This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance (etc)...

[Allan Hunter]

I'm rereading Stone Butch Blues and taking note once again of the disclaimer at the beginning: "This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between characters and people, dead or alive, is a coincidence". I'm reminded that Rubyfruit Jungle was also marketed as a work of fiction -- but in both cases it is widely understood that the works are actually autobiographical in nature. Molly Bolt was Rita Mae Brown herself. Jess Goldberg is really Leslie Feinberg. To toss in a third example, Who Was That Masked Woman by Noretta Koertge features a main character named Tretona Getroek and is, once again, purportedly a work of fiction.

* To what extent is this generally done only to avoid defamation-of-character lawsuits by people who might claim they were the real people on whom one of the characters in the book were based?

* Under what circumstances is a typical publisher going to regard that as a low enough risk that they'd be OK putting the manuscript out there as a work of nonfiction (memoir)? I know that anyone can sue anyone for anything, regardless of their chances of getting anywhere in the courtroom. Assume for the sake of argument that all the names are changed and that no character with egregious or embarrassing behavior is portrayed in such a way that anyone could pinpoint who the actual person was. Are most publishers going to nevertheless want the book marketed as fiction to avoid lawsuits?

* In contrast, to what extent is this pretense-of-fiction being done by the authors in order to get a publishing contract? In other words, is there reason to believe they'd have a difficult time getting their stories published if they had described them as "memoirs" in their query letters? I have noticed that authors of nonfiction are expected to have a "platform" (to be a bit of a household word or to have a following) in a way that is not expected of fiction authors, and that memoirs are expected to be about someone that folks have already heard of, as opposed to being "Example A" of some phenomenon (being a coal miner, being an autistic person, being a gay person in the military, whatever).

 

[Magicman]

A like just wasn't enough. Great observation and your theories all seem bang-on. My wife has pointed that out to the household many times.

Smiles
Bob

 

[Patricia D]

Does that statement, this is a work of fiction..., really protect against lawsuits?

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Whatever the story or it's singularity or the reason for it, the ethical (potentially legal?) problem doesn't go away if you will be writing about people who are still alive, or have legal estates to protect.

Lorna Sage, Julie Myerson et al. Their books 'Bad Blood' and 'The Lost Child' were published as such, and Julie Myerson in particular reaped a whirlwind for writing about her son's behaviour on drugs. But stood her ground saying she was describing something that is all too common a problem nowadays and needs to be talked about.

She was criticized for being self- serving, washing family laundry in public. How fairly, I see it both ways and have no opinion, myself. But she is also a published writer of fiction and maybe for her publisher it came down to the strength of the account and the quality and relatability of the writing.


Did this come up in previous discussions with the two publishers you mentioned ?

 

[Allan Hunter]

Does that statement, this is a work of fiction..., really protect against lawsuits?

Wondering that myself. Seems to me that if your name is Joe Schmoe and you run the Pig Paradise barbecue, and you read a book describing Jack Schmuck who runs the Hog Heaven barbecue and utilizes decaying horsemeat, you're not going to refrain from lawsuit just because the book's disclaimer insists that it's fiction.

Reciprocally, since it doesn't offer magical protection, it seems to me that publishers ought to be fine with publishing books as nonfiction memoir as long as there's no defamation of character and the names have all been changed, etc.

But that's why I was asking the question.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Fiction or non-fiction, the key to indemnifying the writer, or publisher against a lawsuit seems to be whether anyone could reasonably claim they had been personally identified anywhere in your work, and point to the evidence in the text. Peter would know more, or Donna Ballman (The Debriefer... Litopia's front page)

Legal and Ethical Issues in Memoir Writing - Interview with Literary Attorney Robert Pimm | National Association Memoir Writers

 

[Allan Hunter]

All other things being equal, I'd like to publish as nonfiction memoir. Not only have all the names been changed, but some individual events and individual characters were amalgamated to create a better narrative flow and to have fewer but better-developed characters. I'd think that a disclaimer to that effect would make it difficult for an individual to insist that I had written something about "them" that wasn't true or appropriate.

It would definitely be nice to hear from those with more experience though.