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Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to the Legal Issues of Self-Publishing by [Helen Sedwick]

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Helen Sedwick

Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook: The Step-by-Step Guide to the Legal Issues of Self-Publishing Kindle Edition

by Helen Sedwick (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook is the first step-by-step guide to the legal issues of self-publishing. Attorney and self-published author Helen Sedwick uses 30 years of legal experience to show writers how to stay out of court and at their desks. She covers a wide range of topics, including:
•Business set-up. From DBAs to sales taxes to crowd-funding, Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook walks writers through the process of setting up their self-publishing ventures.
•Moving from Manuscript to Book. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook compares the options of engaging a self-publishing service company to doing-it-yourself using a print-on-demand provider. It lists which contract provisions are acceptable and which are not. It explains the mechanics of hiring designers, editors, and other freelancers.
•Intellectual Property Issues. Copyrights, trademark, fair use, and public domain are explained in practical, useful terms, including how to find copyright holders and ask permission. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook provide tips on licensing images and music for little or no money.
•Internet Regulations. Any writer with a blog needs to know about privacy policies, SPAM, COPPA, and DMCA. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook explains these regulations in easy-to-understand language.
•Spotting Scams. Writers are e-blasted by businesses promoting overpriced services, if not outright frauds. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook shows writers how to spot aggressive sales techniques and scams.
•The Scary Stuff. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook provides guidance on avoiding the dangers of defamation, invasion of privacy, and infringement.

Writing and publishing a book is a significant investment. Writers should not be losing money (and sleep) by hiring the wrong self-publishing company or getting sued for copyright infringement. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook will help writers safely navigate the legal minefield.

University of Chicago Law School graduate and California attorney, Sedwick has represented small businesses and entrepreneurs for 30 years. Her historical novel Coyote Winds earned five-star reviews from ForeWord Reviews and Compulsion Reads and is an IndieBRAG Medallion Honoree.

Length: 206 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

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Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook, Second Edition: Updated Guide to Protecting Your Rights and Wallet
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook isabsolutely required reading for every author who wants to publish their ownwork. Filling a long-standing need, this book will give you the expertguidance to safely control your work, avoid lawsuits and scams, whilemaximizing your tax deductions. It should be on every self-publisher'sdesk--highly recommended." -Joel Friedlander, The Book Designer.com

"This vital resource for everyself-publisher clearly outlines the legal issues authors need to know.... Well-writtenand authoritative yet unhampered by legalese.... Outstanding. This is a book thatis likely to help any self-publisher avoid many headaches." -ForeWord 5-Star Review

"Should be on every author's shelf.... Sedwick simplifies the scary and presents ways to avoidending up in a costly legal battle. Her goal is to help you avoid wasting moneyand time on things that could have been avoided in the first place.... Don'thesitate; get your copy now." -Self-Publishing Review

"Every writer needs this book! Self-publishing writersalready wear so many hats; who has time to be a lawyer in addition to a writer,social media expert, and marketing pro? Legal issues are ignored becausewriters figure they wouldn't understand them. Wrong! Sedwick's book answers alltypes of questions, including those writers wouldn't think to ask. Read thisbook and stay out of legal trouble!" -Arlene Miller, M.A., The Grammar Diva ™

From the Author

When I self-published my historical novel,Coyote Winds, I discovered there was no legal guide to help self-publishingwriters deal with wide-ranging issues such as copyright, defamation, and taxes. Dozens of books offer advice ondesigning covers, editing content, and tweeting effectively, but few will tell writershow to protect their Social Security Numbers or spot a scam. I wrote the Self-Publisher Legal Handbook to help writerspublish and promote their work while minimizing legal risks.

Many writers have questions aboutincorporation and crowd-funding, not to mention hiring freelancers anddeducting expenses. Or they are considering purchasing a publishingpackage from a self-publishing service company, and wonder how to distinguishbetween an honest company and an unscrupulous one. When they try to read a contract, the page looks like 5,000 words run through ablender!

How do writers writeblog posts that are provocative, but not defamatory? How do they findeye-catching images without spending a fortune? They wonder if their websites needprivacy policies, and what do DMCA, COPPA, and DRM mean anyway?

And there is a personal reason I wrote theHandbook.

My parents were artistic people; my mother anactress and my father a stage and television director. By temperament orchoice, they did not understand business or money. When I was young, I saw thembeing taken advantage of over and over again. I went to law school so I wouldhave the tools to navigate the business world myself and to help creativepeople like my parents.

Writing and publishing a book is a significantinvestment in time, money and emotion. Writersshould not lose money (or sleep) by hiring the wrong self-publishing servicecompany or getting sued for copyright infringement.

Many chapters in the book will also help atraditionally published writer who is blogging, tweeting, and creating contentfor Internet distribution.

ASIN : B00KTQJRZO
Publisher : Ten Gallon Press (June 6, 2014)
Publication date : June 6, 2014
Language: : English
File size : 1075 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 206 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #651,666 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #258 in Practical Guides for Law
- #664 in Authorship
- #756 in Starting a Business

Customer Reviews:
231 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Alex Eye

Sedwick Atomizes the "I-Don't-Know-How-To" Excuse

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2015

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Excellent for someone like myself who's seriously considering publishing a first book. Sedgwick covers all of the necessary steps from sitting down to write the first page to publication. Primarily she helps two types of writers: those who hire a self-publishing service company (SPSC) and those who do it themselves by hiring a Print-on-Demand (POD) provider. However, her three main goals will help any writer who publishes. She wants writers to be able to 1) control their own works, 2) avoid scams and lawsuits, and 3) maximize tax deductions. She definitely accomplishes her goals for us.

A big bonus is her "Resources" appendix which lists books and websites helpful to writers.

