: Re: How much power does the author have over an original work? Some background. I recently published a book and was asked to share the first 30 pages so the publisher could edit and send it

@Hamm6328258

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"The lawyer told me that I didn't have a legal problem, but I had a problem that most often dealt with by an agent. I asked for clues about how to move forward and the lawyer said writers have very little power once the contract is signed."

I'm surprised any lawyer would tell a client with a contract question that they didn't have a legal problem. That's like a restaurant manager telling a customer who'd been served the wrong wine, "Hey, it's not me, you don't have a food problem." If you've a contract, you've a contract problem.

What you might not have is a contract solution. Most states will grant great deference to the contract, with the assumption being that you have negotiated the very outcome you received. There might be some wiggle room depending on the wording, but that is going to be very specific to the individual agreement you reached.

No contract can force you to commit a statutory wrong, however. If the editor's changes to your memoir wind up falsely casting someone in a bad light, or suggesting that you are culpable for some wrongdoing yourself, the contract itself might end up being nullified. Even if it isn't, you or someone else might have a tort suit if the changes were egregious enough. It all depends on the specifics of your situation.

Then there is the final question of how much your artistic integrity is worth to you. Any contract can be breached, but are you willing to accept the resulting penalties? Will doing so sour your relationship with the publisher? Will this publisher then tell the next publisher, making it difficult to get published elsewhere? Are the changes really that bad, or is it more about them changing your words without your permission?

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