FAQ

Here's where we provide you with feedback to your email questions. In most cases, your question and its answer will be of interest to other authors.

Can "the truth" be a defence of defamation?

Perhaps, but you could be physically attacked, like French novelist Pierre Jourde claimed. The case is currently in court. This account was taken from the Australian (22 June 07, reprinted from The Times)
Writer 'bashed by characters': June 23, 2007
PARIS: Five peasant farmers beat up an author for revealing in his novel the dark secrets of their hamlet, including adultery, suicide, inbreeding and alcoholism, a court heard.

Pierre Jourde claimed he was attacked by neighbours in the Auvergne, central France, after setting his novel Pays Perdu (Lost Land) in the community. He changed names, but Lussaud residents recognised themselves as the drunken, lonely and uncouth characters he depicted, Aurillac Criminal Court was told this week.

Members of three of the five families who live in the hamlet were charged with assaulting Jourde and racially insulting two of his children, whose mother is an Arab.

The villagers lay in wait as the writer returned to the farm that has belonged to his family for three centuries. They hit him, threw stones, injuring his 15-month-old baby, and shouted "filthy Arabs" at his two sons on July 31, 2005, the court was told.

Jourde said he hit back at Paul Anglade, who is 72. "I hurt him," said the professor of literature at Grenoble University who has published six novels. "I punched him."

Pays Perdu, a grim comedy about peasant farming tradition, was published in 2003 to acclaim in Paris and indifference in Lussaud, until a nearby grocery put a few copies on its counter.

The work focuses on the funeral of a girl but weaves in other stories -- all known to Lussaud's 25 inhabitants.

Jourde wrote about the 1960s affair between two neighbours who have since returned to their spouses and whose children are married to each other.

He denounced widespread alcoholism. "Rare are the houses where alcohol does not have its victims, its slaves," he wrote.

The novel tells of the Sunday church service, where "hymns are interpreted without pleasure by people without importance, gently moving their lips".

Jean-Marc Morel, the Mayor of Laurie, the district that includes Lussaud, said: "We knew this but we didn't speak about it. He brought out evil things and I don't know anyone who said he was right to do so."

Mr Anglade said the work insulted "our ancestors and here, you don't touch the ancestors". He accused the writer of betraying confidences.

But Jourde said Pays Perdu was meant to convey a "globally positive" view of what he believed would be the last generation of French peasant farmers.

State prosecutor Virginie Dufayet, who wants the five to be given six-month suspended sentences, said: "There was a smell of vengeance in this village."

Maitre Gilles-Jean Portejoie, for the defence, told Jourde: "You wrote about their lives and their vices. You didn't try to understand their motivations. You manipulated them, you played with them."

My book's title has been used by someone else.

There's nothing you can do about this. There is no copyright in a book's title. Copyright is for a "literary work" and a mere title is not enough to quality.

If there are unauthorised excerpts from your own book, there may be some breach of copyright. It is important to compare them closely to mount any claim.

Common law passing off

However, there is common (not statute) law protection for "passing off", which means briefly that someone else is passing off their work as yours and maybe taking advantage of your reputation for their own benefit.

For example, you are a very successful and well known radio presenter who has published many bestselling books. An author publishes a book which bears the same title as one you have written. In a side-by-side comparison, they look and feel remarkably similar although one is not a copy of another.

There would on face value be no breach of copyright, but the well known author could mount a claim that the imitator is passing off her or his book as the book by the well known author.

If the well known author publishes a book with a title that closely resembles or is the same as a lesser known author, the action is more than likely to fail.

Can I get sued for defamation?

Sydney Morning Herald writer Richard Ackland reported the latest US result in an internet driven defamation action. On 11 February 05, he wrote:

"The Duke of Brunswick's case (1849) has been a leading authority for what constitutes a publication in defamation. By extension it is also authority that a cause of action arises in each and every jurisdiction where the material that is sued on is read.

"Dow Jones's case in the High Court was that the place where the material was uploaded onto the internet was the place of publication - New Jersey. Gutnick argued (successfully) that the place of publication was where the article was downloaded and read - in his case, Melbourne.

"For Dow Jones to have succeeded in Australia it would have had to persuade the High Court in the internet age of the 21st century to find a way around an authority that had gripped the law since 1849. Do you think the High Court could bring itself to do this? Not on your nelly.

"Did the English Court of Appeal in the Jameel case find a way around the confounded nonsense of the Duke of Brunswick decision? Absolutely. It told Jameel, in effect, to get out of town with his action and to find somewhere else to bring it. Preferably New Jersey.

"Further, it said that if the Duke of Brunswick were to try it on today, he too would be told to get out of town. Suing on a publication to one person would involve costs way out of proportion to what could be achieved. It would be struck out as an abuse of process. No mercy shown there to the teams of lawyers who are not inconvenienced if costs are out of proportion to what is achieved.

"Similarly, for Jameel to sue in England, where five people clicked on the Wall Street Journal link, three of them his own associates, amounts to a waste of time and an abuse of process.

"The Guardian reported that nine people clicked on the Gutnick story in Australia."

