing a cleansing smoke to change the ionic composition of the air, which can reduce stress and improve energy.
Sage
In considering how to add sage to my turkey, tea, and tonics, I wonder what the equivalent of a sage injection into my writing might produce.
Sage is defined as a plant, we know, but the word is also defined as wisdom in discernment and prudence. If my writing is so flavored, I know I am prepping my words with greater substance to draw out the full potential of my work for better efficacy upon my readers.
Good writers are wise writers. They act the part of a sage injecting words of health and wellness into their work—like sliding those sage leaves between the turkey’s skin and meat in key places. Sage-spicy words of substance permeate the whole manuscript with greater reader impact, producing sticky stories for lasting satisfaction.
I’ve read many books—fiction and non-fiction—that left me unsatisfied and disappointed because they did not explore their topic deeply enough. The lack of permeated flavor made the book easy to forget and of no effect on my life or thinking at all.
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
by Kathryn Ross
The Christian writer must pen words that are sage—salvia, lifesaving—whether it’s in a romance novel or a treatise on a biblical principle, chapter and verse. Don’t just season the surface. Get under the skin of the story and develop deep themes for a truly satisfying, memorable, and possibly life altering read.
Apply this sage advice to develop the full potential of your work. Wrestle with your turkey, so to speak. Cleanse it. Rip out the innards that need to be tossed. Revise and edit your work, slipping in wisdom and discernment between the lines like sage leaves between the skin and meat. In this way, you’ll draw out the fullest potential of your work and distinguish yourself, not just as a storyteller who entertains, but a sage who brings lasting health to hearts and minds.
Journal Prompt: What is the thematic-virtue story you want to tell with your current manuscript? Does it reflect biblical values, discernment, and prudence? What sage injections between the lines of plot and dialogue should you add? What depth of meaning and purpose can you draw out to produce a healthful, lasting impression upon your reader?
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
By Kathryn Ross
Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. In addition, she shepherds writers through the steps book development and production. Her passion to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, produces readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.
It’s that time of year again! When the leaves turn, and I wake to crisp air in the morning, my pantry gets a clean sweep and restocking. I’ve stuffed it chock-full of spices, sprinkles, sugars, flours, fruits, candies, nuts, and specialty ingredients for seasonal baking over the next three months. I plan my holiday recipes with experiments in October, so I can decide the winners and losers for Thanksgiving and Christmas giving.
Thyme for Writers – Pumpkin Harvest
Pumpkin cans stacked next to complimentary spices stand at the ready to mix and pour into pumpkin what-all. From pies to puddings, to sauces to scones to cakes to breads to souffle, pumpkin baking in the oven scents the home with tangible comfort. The sense of smell ignites stories of Autumns long ago when childhood wonder at the change of season opened a world of delights that only October brought. Can you smell the fragrant stories of bygone fall days:
Trips to apple orchards and pumpkin patches
Crunching dried leaves under our feet before raking them into piles
Pulling the sweaters out and wrapping up cozy in the evening
Cringing in fright when that giant orb spider weaves his web outside the front window
Though pumpkin itself lacks flavor on its own, a generous blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg is vital to every pumpkin recipe. In fact, this blend of spices, commonly referred to as pumpkin pie spice, adds seasonal flavor to any fall dish.
Each of these spices should be measured with care, though. For instance—more cinnamon than clove, less ginger than cinnamon, and a sparse touch of nutmeg are best. The just right amount pleases the palate. Too much, though, ruins the plate.
And one of those spices, used in excess, is actually toxic.
Nutmeg, the pungent, sweet, warm spice from the dried seeds of the nutmeg tree, though an important element of pumpkin pie spice, when taken alone and in excess acts as poison. A tragic chapter in the story of nutmeg is its 19th century use to induce abortions. In fact, when taken in large amounts it may cause anxiety, drunkenness, confusion, headaches, nausea, allergic reactions, dermatitis, and episodes of hallucinations and psychosis. This type of nutmeg overdose most often happens as an accident in children or on purpose with teenagers experimenting with substance abuse.
This toxic use of a valuable and tasty spice reminds me of how our words, used well and in properly measured amounts, can delight and amplify the satisfaction of a story, well told. Our words can be used to bless or abused to poison. This is true in relation to the technical elements of writing and composition—how we measure out our words with attention to grammar and syntax. But it also relates to the subjects we choose to write about and how we use words to influence readers and culture for good or for ill.
