Since the discovery that James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, was largely fabricated, the issues of truth within the memoir genre and the legal culpability of the writer have become two largely debated subjects.

Being a personal account of actual events, the memoir is by definition some form of confession, but writers still need to be cautious of what they're saying. Even if something within your memoir is true by your account, if issues of libel arise your book could be wrapped up in so much legal red tape, that it costs both time and money to get out of the mess.

So how can you avoid this costly legal quagmire all together?

Know the rules.

Libel has a variety of definitions depending on each state's laws, but in general it is a written false defamation, or the publication of any statement that could cause damage to an individual or organization's character or reputation.

As established by Kapellas vs Kofman 1969, a defendant in a libel case is accountable and liable for "what is insinuated as well as what is stated explicitly." Therefore, if your memoir, like Frey's, breaks from the strict truth of events while claiming to be "truthful," a libel case could be brought against you.

Always remember, writing a memoir is a balancing act, one that requires historical research, fairness and emotional development.

At the same time, if you are mentioning people and places with an air of negativity, however accurately, you could be found libel for defamation of character. The fact is, no one wants to be bashed, not in a memoir, nor in the world, and doing so without permission could land you in serious trouble.

While writers (and memoirist in particular) should always seek to protect themselves against libel, this may prove difficult given the nature of your book. Evaluate your content honestly and objectively to determine the likelihood someone might press charges against you and seek to silence your voice. Although the truth is a good defense in most libel cases, it can often become difficult and thus expensive to prove in the courtroom. So make sure you're prepared to fight if you publish something that could be damaging even if it is true.

You must protect yourself.

A simple protection for libel is changing the names of the people and organizations involved in your book. This, however, does not completely protect your authorship. If a person can recognize themselves from the situation, time period, places or events even if their name is changed, you can still be sued for libel. Changing the location also helps to distance the story so that it is unrecognizable to real people. You can use a pen name to further distance any recognizable trail back to you or, most importantly, the real person, in order to avoid trouble.

For instance, imagine an individual reader knows you, the author in real life. If you make claims about your husband's doctor, even if you change your husband's name and the doctor's name, but you keep your real name, it is pretty clear to someone involved who you are talking about in reality. By using a pen name and changing the name of people in the book, this will help to further remove the specifics and protect you against any libel claims.

Voicing an opinion is not libelous; however, be careful that you are not actually making an accusatory statement. Even if you say "in my opinion" before a statement, that does not automatically make the statement an opinion if you are speculating or asserting something about someone.

So, how do you say, "please sue me" in legalese?

Do not make the following statements or claims, as they are clear grounds for a libel case: Falsely accusing someone of a crime, or having been charged, indicted or convicted of a crime; falsely identifying someone as the carrier of an infectious or loathsome disease; falsely charging someone or an organization with a claim that discredits or disqualifies a business, office or trade and lowers their profitability; and falsely accusing someone as being impotent.

Seriously consider if you are self-publishing a book that makes statements or reveals information that could damage someone and consult a legal advisor if you are concerned.

If you are worried about libel for a certain section or chapter, it may prove better to have said person or a representative of said organization read over the questionable content. If they believe the text is fair and accurate, you can always have them sign a waver, protecting you further.

Moreover, if you are certain you altered particular events or traded emotional accuracy (how it felt) for reality (how it happened), a disclaimer that informs your reader about this shift will fairly represent your work and further protect you.

To be fair, libel may seem like a necessary evil, but it also ensures that the memoir (and the memoirist) confesses the truth to readers instead of violating their implicit trust. Readers who pick up your memoir are making a great leap of faith – they're trusting you to tell them the truth – and if readers catch wind of your insincerity, they'll not only feel cheated and betrayed, but they'll want to warn others readers of your dishonesty.

Perhaps the debate about "the truth in memoir" will continue for decades into the future, but the fact remains that writers need to protect themselves today. Be sure to consider all the people and organizations you may aggravate or misrepresent in your book. Doing so now will only ensure you and your sales don't suffer for years to come.

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