Q –

“I’m involved in a lawsuit against my previous employer and I’m about to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I want to write a book about the case using a pseudonym. I can do that, right?”

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A –

When you publish a book, you must sign a contract with your publisher, and provide your legal name. You must also provide payment information to the publisher in order to receive your royalties. That includes your social security number, or tax I.D. if you’re from another country. Bottom line is you must disclose your real identity to your publisher in order to be under contract with them. 

If you write about a court case you were involved in, the entity involved in that case will undoubtedly find out about your book. Even if you anonymize the entire story, if anyone can identify any person of firm represented in that book, or figure out which court case it’s about, you can get sued, and so can your publisher. And, all it takes to learn your real identity is a subpoena sent to your publisher, to which they must respond.

If you really feel you MUST write about your experience, my recommendation is to NOT sign a non-disclosure agreement. Of course, that might mean you’ll need to actually go to trial with your case. I doubt they will settle if you don’t sign.

Good luck!

DON’T FORGET! The WritersWeekly Spring, 2019 24-Hour Short Story is only 9 days away! There’s a limit of 500 participants so don’t delay if you want to play!

1st Place: $300
2nd Place: $250
3rd Place: $200
+ 80 other prizes!

Read more RIGHT HERE.

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• Well, Excuuuuuse Me for Trying to Protect You From a Lawsuit!
• 12 Ways to Avoid Getting Sued When Writing Your Memoirs by Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com
• Don’t Invite a Lawsuit with Your Memoir By Angela Hoy

Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela lives on a 52' Irwin Center Cockpit Ketch (sailboat) with her family and pets. Keep up with her family's adventurous liveaboard lifestyle at GotNoTanLines.com

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy

BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks

ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750

ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/angela-hoy/78/719/390

Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE

7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition

At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.

And of those titles--ones that that editors paid thousands of dollars to contract, print and publicize--an unhealthy percentage never sell enough copies to earn back their advances. Two years later, most will be out of print!

Acquisition Editor Tam Mossman shares seven essentials every book needs to stay in print, and sell!

Read more here:

http://writersweekly.com/books/5635.html

TRAVEL WRITING 2.0: Earning Money from your Travels in the New Media Landscape - SECOND EDITION

Completely revised edition of the ground-breaking travel writing book that provides a road map to success in the digital age. It dives headlong into the entrepreneurial world of blogging and digital books, while still acknowledging the real money to be made in declining print forms.

Drawing on interviews and survey responses from more than 100 successful travel writers and bloggers, this is the definitive guide to creating success instead of waiting for permission. Written by a veteran, award-winning writer with two decades of experience as a book author, online publisher, freelancer, and blogger.

Read more here:
http://writersweekly.com/books/4814.html

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Named a "Hot New Release" by Amazon, and ranked #7 in the Metaphysical Fiction category less than a week after release!

The Reporter: Part I - Rise and Fall and The Reporter: Part II - Redemption

"A real page turner. I can't wait to read the next installment."
-Debbie Martindale Behrends, The Elburn Herald

Nic Pappas, a reporter with the Palatine Star newspaper, is assigned to cover a cold murder case known as The Brown's Chicken Massacre. Pappas meets, and falls in love with, Mary Jane Santos, who lost her brother, Roland, Jr., in the tragedy, tempting Pappas to violate the ethics of the reporter-source relationship. Believing the only way to end his dilemma is to solve the case, Pappas and Santos make a pledge to catch the killers...