In such times as these, words are wielded as weapons by irresponsible writers, filling print and online platforms with toxic spices. Like a nutmeg overdose. The power of words to poison minds and destroy the reputations of others has become the toxic spice of choice in popular media and entertainment.
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
by Kathryn Ross
As a writer, I feel a higher sense of calling in the words I write. My pen must be an antidote to nutmeg-like toxic-level words stirred into the current events’ mix. When I blend my word spices responsibly—with just the right amount of nutmeg balanced with companion cinnamon, ginger, and clove—I set an example of how to add spice to an otherwise bland squash and enrich a nutritious meal or sweet desert.
I hope to do so with my ready supply of baking ingredients in my pantry this season, as well as the measured words I write and speak. And, I have found the perfect spice blend to the purpose in Philippians 4:8 NLT:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
My prayer for you is that your word-mix in this present season be finely measured. For all of us who seek to be God flavors in the earth, may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of the Lord—and health to all who taste of it. (Psalm 19:14)
The Write Spice: Writing Tips for Flavorful Words
By Kathryn Ross
Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. In addition, she shepherds writers through the steps book development and production. Her passion to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, produces readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.
We’ve been talking about content, because that is the most important. For this last post in my SEO Series, we’re going to explore your website topic.
How many of you write nonfiction? Fiction? Nonfiction writers have their topic laid out — the topic of your website is that of your book or books.
Fiction writers are a different story. Depending on the type of fiction they write, they may or may not be able to tie their blog to their novel or genre. If you fall into this category, choose a topic you enjoy (your sense of joy will spill out to your readers) and know about.
For example, I am a dietitian and am passionate about eating properly and exercise. I am also an attorney and am passionate about the legal profession. My first novel is a romantic suspense thriller, Hidden Bloodlines. The heroine is an attorney (of course). My theme is “adding spice to your life” with a blog tying my books, passions, and writers/readers, titled “Thyme for Writers.” I confess to not coming up with that title — Candee Fick, a fellow writer in my writer’s group did. — Thank you Candee!
My website has posts on nutrition (including delicious healthy recipes), exercise (a physical therapist has been a regular guest on my website), legal issues facing writers, tips for writers, and interesting real places that relate to my book. Whew.
Reverse Flies on Ball for the Newbie & Advanced
Statistics show that for the greatest impact, at least 2 blogs per week should be your goal. But some of us have other obligations which may make it unrealistic.
Whatever your topic, I recommend not making the same mistake that I made. I let the fear of technology stop me; don’t let it stop you. Start your website/blog now. Don’t wait until you have that publishing contract like I did. It still takes time to build that following. If you start your web now, and your book gets released in 2 years, you will have a following who will buy your book.
Author Candee Fick
With respect to the technology aspect, you don’t need to hire an expensive web master. I’m living proof. A writer I know who is a former K-12 teacher, Candee Fick is amazing. She can teach you how to get up and running and manage your own website at a very reasonable hourly rate. I am living proof. And, I confess, she used me as her beta tester for her “worst case scenario” — what is the most time it could take to teach someone.
I’d like to leave you with the 2 most important SEO tips: (1) optimize the very first paragraph on each page and (2) update often.
We all know that the web is flooded with all types of useless, inaccurate, information. When you create valuable content that serves a purpose, you are slicing through the noise and clutter on the World Wide Web and become one of the trusted resources. That is what we want to strive for sooner rather than later.
Today is the start of a new series, Publish Don’t Perish — 65 Tips, in honor of my parents’ 65th wedding anniversary. Sixty-five years ago today, my parents were married. But wait, isn’t today Halloween? Well, yes, but 65 years ago Halloween was not celebrated on Sundays, the day my parents said, “I do.”
Happy 65th Wedding Anniversary — Love you!
Sixty-five years…WOW! With almost 50% of marriages ending in divorce or separation, there is much to learn from this incredible couple after 65 years of marriage. Fortunately, I am blessed in more ways than I can count because they are my parents. For purposes of this series, we’ll focus on what they provided me and continue to provide me in Tip #1: Support.
Types of Support
There are many types of support, including financial, emotional, and personal assistance to name a few. Our family has been blessed by my parents who have supported each and every one of their children and grandchildren throughout all of their lives in more ways than I can count.
