I Have Permission to Write, But Do I Need Permission to Publish?

 

Photo Credit: Markus Winkler via Pexels

So there I was, writing yet another poem to go into the book of memorial poems I have been working on for several months, when a thought struck me: What if the family of the person I was writing about got angry at me for even writing this poem?

 

For context, this book of poems is a collection of verse written in memory of people I have known, as well as people I didn’t know. But saying they were people that I didn’t know doesn’t necessarily mean they were complete strangers. Some of those people I didn’t know who I have written memorial poems about include family and friends I knew on social media, but not in real life. I didn’t exactly know them for years, though there are some I knew for years via the internet.

 

Then there are the people I didn’t know personally, but knew about because of their celebrity – such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Ozzy Osbourne. I wrote poems in memory of them sometime after they passed away.

 

But now I’m wondering: Do I need permission to include these poems in my book? What if the family gets angry at me for writing these poems?

 

I had that thought after writing a memorial poem about a cousin whose life ended this summer, and it bothered me that I might experience negativity from her family when that poem is published in the book. It bothered me so much that I reached out to another cousin and asked her if it would be okay to include this poem about our cousin in this book. I also said, “I don't want it to look like I am trying to be a part of something that I am not a part of and I don't want people to get mad at me for writing something about a person I did not know, even if it is written with loving thoughts and kind words.” My cousin replied that she thinks this late cousin’s sister would appreciate the gesture. Just to be on the safe side, I reached out to this sister to start a conversation about it.

 

With family, it might be easy to resolve that problem, because then I could reach out to them about it. With friends, I have done the same. But with celebrities? I am not so sure.

 

Would I need permission to get the poems I wrote in memory of these celebrities published? Their deaths moved me and I felt compelled to write about them. So I wrote poems in their memory – about the lives they lived and the ways they have touched others. They are all positive poems. I don’t say bad things about them. But now I wonder if even getting these poems published would be a problem.    

 

I suppose that, as in every case when it comes to an author being conflicted about something in a book, it would be better to just leave that decision with the publisher. So, that is what I will do, in this case.

What to do when you hate the book you are reviewing

 

Image by Jannik Texler from Pixabay

Nobody likes a bad book review, especially the author of the book! But then again, not everybody will love every single book they choose to read. This is also true for the book reviewer – but sometimes, they can’t decide they’re not going to review the book after all. That’s when you need to adjust your book reviewing strategy.

 

Most authors and publishers who send out books to review understand that there is a chance the reviewer will not like the book. Nobody who offered me a review copy ever tore down my door screaming bloody murder because I opted not to review their book after all. What I don’t tell them is that I didn’t like the book, couldn’t finish reading it, or that I hated it. Instead, I say that I’d rather not review the book after all. And, usually, I never hear from them again. Which is fine with me.

 

But if you’re in a position where you MUST review the book even if you hated it, here are some things you can do to get that review written:

 

Write about what you DID like.

I recently stopped reading a collection of short stories I received a free review copy of (I only got this book because I was on somebody’s list of reviewers). I stopped reading it after I noticed I kept passing over a lot of stories that I did not enjoy reading. However, some of the stories in this book were pretty good, so that is something to highlight in a review.

 

Keep your review short.

I have seen very short reviews online. We’re talking reviews that are only one or two sentences. These reviews are usually accompanied by star ratings. Guess what? You don’t HAVE to justify or defend your star rating! If you give a book a two- or three-star rating and add a couple of sentences like “Interesting concept. I think it has potential.” Then be on your way, that is just fine. You did your review.

 

Change how you write your review.

I have noticed some reviewers basically summarize what a book is about. If you must leave a review but you didn’t like the book, try doing this instead.

 

There are a number of ways to handle writing a review for a book that you didn’t like. The above suggestions are just a few strategies you can use.

 

It’s a blessing to book reviewers to have the chance to decline a review or to opt not to review a book that was sent to them, but not all book reviewers are allowed this option. Should you find yourself in such a situation and you don't like the book, figure out a way to write the review that is both fair for you as well as the author of the book.