Helen Sedwick - Self-Publishers Legal Handbook

HELEN SEDWICK

TEN GALLON PRESS

SELF-PUBLISHERS LEGAL HANDBOOK

The Step-by-Step Guide to the Legal Issues ofSelf-Publishing by Helen Sedwick

Copyright 2014 by Helen Sedwick

www.helensedwick.com

www.tengallonpress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this bookmay be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or byany information storage and retrieval system without the writtenpermission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

This Handbook should not be used as asubstitute for the advice of competent legal counsel from anattorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction.You should never delay seeking legal advice, disregard legaladvice, or commence or discontinue any legal action because ofinformation in this Handbook.

Cover Design by Damonza.com

Interior Layout by Ellie Searl,Publishista

Author Photograph by Star Shots, Santa Rosa,CA

Print Version

ISBN 13: 978-0988302150

LCCN: 2014936709

Ten Gallon Press

Santa Rosa, CA

This Handbook is dedicated to every writerwith

a story to tell,

a memory to share,

an insight to explore,

and a heart to open.

Congratulations. You have written a book. You havetackled the challenges of voice, pacing, and structure. More kudosto you if you are self-publishing. You are ready to grapple withcopyediting, layout, cover art, and ePub.

As a self-publisher, you face newchallengeslegal issues as wide ranging as copyright, defamation,and taxes.

Perhaps you are surprised to discover youare starting a business. You have questions about incorporation andcrowdfunding, not to mention hiring freelancers and deductingexpenses.

Or you are considering buying a publishingpackage from a self-publishing service company. You wonder how todistinguish between an honest company and an unscrupulous one. Youworry about losing your copyright.

Do you suffer from contract anxiety?When you try to read a contract, does the page look like 5,000words run through a blender?

What about author platforms? How do youwrite blog posts that are provocative but not defamatory? How doyou find eye-catching images without spending a fortune? Does yourwebsite need a privacy policy, and what do DMCA, COPPA, and DRMmean anyway?

Dozens of books and websites offer adviceabout designing covers, editing content, and tweeting effectively,but few will tell you how to protect your Social Security Number orspot a scam. Online advice is often wrong, outdated, orincomprehensible. Who has the patience to sort through suchclutter? How do you tell useful insight from utter nonsense?

When I self-published my historical novel,Coyote Winds, I found no legal guide for self-publishingwriters. That needed to change.

I am a business lawyer with 30 years ofexperience assisting clients in setting up and running theirbusinesses, legally and successfully. My clients includeentrepreneurs such as winery owners, green toy makers, softwareengineers, and writers. I do not go to court, and no one is evergoing to produce a movie about the exciting life of a businessattorney. But I get a great deal of satisfaction by keeping myclients out of trouble, so they can focus on their businesses,their creative projects, and their lives.

I wrote this book to help other writersself-publish and promote their work while minimizing legal risksand errors.

Writing and publishing a book is asignificant investment in both time and money. It is tough enoughto make money in a business where fewer than five percent of bookssell over 1,000 copies. You dont want to lose that money (orsleep) by hiring the wrong self-publishing service company orgetting sued for copyright infringement.

Many chapters in this book will also help atraditionally published writer who is blogging, tweeting, andcreating content for Internet distribution.

The goal of this book is to show you howto:

Control: If you are serious about buildingyour self-publishing business and protecting your rights, then youwant to control all components of your work: the copyright, ISBNs,retail pricing, discount rate, distribution channels, andpromotions. Self-Publishers Legal Handbook provides thetools for maintaining this control.

Avoid: No one wants to lose money in a scam,buy worthless services, pay unnecessary taxes, or get sued forinfringement, defamation, or invasion of privacy. This Handbookwill educate you on how to reduce these risks.

Maximize: Your expenses will exceed yourrevenues, at least at first. I will advise you on how to improveyour chances of deducting these expenses from non-book-relatedincome.

Remember this acronym: CAM (control, avoid,maximize). I refer to it often.

Like most business attorneys, I blend legaland business advice. The most cautious legal advice is useless ifit makes no business sense. But an aggressive business strategythat crosses the legal line is just as useless and much moredamaging. Even if you are writing a book on how to rob a bank orhack the Pentagon, readers expect you to deal with them honestlyand competently. Lose a readers trust, and youll lose thatreader.

To make this Handbook user-friendly, Iveorganized the book into sections:

Starting Out on the RightFoot. Chapter One walks you through the steps of setting upyour business, including registering a DBA (doing business as) nameand obtaining a tax identification number.

Moving from Manuscript toBook. Chapter Two compares the options of engaging aself-publishing service company (SPSC) to doing it yourself using aprint-on-demand (POD) provider. Chapter Three explains themechanics of hiring designers, editors, and other freelancers.

Getting Rights Right.Chapter Four covers the basics of copyrights, trademarks, fair use,and public domain, including how to find copyright holders. I alsoprovide tips on licensing images and music for little or nomoney.

Avoiding Marketing andInternet Minefields. Chapter Five discusses marketing anddistribution choices, including paid reviews and giveaways. It alsocovers typical scams such as expensive, but meritless, contests.Chapter Six translates the alphabet soup of SPAM, COPPA, and DMCA.The intimidating topics of defamation and invasion of privacy arecovered in Chapter Seven.

The Inevitable Taxes.Chapter Eight touches on the mechanics of sales and income tax,including tips on saving money.

Working Well with Others.Chapter Nine explores collaborations, and Chapter Ten explains howto find and retain an attorney.

Beyond the Book.Self-publishing is a new business and still evolving. Law is an oldbusiness and still evolving. In the last chapter, I invite you tosend me your questions and to share your experiencesthe foolish,the infuriating, and the successful. Who knowsyour contributionsmay end up in the next edition of the Self-Publishers LegalHandbook.

Addendum. I haveannotated and explained key portions of the CreateSpace and KDP(Kindle Direct Publishing for e-books) publishing contracts. Onceyou know what to look for in a contract, the words will form intoconcepts, and the concepts will grow into understanding. I alsoinclude excerpts from a shockingly predatory (and completely real)contract to help you recognize the fine-print traps to avoid.