Book Disclaimers: Tips for the Indie Author
Using Book Disclaimers to Protect Your Work and Yourself
Real life inspires stories. It can't be helped. Writers observe, interpret, expound, and often twist based on what they see, hear, and how they feel about it.
When a story has intimacy with reality, readers will see themselves in it. Sometimes what they see is not pretty, or is even offensive.
Enter the book disclaimer.
Understanding the Purpose of Book Disclaimers
Disclaimers play an important role in fiction, non-fiction, and memoir including:
- differentiating fact from fiction
- reducing the risk of liability
- clarifying opinions and biases
- warning about explicit content
- establishing expertise (or lack thereof)
When drafting the disclaimer for your book, think about the role you want it to play. What do you want your readers to know before they begin the journey you've laid out for them?
Differentiating Fact from Fiction
When writing fiction, the author's goal is not always to depict reality. Disclaimers help readers understand that your work is a product of your imagination and not a factual account. This can be particularly important when dealing with sensitive subjects or when your work might be mistaken for a real-life event.
In memoir, disclaimers can explain that memory is subjective, that the truth being told is the author's truth and may not be what the other players in the memoir recall as the truth.
Book Disclaimers Can Reduce Risk and Limit Liability
When well-crafted, a book disclaimer can help shield authors and publishers from potential legal claims, such as defamation, invasion of privacy, and violations of the right of publicity. The publisher of From Here to Eternity included a special note from the author:
"This book is a work of fiction. The characters are imaginary, and any resemblance to actual persons is accidental. However, certain of the stockade scenes did happen. They did not happen at the Schofield Barracks Post Stockade but at a post within the United States at which the author served, and they are true scenes of which the author had first-hand knowledge and personal experience."
The Judge dismissed the case, summarizing a fiction author's relationship with reality, stating that novels are understood to be fictional even when inspired by real persons.
Minimizing Risk in Memoir
Disclaimers can also be useful when the details of a memoir have been modified. Here are a few examples:
- This book is memoir or based on true events. It reflects the author’s present recollections of experiences over time. Some names and characteristics have been changed, some events have been compressed, and some dialogue has been recreated.
- I have tried to recreate events, locales and conversations from my memories of them. In order to maintain their anonymity in some instances I have changed the names of individuals and places.
- This memoir is a truthful recollection of actual events in the author’s life. Some conversations have been recreated and/or supplemented. The names and details of some individuals have been changed to respect their privacy.
Clarifying Opinions and Biases
Disclaimers can clarify that certain arguments made by a non-fiction author or storylines in a work of fiction are the author's personal opinions or interpretations. This helps manage a reader's expectations and prevent potential misunderstandings.
For example:
"This book represents the personal views and opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the positions of any organization or individual with which the author is affiliated."
Using Book Disclaimers to Warn About Explicit Content
Book disclaimers can inform readers about the presence of explicit language, violence, or sexual content, giving them the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether they want to read your book.
Establishing Expertise in a Disclaimer
In non-fiction, disclaimers are often used to establish an author's expertise or lack of it so a reader is not misled. They are particularly useful when an author is not professionally trained in the discipline about which they are giving advice.
For instance:
"The author has made every attempt to provide information that is accurate and complete, but this book is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice."
Disclaimers help maintain the author's credibility while also protecting the author and publisher from potential liability related to inaccuracies or incomplete information.
A Final Note
Writers look at the world and turn it into what could be, or what ought to be. All the bits and pieces of messy lives are collected by a writer, and book disclaimers help make that plain.
For further reading and more examples of creative disclaimers, check out Book Disclaimers: Everything You Need to Know by Helen Sedwick.
Disclaimer: Kathryn Goldman is an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of Maryland. This information is for educational purposes only.