Learn about the legal basics of concern to both fiction and nonfiction writers, and how to safely prepare and protect your work while not treading on the copyright or privacy rights of others.
This session discusses how to get the most out of your publishing contract, for both articles and books.
What you'll learn:
- How to protect your copyright
- How to legitimately use or quote from other people's work (fair use and permissions)
- Preventing defamation - if you use real people in your work, you may be at risk, whether you write fiction or nonfiction
- Invasion of privacy issues
- The basics of book contracts and article contracts
Speaker
Amy Cook is an attorney who has focused on intellectual property and publishing law issues for over 17 years. She is on the board of directors of Lawyers for the Creative Arts and serves as the Managing Editor of the Chicago Bar Association's magazine, The Record. Cook is proud to have a long association with Writer's Digest magazine, having initiated their "Ask the Lawyer" column, and wrote numerous feature articles on legal issues affecting writers.
Who should attend?
- Memoirists and others who use real people in both nonfiction and fiction work (defamation and invasion of privacy can affect fiction writers, too!)
- Writers who need to use portions of other writers' work and are concerned about copyrighted material vs. public domain, fair use, and how to get permission
- Those new to publishing who are unfamiliar with publishing contracts or who need a contracts refresher
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