Though she lists the steps chapter-by-chapter, it would be very helpful when she revises to include a step-by-step worksheet in her revision and downloadable from her website, which would help us who bought her earlier version.

May you all make a great day and write great books.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Rissa

Useful and Very Readable!

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2017

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Reading legal books is not my idea of fun, however Sedwick makes it easy. I bought this book at the recommendation of a friend, and had low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find it both useful and very reaable. Sedwick breaks down all the steps of legally becoming an author-business-owner into simple-to-follow directions and offers you the resources to make it all happen. She points out possible legal pitfalls and problems, so you can cover your a&s before issues arise. Love that! As someone new to "authoring" I found to-do items in this book that no other guide had pointed out, and added them to my list before I will launch any books.
Additionally, Sedwick has a wonderful annex that literally helps you understand contracts and legal language - that alone is worth the cost of the book so you know what the heck you are agreeing to. So glad I found out about this book and read it before publishing!

4 people found this helpful

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Katherine Corbett

Invaluable Resource

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2017

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I find this book invaluable and keep coming back to it. I never expected to need this book. I am an author when unexpectedly I lost my publisher. No I didn't misplace him (lol) but we no longer wanted to work together.

I spent months getting an internet education and it was eye-opening. So many scam artists and greedy people out there. Luckily I had time but not money so I didn't lose money during my learning.

One source I consistently found useful was TheBookDesigner.com. Articles there provided me with lots of great information and resources. One of the best resources I found there was this book.

When I decided to self-publish, I had no clue about the difference between SEO and ISBN. I am so grateful for Helen Sedwick's clear writing and thoroughness to guide me.

I read the book first to get a general idea of what I needed to learn. But I keep coming back and reading sections over again as I need to know that specific information.

This book is a GREAT VALUE.

5 people found this helpful

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Happy and...

Valuable Information, but get the updated version.

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent book, but wish I'd known when I bought it a couple days ago that there was a more recent version. It did not show up in my purchase selection, so feel I have outdated material in some areas, but I'm not willing to buy the updated version for an added purchase amount when I just bought this one; not pleased about that. I Even so, while I had already thought of some of the things she mentions, there were others that I hadn't and now am worried about. Of course, prices for various things have also changed; i.e., ISBN 10-packs are now $295 at Bowker's site rather than $250 and so on. This book didn't explain about the barcodes or what a QR code is either, which is also on the ISBN site--maybe the updated version does, but I would liked to have known more about that and should I buy either or both. I always use licensed photos from Adobe Stock (which wasn't mentioned in her list). I used one of them, a simple vector, as part of my publishing trademark. Then, I read in her book that that is illegal. Not sure what, or if, I should do anything about it now. I licensed the vector from item in good faith and it is only a symbol in my trademark name. So, you may come across information that can make you nervous if you've already done things before reading it. By all means, read this book before you do more. One last thing, she doesn't mention it, but if you want to be sure about your privacy statement and many other statements and what you can and cannot say, after reading this book, you should go to FTC Guardian online because they have everything you need to keep your site legal.

One person found this helpful

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Book Reader

Lots of Information

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

I'm glad I finally made time available in my schedule to read this book because it provided me with a lot...and I mean ALOT of Information I never thought I would even need. Like most people who have bought this book, they are in the beginning stages of self-publishing a book. The best thing about this book is every information you will need about treating this venture as a business is conveniently combined in this book. There is information on how to control your right, SPSCs, scams, tax information, hiring freelancers, reading and understanding contracts, licenses, anything related to this field you name it is listed right here in this book. Sometimes I felt like my head was about to explode on the sections with defamation, infringement, libel, BUT still. It is information that is necessary to know when going into this field. I'm taking it all in stride. The way the information was presented was clear, concise, and well done. The overall tone of this book was helpful. I would recommend reading this book several times to fully grasps the information presented by the author. But as the author has indicated, any information provided in this book should not replace you seeking counsel from an attorney.

I'm glad I read this book. Was a quick nice read. Thank you Ms. Sedgwick for the information!

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Mark Speed

Essential reading for ALL authors

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2016

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I wish I'd read this book years ago. It's a refreshing change from the usual advice books written for the self-publishing market. The author really is a genuine expert in her field, and she has done a fantastic job of making a potentially stuffy and difficult subject easy and enjoyable to read. There's also none of the hype and BS you tend to get in this market - just straightforward guidance.The author covers every aspect of authoring you can think of, right down to treating it as a business. She gives good commonsense advice about the kinds of promotions you should and shouldn't do, and I'd have saved quite a bit of money if I'd read this earlier. Traditionally-published authors will also find useful advice on contracts and many other aspects of the law relating to their profession.

Redwing

Could be better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

Doesn't really go into enough detail for me. I found out most of this info online before I purchased the book. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

James Minter

Get a peak behind the law without spending vast amounts of money ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

Although much of the detailed information is for the USA, the principles are fine for non-USA authors. Given you spend weeks, months, even years writing your book(s) you don't want to "give it away." No your rights.

Yansterblue

Good, but could be better.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

Good advice, but felt that more effort could have gone in to the writing of this book. If you are looking for advice on disclaimers, there is none.

Miguel Angel Alonso Pulido

Un buen libro que trata lo que otros ignoran

Reviewed in Spain on January 10, 2017

Verified Purchase

Dentro del mundillo de la autopublicación hay muy poca bibliografía sobre los aspectos legales que debes conocer: derechos de autor, propiedad intelectual, plagios, difamaciones, uso de imágenes en tu blog o cómo deducir impuestos de tus gastos, entre otros muchos temas. Aunque esta guía está limitada al mundo anglosajón, es muy válida para iniciarte en estos aspectos y plantearte estrategias para irlos solucionando. Muy buena, aunque para los autores de habla hispana solo servirá como referencia y punto de partida.

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