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Liable or Defamation actions against Authors
I'm a new writer and I have just completed my first book which I intend to publish on Amazon Kindle later this year.
The book is about my very acrimonious divorce, told in satirical fashion, but I'm concerned about possible liable or defamation action from my former wife.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of defamation or liable actions for their work and if they could please give me their reflections?
I thought about using a pen name or stating the book as a work of fiction but I'd rather tell my story as the truth under my own name
Any comments appreciated
Comments
i think you would be most unwise to publish a 'true' from your point of view account, it just cannot be without prejudice.
Get all the angst out of your system and then put it away and forget about it, DON'T PUBLISH IT.
Writing it all out may have given you a lot of satisfaction, but you can't change the outcome of the divorce courts after the event. This isn't wise.
If it's a factual account of an acrimonious divorce, it may not be of interest to anyone other than your wife's solicitor
[quote=Carol]Get all the angst out of your system and then put it away and forget about it[/quote]
Tend to agree, although I'd pack up all those emotions and channel them into a new project.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Dear Burbri1581,
First task you need to complete is acquiring services of a qualified person to edit your manuscript.
To confuse 'libel' with 'liable' suggests there may be many more errors in the drafted work. To imagine such confusion can be interpreted as satire makes you vulnerable to all manner of repercusssion.
Heed the cautionary wisdom expressed by 'my' good, fellow Talkbackers and use the experience to inspire a work that has chance of entertaining a wide audience.
Good luck.
My gut is telling me to publish, I've had some great comments and people are telling me its a very compelling and entertaining read (I know that's friends and family and paying readers are different).
What about using a pen name and claiming it's a work of fiction?
Could you really guarantee that no-one would be able to recognise the characters? If it were read by someone who knows you they would surely realise it's based on your interpretation of events.
You describe it as a satire. Satire is generally aimed at a wider target - you could write about the institution of marriage, or about divorce lawyers, for instance, and you could say what you like because no one person's reputation is going to suffer. Shows like 'Have I Got News For You' get away with a lot because their targets are generally people in the public eye and so are considered - to some extent - fair game. If your book is essentially a hatchet job on your ex-wife, you're not going to be able to hide behind the defence of calling it satire.
Personally, I'd take the advice offered by the other people who've commented and lock this away in a drawer for a while. Keep writing, get some other publications under your belt (a few short stories or poems or a different type of book, perhaps), and come back to it later. If you feel you must publish it, then the safest way would be to fictionalise the story - change location, events, names, characters, etc - and make it a novel. You still need to be careful - authors have been successfully sued for defamation when it's been proved that a person (or somebody who knows that person) can recognise a defamatory version of themselves in a work of fiction. It's a bit of a minefield.
What you've written is your own subjective, autobiographical account, which you could always pass on to an interested family member in the future in the understanding that it's your private view of what happened.
I don't see how the benefits could outweigh the grief and legal wrangles that could ensue if you go ahead. There are lots of very knowledgeable people here who have been involved in the world of writing to varying degrees. You would be wise to take their advice!
Could you not use your experiences to write a new work of humorous fiction without it pertaining directly to events or people in your life?
If you've done your research into the world of writing and publishing, you'll know that it's not going to make you rich or even get you recognised. Don't get yourself into a no win situation. Please consult legal advice, burbri!
It seems like it was a bad idea. Best thing is to try and turn your back and face forward in a positive way, using your writing skills on something much more deserving of your time and feelings.
Hope that helps.
I know that this sounds harsh, but as a writer you shouldn't take seriously comments by friends and family on your writing.
DeneBebbo's last comment is absolutely spot on - friends and family will never give you unbiased opinions!
These things won't stop you causing hurt and distress either.