Feb 19 2009

Writers, how would you feel if. . .

Published by Hillary DePiano at 9:11 am under On Writing,noteworthy

With alarming frequency, I get messages on Lulu in the same vein as this:

I want to publish my mom’s book for her as a surprise.

Yeah. First of all, that is dodgy legally since you don’t own the rights to her book. Secondly, how did you even get your mom’s book? If she asked you to read it to proofread and you are trying to dodge-ily publish it, that is very sleazy. If you found it lying in a drawer and decided to do this, I think that might be even worse because she doesn’t even want to share it then. Someone’s work is a really private thing!

I cannot imagine anyone enjoying having their work sneakily stolen and published without their consent.

If anyone published by book without my permission, not only would I not be appreciative of said surprise, I would be pissed too a level as yet unseen on this earth. Yet this comes up a few times a month from well meaning girlfriends, children, parents and friends. I just cannot imagine how things rings in someone’s head as a good idea.

Other writers, am I alone on this?

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View Comments

  • I was thinking more about this and the only context that I think it might be OK is if your mom really wanted it published in any form and didn't know how to use a computer so you were really just doing her a favor she'd asked you to do in the past.

    I don't know, it's still the whole surprise element that gets me. Especially since its rarely mom and most often girlfriends and boyfriends.

    Can you imagine if a girl just gave it to her boyfriend to read before she sent it out to agents or something and he publishes it? "Surprise! I may have ruined your chances of ever getting traditionally published!"

    I also cannot help but think about divorce where now husband's book is published under wife's name or mother-in-law's book is published under ex-wife's name or whatever.

    What a mess it would be!
  • Just the thought of somebody doing that to me causes my jaw to clench and my blood pressure rise. I mean, I'm ready to beat them up, and no one's done that!
    And that's them publishing it in my name.

    If they stole it outright, I would sue them for absolutely everything they own, and then some!

    (done warning off imaginary book-stealer LOL)
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