Our Family
I have a passion for writing, and a writer’s life can be a lonely life. It’s critical to surround yourself with those who will come along side and support you in your endeavors with encouragement, laughter, shared tears, a break… . We all need cheerleaders in the ups and downs along the journey to publication — success doesn’t come over night in the life of a writer, and life itself is usually not a bed of roses.
My parents supported me throughout each stage of my life with every type of support and encouraged me to keep writing. Thank you, Mom and Dad! You continue to be my biggest fans!
Support throughout each stage of my life. Thank you Mom and Dad!
Other Writers
What better group to obtain support than other writers who understand and have experienced similar ups and downs. It’s one of the reasons I started Thyme for Writers in 2017. Over these past couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to share the experiences and helpful hints provided by this remarkable group. After all, it’s not healthy to write in a vacuum.
Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
Many of the tips gleaned in this series, will come from what I have learned from my incredible parents and other writers. In the meantime, rally your support team — family, friends and fellow writers who keep us pumped up and moving on.
When your goal is “Getting to the
End,” it doesn’t matter how much analysis, prioritization, and organization
you’ve done if you’re not willing to take the next step and discipline yourself
to write.
I know, I know. No one likes the word “discipline,” so let’s call this the “Just DO It!” step. It’s not necessarily easy, but this is a case of practice making perfect.
8 Suggestions
Here are eight suggestions I’ve found useful when trying to get to “The End.”
Thyme for Writers
Schedule a time to write every day and then WRITE during that time. It may seem difficult at first, but like exercise, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Remember that five minutes of writing is better than none. No matter how busy we are, every one of us can find five minutes each day. I challenge you to find those five minutes and use them. Chances are, you’ll write far longer than five minutes, but even if five minutes of writing is all you accomplish, you’ll have taken the first steps toward making daily writing a habit. And that’s a habit we all need.
Remind yourself that writing is your #1 priority. Now’s the time to dust off those signs that you developed during the prioritization step and post them everywhere you’re likely to be distracted. It may seem juvenile, but visual reminders are powerful.
Do whatever it takes to meet your weekly goals. Again, this sounds difficult, and it may be at first, but the more often you meet your goals, the more energized you’ll be and the closer you’ll be to reaching “The End.”
Optimize your research time. Writers tend to fall into two camps: those who love research and those who hate it. It doesn’t matter where you are on that spectrum. The key is to spend the minimum amount of time gathering the information you need. One technique I use is to avoid doing detailed research during the first draft of a book. Instead, I keep a list of the questions I have – things like “how long does it take to ride a horse from San Antonio to Austin?” When I finish the first draft, I have a better idea of whether I really, really, really need to know that. And, if I do, I can look for the answer to that question at the same time that I’m researching all the other points I listed during the first draft. That’s more efficient than stopping to investigate each point and possibly heading down the proverbial rabbit holes.
Remind friends that you are working. I doubt your friends would stop in for a visit or want to have a lengthy chat during the workday if you were at an office, but the fact that many writers work at home makes us more vulnerable to friendly distractions. Now is the time to politely but firmly tell friends and neighbors that you’re working and can’t be disturbed.
Use voice mail. This is a corollary to the previous point. I consider answering machines and caller ID among the essentials of life and answer calls during my working hours only if they’re from my publisher. Sorry, robo calls. You don’t get answered EVER, but you do get reported to the Do Not Call Registry.
Consider email, texting, and internet surfing a reward. Again, the goal is to keep your focus on the manuscript and avoid everything that prevents you from writing. A number of my writer friends have discovered the same thing I have, namely that if we check email before we begin to write, we’re much less productive. The reason is simple: whatever was in those email messages, no matter how trivial, is competing for space in your brain and lessening your focus. Don’t lose your focus on what’s important: your manuscript.
I won’t sugarcoat it. Discipline is hard, but the rewards are worth the effort. Just DO it!
(c) 2019 Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot
Amanda Cabot is no stranger to getting to “The End.” She juggled a
sixty-hour a week job with nonnegotiable deadlines and building a house
long-distance at the same time that she wrote two books a year. Whether
or not she kept her sanity during that time is debatable. Amanda is
the best-selling author of over thirty novels, eight novellas, four
non-fiction books, and what she describes as enough technical articles
to cure insomnia in a medium-sized city.
Her most recent release is A Tender Hope, the third in the Cimarron Creek trilogy.
A general challenge of publishers (which definitely applies to Indy publishers) originates from the changing boundaries of the laws of publicity, libel, and privacy. Contracts typically contain indemnification clauses protecting the publisher’s interests in this regard.
