This past weekend I presented Legal Issues for Authors at the 2016 Writers’ League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference in Austin.
The biggest question I always receive at this type of event is: “What if I want to write about my Aunt, Uncle, Great Grandmother, etc.?” I always answer the same way – “Who owns the rights?” If your Mother wrote you letters, they are yours. If your Mother had an archive of letters they belong to her heirs. Do you have brothers and sisters who shared in her estate? Did she leave the letters to a trust or educational institution? When writing about people we know, unless we clearly own the rights to the information, story, etc. it’s best to use a pseudonym for the deceased (or alive) person and disguise them so that they cannot be recognized by the general public.
In every case, if you’re not willing to disguise the character, it’s best to contact an attorney who specializes in entertainment law. I have a list of great lawyers if you need a reference – email me through the website, or PM me on FB and I’ll send you to the right one.
Over at Bless Their Hearts Mom, I chatted with Nicole about how I wrote Dollar Signs. There’s also a book Giveaway!
Reads All The Books hosted me back in late May. They love Betty and quoted several of her “Texas Sayins’”.
Many thanks to Lisa McCombs and Readers Favorite for the kind review and FIVE Stars!
Did you know that Publishing is Personal? Hop on over to JKS Communication to learn why!
In two weeks, I’ll be sitting alongside Martin Limón and Billy Kring at BookPeople Austin where we’ll be speaking about how we use our work in our writing, and signing our books! These men are very interesting – I’ve learned a lot about people and writing from both of them. Hope to see you there. Until then…
Happy Reading,
Manning