The full article is at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/10/1107890344787.html

There is a current (2005) move by the federal government to standardise defamation laws across all states. Except that the Commonwealth is still holding out on a couple of sticking points, it is generally assumed that we will have uniform laws by the end of 2005, with the Attorney General, Philip Ruddock aiming to implement federal legislation if the states can't agree.

If you are unsure about something you have written, you may need to seek legal advice.

How much does it cost to print 10,000 copies?

Q: Hi, I am looking at self publishing a book, I don't have the exact measurents as yet as I would like to print it in the most cost efficient way as possible, however I am thinking something in the lines of A5, 150 pages, black and white (no pics) with a colour cover. How much would it roughly cost to print 10,000 and 50,000 copies in one go?

A: It will cost about $10,000 for 10,000 copies and $40,000 for 50,000. Be sure you get your marketing and distribution plans well in place 4 months before you go to press or you'll lose your money. Remember: printers don't take returns.

How do I log on?

Our home page includes the log on box: look down to the lower right corner. You'll see two boxes: put your user name in the top box, your password in the bottom box, then click on "log on". If you don't see the two boxes at the lower right, you are already logged on! You should be able to see our "welcome" message at the top left of the screen.

I like the size of your book (BOOK TITLE) but it is not one of those listed. What is this 110 x 220 size called? It has a good feel about it. - Kevin Goddard, 22 July 04

BOOK TITLE was designed to fit into a DL envelope. We printed 10,000 copies on a web offset press at a cost of 88¢ per book. A slightly smaller size of 210 x 110 would have been 71¢, a saving of 17¢ per book ($1700 total), but it wouldn't have looked quite as nice as it does.

Which is best: self publish or find a publisher?

It takes time to find a publisher. About six months at least, then you must allow another 6 - 12 months for their editorial, design, and marketing timetables. They usually pay 10% royalties. There can be more profits in self publishing if you work at it.

For example:
Print run 1000 copies. Author self publishes, sells at full price of $20 to friends, colleagues, at markets, doing own publicity. Book costs $10 to produce. Profit is $10,000

If the book is published by a trade publisher, they sell 1000 copies at $20, pay 10% royalties ($2 per book). Author profits $2000.

However, most publishers will require a 5000 copy sale to take it on, and this limits publication to only those books with national interest by well-known writers.

What are the benefits of printing at Fast Books?

Because our background is publishing, we aim to make your book look and feel like it's really published, rather than printed. We look out for the small details and advise you on them. There are other benefits too: your book goes onto this website free for 12 months, and this helps you market, promote, distribute and sell more copies.

A publisher said they liked my work but then wanted me to pay them $15,000.

They are vanity publishers and you should stay clear of them. Some vanity presses we've heard tales about are named Minerva, Avon UK, Vantage, On the Stone, and Butterfly Books in the Blue Mountains.

Is all the information on the website, or do I need to meet with you as well?

This website is dynamic and updated each working day by Pat Woolley and a team of publishing professionals. Of course, personal attention is best, but this is inexpensive and affordable help in the most efficient way there is.

Can you provide any advice in a summary form?

That's precisely what this website does. It's a practical guide to design, print, and publish.

My manuscript is 55,000 words. How many pages will it be in a book?

It all depends on your page design, what size book you want, the type size and font, and the leading between lines. This may help:

• A 40,000 word novel can work out to about 125 pages, give or take a few, in B format, 11 point type.
• Use our formatting section ($99 for a year's access) to put your manuscript into page layouts. Then you'll have a better idea of its extent.

What's the best software to use to write my novel? Is Windows okay?

Windows is an operating system only. You'll need word processing software such as Word or Nisus to write your manuscript. If you intend to use illustrations throughout the book, it may be more efficient to bring the word processed text into a page layout program like Quark Xpress, PageMaker or In Design. Our membership section provides an easy guide to putting illustrations into Microsoft Word layouts.

How many copies should I print in the first run?

Come up with a figure of how many you can sell to your family and friends. Now double that quantity and print that number. If you set the retail price at twice what it costs to print, you'll break even selling half. Reprint with the profits.

Can I print hardcovers at Fast Books?

Yes. We can print in any format: paperback or hardcover.

Why can't I print 100 copies of an A4 size book in landscape format as cheaply as in portrait format?

Because the card sheet has to be 640mm long (short grain) to achieve a back cover, spine, front cover, and enough extra to trim. This is a huge sheet of paper: much too big for a digital press which usually has a maximum of 450mm. Your costs will be about $3000 more for offset printing if you insist on this format.

Why am I always getting rejected, asks an author?

Recently, we received an appeal from an author whose novel was one of the final 10 in the NSW Writers' Centre Popular Fiction Competition. Yet he cannot find a publisher. Perhaps it is because:

• In his letter, he talks about the competition's winning book titled Fat, Fifty and Fxxxd: "Apparently the subject indicates a current trend with which I do not wish to be associated."
• He is nearing the age of 89 and has some medical problems and disabilities.
• He uses CAPITAL LETTERS and BOLD TYPE. He's screaming too much. Authors should never use highlight pens, bold type, capital letters through the text.
• "Selling" a manuscript to a publisher is a lot like selling a house. Keep it clean and tidy. Don't offer much personal information. Only tell them the good things.

Note: This page is not meant to offer legal advice. We present it only for information, in a way common to book publishing.

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