Mourning Candle
If you publish statements that are false and defamatory, or even private facts that are embarrassing to someone, you can be sued. In this litigious and highly proprietary time, more and more references to individuals (deceased or living) are bringing claims of breach of privacy, defamation, or violation of publicity rights.
These issues primarily face nonfiction publishers, but that doesn’t prevent those publishing fiction to be affected. Let’s take a look at each of these areas.
Please use this article as an educational resource only, it is not meant to provide legal advice.
Defamation
Scorned or Ridiculed
Generally “defamation” is a false statement of fact about a living individual (though in certain jurisdictions it may apply to deceased individuals and, periodically, to corporate entities) that holds the person up to scorn or ridicule. Note that the law allows more leeway when discussing public figures.
Privacy Rights
An individuals’ privacy rights is a related issue. Typically, this area is more of a challenge to magazine and newspaper publishers because of the nature of the fast paced reporting which may cause the re lease of facts that should not be made public, including financial, medical, or other highly personal information.
Fast Paced Reporting
The reality is that all publishers of nonfiction must be wary of disclosing personal information of a sensitive or embarrassing nature. (And this is in the United States, where the rules are relatively liberal; beware of disclosing personal information about foreigners or about Americans in works published outside the United States.) Where any such information is about to be published, consult with your lawyers to be sure you aren’t at risk of violating a criminal or civil statute here or abroad.
Publicity Rights
Mona Lisa
Publicity is closely related to the right of privacy. (This is technically a subset of the “right of privacy” which, in legal terms, incorporates four related rights: publicity, intrusion, privacy, and false light.) Generally, the right of publicity prevents the commercial exploitation of the value of an individual’s likeness and name. Not only are celebrities protected by this right, but it protects others whose appearances and names have real commercial value. It also prevents the use of anyone’s likeness or name in trade or advertising without their permission.
Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer
Are you with a traditional publisher or are you Indy? If you’re with a traditional publisher, check your contract. If you are an Indy publisher, what steps do you take to protect yourself?
Next month we’ll take a look at negligent publication.
In this last part of Jane Choate’s interview with Roulf Burrell, we will get a glimpse into the writing life of an amazing otherworldly writer and the reasons behind certain choices.
What is your writing schedule like?
Coffee Shops
Ouch! It’s getting personal. I write in spurts and have a hard time beginning. It helps to go to libraries or coffee shops where I have nothing else to do. I also write at my church, as my wife works in the children’s ministry.
Sometimes, new ideas pop into my head, and as I jot them down, I slip into expanding them rather than finishing my prior work. Or some bad news regarding the beginner’s chances in the publishing industry claws its way out of this month’s media “click-bait” graveyard, and I’m left wondering, “Why bother? I have the same chance of success as having lightning strike me.” But like a dry cleaner pulling an all-nighter, I press on.
What do you do for promotion?
I have a website—www.RoulfBurrell.com. WordPress (my website management system) has been an educational challenge technically and fun artistically, though I find it awkward placing myself out there as an interesting topic.
Websites and media platforms are all part of the marketing arm for authors today. Marketing and science fiction blend well, as both relate an aggressive form of a gravity well commonly known as a black hole.
What compels you to write?
After trying my hand at many things, I finally met my match – in a good way. I get the same kick out of painting and constructing with words I imagine Michelangelo got out of the hammer, a chisel and a rock.
Michelangelo
What can you share regarding self publishing?
One of the first decisions any author faces today is whether to try and publish with a traditional publisher, or self-publish. And the pros and cons to each could fill another article. But for me, the issue boiled down to rejection and control.
Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected 27 times. He became so disillusioned he had decided to take his manuscript home and burn it, when he ran into an old school acquaintance – a children’s book editor. I don’t believe I would ever survive such a process, so I’ll take another alternative, if offered.
A BOOK IS MORE THAN A STORY
Control is my other issue. With self-publishing, I control all the factors. But that means I’m responsible for any and all failures, as well as successes. I must edit for internal consistency. Edit again for grammar. Find my own beta-readers. I have to design a cover, or pay for an artist to do it. A table of contents must be made, chapters separated, the text formatted and converted, images added.
I’m sure you have enjoyed this journey with author, Roulf Burrell, as much as I have. If you’re a writer, what compels you to write? If your goal is publication, which avenue would you choose to take and why?
