Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson
[This article is provided for information purposes only. It should not be considered legal advice as I am not an attorney. In addition, this article is targeted to those who self-publish books.]
I could probably write a book on all the things I’ve done wrong as a writer. But I also thank God for being willing and ready to learn, quick to apologize and fast to admit I was wrong. This goes a long way in learning to do things the right way.
Unfortunately, some people are not like that — especially in the “apostolic-prophetic” community where many struggle to value common sense, gain professional understanding about publishing and learn to do things outside of unhealthy spiritual approaches.
I stopped helping people publish books because of the level of spiritual deafness I encountered.
So many people say they are “being led” with book publishing but completely disregard wisdom when it comes – failing to recognize the value in what is “needed” and “necessary.” So, their projects often lack critical elements that brings what is subpar and roughly homemade to above average and professional. (This used to be me!)
Helping people can be like giving a recipe to new backer to make a seven-layer chocolate cake. Then, they tell the expert baker that “God told them to use salt” instead of sugar and to use different size pans instead of standard sized ones. Then when the cake turns out wrong – they pitch fits. This is the mindset of numerous “prophetic” scribes today. It makes helping others extremely difficult for those with the tools to do so. This may offend some, but I assure you it needs to be stated. This is a huge problem with people in our segment of the faith.
As an instructor, mentor, former print journalist, news editor and writer, I’ve seen some strange things in the publications sent to me for review. Once, I received a “prophetic” book that contained nothing but email conversations and accusations printed in a dated order. The cover was beautiful, but the inside was embarrassing and defaming – to the autor and the people they illegally exposed. Common sense does not always rule in “super-spiritual, religious” minds. As a result, tremendous mistakes – sometimes criminal – can be made in the process of writing and publishing books.
This article isn’t a throw-off or a finger pointing one. It is, however, a wake-up call. IT IS A PLEA!
People are writing books at every possible turn, but have absolutely no training not only in the writing process, but in the legal implications that can follow what they write and publish. Somehow, there must be BALANCE in the Christian “prophetic” community – especially among prophetic people where this problem is severe. Training and/or counsel is needed alongside a listening, teachable posture to help writers pass the varying aspects of the publishing “litmus test” so-to-speak. If we ever want to be taken seriously, then we must give our very best to our process.
My years in journalism taught me some hard lessons. I was sued twice (meaning my newspaper) for libel and defamation of character. The complaintant lost in both instances. This, however, was because every news journalist is trained extensively in libel, copyright violation, plagiarism, issues of defamation and so forth. It is engrained in me like “hearing off-key” notes on a piano to a pianist. In this article, I hope to open the eyes of others in the charismatic community to some of these issues as well.
As we move further into the digital millennium, writers are facing new legal challenges. Below, I’ve listed five illegal things writer’s may do that could be criminal and prosecutable.
Writers sometimes:
- Plagiarize. Plagiarism is the act of stealing the work of others and then passing it off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own; using (another’s production) without crediting the source; committing literary theft, and to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.[1] To learn more about plagiarism visit this site.
- Publish private emails. Publishing personal or private emails in a book, blog, on social media or other format could violate privacy laws as well as copyright. To learn more about the dangers associated with this, click here.
- Publish private or personal texts. Publishing text messages someone sent to you in a book, blog, on social media or other formats could violate privacy laws or copyright. (Also add videos here.) To learn more about the dangers associated with this, click here.
- Publish brand names in their publications. Publishing brand names can be legal or illegal depending on how the brand name is used. Writers should be aware of all sides of this issue. To learn more about the cautions associated with this, click here.
- Publish real names or real situations in their memoirs, songs and books. Using real names or real situations could cause some serious problems – depending on how the names of people are associated with those incidents in that publication. There are fine lines involved in all kinds of writing. To learn more about the cautions associated with this, click here.
You see, LEARNING how to do things can upgrade our spiritual perceptions.
If you are a serious writer, I strongly suggest purchasing some type of writer’s legal guide for your own personal study. Some of the topics discussed here are addressed. From a prophetic perspective, these are areas RARELY DISCUSSED in writing circles where people teach you HOW to publish a book, but are extremely necessary.
[1] Definition, Plagiarism. Source: P.org website sponsored by turnitin, http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism
