Obsessed with True Crime discussion

Hi Pamela. Boy, this is a complicated topic and too long to cover in a post, really. First, although the term is increasingly used, I would avoid "true crime novel" entering your vocabulary or anyone else's in connection with your book unless you deliberately choose to write fiction. Novel is fiction. You want to write a true crime non-fiction book, or a "fact crime book," by the sounds of it. If you write true crime/fact crime, it is inevitable that *someone* will get mad at you. You are safest with original interview material from your own interviews (with signed releases where possible - traditional publishers often require them), court documents, police reports, etc. If you are considering self-publishing, I personally would consider buying media perils insurance. It's costly but I know several crime authors who have been sued (Joseph Wambaugh has, I believe, been sued on all but one of his books)and "true crime" is considered a high risk group. Remember, they may not have a valid claim against you but you have to pay to defend yourself legally and that can be a killer if you have no big publishing company behind you. If you do choose to change names and write a novel, remember that you will still have some legal exposure if the offended parties believe that anyone with reasonable knowledge of the case could tell it is them. If you change Fred to Frank and his occupation, and location, but your *case* is recognizable, well, it depends on many factors but that person may still believe that they can be identified and their reputation harmed. Again, they don't have to succeed in their claim to hurt your pocket book: it's the cost of a lawyer to defend. The predicament here is that even with 2 or 3 sources for information, you will not be safe financially from nuisance lawsuits unless you have a big publisher's insurance protecting you, or your own coverage.Lot to think about, I know. You might look up roman a clef novels and see how other authors have fictionalized based on true stories and got away with it. Of course, I can't think of an example. I didn't read it but say The Devil Wore Prada. The author was a former assistant to a well-known magazine editor I believe. The editor may have been annoyed or flattered, who knows, but likely wouldn't sue. OR the story was far enough away that "is it or isn't it based on Anna Wintour" discussions could continue. Sometimes that builds buzz in certain genres. But in fact crime, very often you are dealing with victims' families, families who believe their family member has been wrongfully convicted, families/characters who believe you are getting rich (ha!) off *their* story and on and on. It is a tricky field. I do hope this helps a bit?

Hi, I think I'm covered seeing as my first true crime book "INSIDE OUT" by Rick Atkinson, Only really implicates myself. Most of the other names in my book have been happy to be included seeing as they have already been convicted and have served their time Inside & Out Buy now, and others just want to revel in notoriety. As for the very few I am no longer in contact with, I simply changed minor details in their names, (especially those connected with the Italian mafia and members of an old school London gangster family.) So I'm confident I will not be expecting a visit from any dodgy lawyers or men wearing Fedora hats carrying violin cases any time soon. Having said all that, a court Order Now for slander or false representation would be great material for a sequel. Although in the past I never did anything Buy the Book,now I have 2 beautiful children and their well being is my main priority in life, so I may start writing childrens books instead haha.