What You Need to Know About Using a Person's Name in Your Book

Using a Person’s Name in Your Written Work

* When you write a person’s name into your book in a positive or even neutral manner, you don’t have defamation of privacy issues. However, if you characterize them as a shady and repugnant character, then you might have a problem. It depends of course, if they know about it.

Yes you can! There are countless books written by indie/self-published authors that are published every month of every year. Most are shuffled under mainstream books and are not seen as often, so the notion that an author’s book might be spotted by someone who the author knows personally and has used his/her name in it, is slim. Unless of course, the author made it obvious and linked that person's name to the book somehow.

 If you use a REAL person’s name in a positive or neutral manner, there’s no problem or there shouldn’t be. However, if what you wrote is identifiable and can be seriously damaging to their reputation, then you run the risk of defamation and privacy issues and might get sued in small claims court. Why a small claims court? Because that's as far as it will go.

Here is my experience with a problem involving defamation:

Back in 2006, I had a website where I shared online stories. Back then, GeoCities was a part of Yahoo and I took advantage of it by posting SOME my written work on a free webpage I had. I didn’t know at the time that a ‘certain’ someone was stalking me online. She was a Hater, my husband’s cousin’s wife.

NOTE:  I use the word, WAS because she passed away.

  Let’s continue: Back in 2006 I posted a short story called Twisted Embers. 

(Not the same as Chandra’s Quest Book 2: Twisted Embers.)

 The short story was a BDSM/erotica. I used the name of a prominent person in my small town. I thought he’d be perfect as one of the main characters, he was handsome and distinguished. The main character got involved with him, romantically and the rest you can imagine what went on in the short story. It was the first time I wrote an online short story in reference to BDSM, involving someone I sort of knew but not personally. Frankly, it wasn't that good of a story to tell you the truth, but I wanted to try my hand out in writing Erotica.

*Author's are their own worst critics.

 Well, at the time I didn’t know that my husband’s cousin’s wife had the same doctor. My suspicions were clarified after a casual conversation with her husband a few years after the whole mess fanned over. The conversation resulted in a revelation.  I asked him what doctor his wife had, he told me the name of the doctor, and it was then that I put the pieces together. She must have told that doctor about the story I posted, after all, I’m sure she spotted it online.

 Obsessed haters will always do things behind your back and cause trouble. 

I was forced to change doctors. To make this long story short, I had planned to  take down the BDSM story I posted on GeoCities, but my husband failed to pay the internet services that Summer, and it took two and half months to get the service back! I was beside myself and angry that I couldn’t do anything about the situation until I got services back online!

 I didn’t see it then, but I could have damaged that person's reputation. That doctor went as far as to asked me to remove a book I had for sale up on Amazon (Chandra’s Quest Book 1 the 2002 version) because he thought his name was in it! 

That's how far it had gone! His name was never in that book and I did not plan on using his name in any of the Chandra's Quest book series. I never took the book down. Why should I? 

By the way, he bought a copy of the original (unabridged) version of Chandra’s Quest book 1, just to be certain. 
Technically, if I knew then what I know now, I would have ignored the whole thing and did minor changes to that online story but kept his name intact. Why? Well, you can't copyright your name! And if i was taken to small claims court, I can turn around and sue for malicious prosecution.

Fast forward now:  I know more and how to use the knowledge I gained throughout the years. So I CAN use a person's name in any of my books because names are not copyrighted, period!

Here’s something to know:

*A defamatory statement must contain sufficient information to lead a reasonable person (other than the target) to identify the target. Typically, the target must be a living person.

Hints:

 *If you base a fictional character on a living person, mask identifying features. Change physical details and life history so the character is not recognizable. The more villainous the character, the more changes you should make.

 (whether you mask the character or not, do make changes.)

*Overall, the hundreds of thousands of books published each year, there are relatively few lawsuits against authors. Claims are difficult to prove. Most targets don’t sue because they do not want to call attention to a matter best forgotten. 

 This is True. Most don’t but, if you know someone who will cause problems for you, it’s best to use caution and be discreet. Don’t link the story to the name of the person you used in your book. Don’t link them to a website or online social media profiles. Just a thought.

"The people that cause unnecessary friction for others are people who hate themselves."

NEW! Below is a link to a business Facebook page I set up for myself. Thank you.
Cecile Garcia Author