Lawsuits from nonfiction works

dpawl

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As a newbie writing my first book, I am wondering how careful I need to be in telling my story that involves so many other people. The book could ruffle some feathers of former coworkers. Is it better to classify a book as fiction in these cases? I have changed the names, dates, locations and other details, but I'm sure there are other things I need to do to prevent a lawsuit.
 

moreferarum

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I think someone else would be able to answer your question better, but if you're worried about basing a character on someone you know/have known in the past then I wouldn't worry. People base characters on their friends/co workers/boss/whatever all the time. If anything it makes the character more believable and able to work within a plot, because often the writer knows what the person would do or how they would act in a situation. I think as long as you don't use their real names or personal details such as "Mr Brian Brown who lived at 123 Fake Street" you should be fine.
But then again, these are just my opinions.
 

veinglory

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If the entire book is true and the people and places are recognizable, just saying it is fiction (when it clearly isn't)is unlikely to protect you.
 

moreferarum

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If the entire book is true and the people and places are recognizable, just saying it is fiction (when it clearly isn't)is unlikely to protect you.

A much better way of articulating that point! Thank you!
 

dpawl

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Thanks for your input. I need to reconsider this project before I move forward.
 

Torgo

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You need to consider libel and defamation laws, and if you live in, say, the EU, privacy laws too.

If you were to fictionalize it to the extent that the people involved were unrecognizable, you'd probably be ok; but before you publish anything, take actual legal advice.
 

Bufty

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Apart from any possible catharctic benefit, what do you gain from writing this as non-fiction as opposed to simply using the experiences as the basis for a completely fictional story?
 

dpawl

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Thanks for all of these helpful comments.
 

shaldna

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This is a very tricky matter, and I'm not a lawyer, so you will need to tkae legal advice on this one - but an hours fee for a consultation is nothing compared to what you could pay out if it all goes wrong.

That said, as far as I know, so long as it's true you can say it. But you can't make stuff up, you can't lie. There are all sorts of rules about reputation etc too. So, like I said, talk it through with a professional if you are worried.
 

Torgo

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That said, as far as I know, so long as it's true you can say it.

It's tricky, though, because there are also (in the EU) privacy laws which can really wallop you even if what you have to say is true. If you're writing nonfic about living people, you have to have a legal read, in my humble (non-legal) opinion.
 

Sunnyside

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Some publishers, too, "fact check" non-fiction and run everything by their lawyers to head off any sort of potential problems. Check with your publisher (or potential publisher) to see if this is standard practice.
 

mccardey

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Apart from any possible catharctic benefit, what do you gain from writing this as non-fiction as opposed to simply using the experiences as the basis for a completely fictional story?

I'm seconding this. It's just as cathartic but heaps less risky.
 

Torgo

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Some publishers, too, "fact check" non-fiction and run everything by their lawyers to head off any sort of potential problems. Check with your publisher (or potential publisher) to see if this is standard practice.

A lot of contracts I see put the responsibility for paying for legal reads on the author, and any liability for libel etc on them too. It doesn't remove all risk from the publisher - you may end up having to pulp a whole print run and waste a lot of time and money - but the author would ultimately end up in the dock.

In practice I have once worked on a book where we paid for the legal read rather than the author, whom we could, strictly speaking, have compelled to shell out. But that would have scuppered our relationship and it wouldn't have been worth insisting on.
 

Steve Collins

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I published 2 autobiographies in the UK which had to be read at my expense by a libel lawyer. I was asked to change and clarify a few things, but overall it wasn't that bad.
 

dpawl

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I am going to fictionalize the story to the extent the people involved are unrecognizable. I would rather be safe than sorry.
 

SusanH

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When I wrote my memoir, a lot of the names are real and they are good with being in my book. There were a couple of names I changed. One to protect and one to keep from being chased down for half the profits. I hope when I get it to an agent that likes it, they will say what I did was ok. My second book, which is a journal of my nursing career, I did change almost all of the names.
 

Kevin Nelson

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A lot of contracts I see put the responsibility for paying for legal reads on the author, and any liability for libel etc on them too. It doesn't remove all risk from the publisher - you may end up having to pulp a whole print run and waste a lot of time and money - but the author would ultimately end up in the dock.

I've never heard of that sort of contract provision before. Does anyone know if it is also standard in the US? Or is this a US/UK difference? (I do know that libel law in the US and UK is quite different.)
 

Kevin Nelson

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Ever read Primary Colors? Everyone on the planet knew who the characters were supposed to be. Different names--no lawsuits. Obviously that's no guarantee--just sayin'.

P.S. Actually, there was one lawsuit--they lost.

If you're writing about public figures who are engaged in an activity of obvious public significance, such as a presidential campaign, a libel suit will be much more difficult for the plaintiff. (At least, that's true in the U.S.) Don't count on your neighbors or co-workers having a similarly difficult time pressing a lawsuit if you write something that offends them.
 

veinglory

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Yes, there is the level with which you would probably win the lawsuit (but possibly be bankrupted by the lawyer's fee) and there is the level where the case would have trouble going to court because any decent lawyer would see they have no chance and the judge would see it as frivolous. There is no 'totally safe' level.
 

OneTeam OneDream

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I had the same concern when writing my first book...I took the gamble and left all the names etc....never heard a word other than one challenge to a fistfight from someone I hadn't laid eyes on in over a decade.
 

dpawl

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OneTeam OneDream, I'm glad everything worked out for you. Nonfiction is more compelling in my opinion.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I've never heard of that sort of contract provision before. Does anyone know if it is also standard in the US? Or is this a US/UK difference? (I do know that libel law in the US and UK is quite different.)

Yes, it's common in the U.S., and all my contracts have had it in one form or another. But doesn't mean what many seem to think it means, at least with, good, large publishers. No publisher, no good publisher, is ever going to make you pay for a legal read. They don't need to do so. It's automatic, and they already have an attorney who checks the book.

And this provision is really in place for those times when the writer actually does something wrong, such as knowingly lying to the publisher, and in the book, or commits plagiarism.

Contract or no contract, the publisher agreed to publish the book, and this makes them just as culpable as the writer, unless the writer knowing did something the publisher could not reasonably know he did.