If I wrote an autobiography and published it on amazon then...

[coodawoodashooda]

How do I avoid being sued? No mention of names, is that enough?

I imagine it would go unnoticed, unless it was such a stand out book that it became viral.

You need proper legal advice on this!

My non-legal opinion is that simply changing names might not be enough if people were still identifiable and the content might be considered defamatory or an invasion of privacy.

Well if it was all true that's a defence against defamation. As is honest opinion.

But the onus would be on the defendant to prove their statements were true, if the person alleging defamation were to sue. If the OP said 'John hit me in the face' that's not an opinion, it's a statement of fact and unless there was proof it happened, the OP wouldn't have a defence.

Okay I agree you may need to also prove it's true but that's more a question of evidence /practicalities/whether s jury believes you if you can't "prove" it.

OP would need, at the very least, witnesses, if no actual evidence existed. Otherwise it's her words against the plaintiff's and the proceedings start on the presumption the defamatory allegations are false, so she would lose.

But if you used false names and published under a sudo name surely no one could take issue?

You’d need to learn how to spell ‘pseudonym’ before embarking on a career as an author.

It's whether people can be identified. If events or circumstances are sufficiently recognisable, it doesn't matter if the account is anonymised. Think of people who have 'outed' themselves accidentally on Mumsnet. Changing names might not be enough - you may need to change other details.

Good point! Thank you.

Well you'd think so wouldn't you? Only I've just started a new novel by a well established author, and on the first page it mentions "a myriad of reasons" and "refuge collectors".

@openingbat

Sweet fucking Jesus.

One of my DCs has an ex-partner who wrote a 'novel'.
Although pseudonyms were used, it soon became obvious who the characters were.
The 'author' lost a lot of friends.

OK,maybe I'm being stupid here, but what's wrong with "a myriad of reasons" @openingbat ?

@Lycanthropology

myriad means ‘a large number of things’ or ‘a great many’

so it’s ‘myriad reasons’ rather than ‘a myriad of reasons’

I know what it means.

You've defined myriad as a noun, then used it as an adjective!

'A myriad of' is perfectly correct, as is the use of myriad as an adjective. It is a noun and an adjective.

Cambridge dictionary.

I was always taught you didn’t follow ‘myriad’ with ‘of’ as it meant ‘lots of’ in and of itseof
but it appears more nuanced:

www.writersdigest.com/.amp/write-better-fiction/myriad-vs-myriad-of-grammar-rules

I've been wondering similar.
Say my main protagonist died (in RL). Would that be OK then, or could their NoK sue if they objected to my book?

Yeah. And if the main character was a 'fictional' bank robber then surely they wouldn't ever admit it?

A friend is a multi bestselling author, she always says don't write about yourself you're not as interesting as you think. If you're doing it as a therapeutic task then perhaps just keep it as that and avoid any potential ramifications from putting it out in the world.

But your friend hasn't met me!

However amazing your life has been, most people really don't want to know about it. You may well make a very entertaining dinner party guest, but would I want to invest several hours of downtime finding out more - no.

That's why you only see autobiographies about famous people, rather than interesting people.

You might if you'd experienced similar diversity.

What do you mean by "similar diversity?"