A few months ago, I happened upon a post on The Book Designer blog regarding writing disclaimers. I have never given much thought to disclaimers; they’re as necessary for publishing as ISBNs, and just as boring.

I created the disclaimers for my novels by consulting already-published books to see the wording they used. It’s all pretty standard, and I’ve never read one that stood out. The main point was to tell everyone you didn’t write this book about a real person, so you wouldn’t be sued if someone thought they saw themselves within the story. Basically, you wanted to tell the world, “This is fiction. Nothing real to see here. Move along to the end and buy the next book in the series.”

Original Disclaimer

The disclaimer I created and used in print and eBooks came out to read as…

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Scattered Stones Disclaimer

The original disclaimer did the job, but it didn’t reflect the imagination of the author (me). After reading the post on The Book Designer, I decided to spice it up a bit. After all, if someone is going to the trouble of reading it, it should at least be entertaining and original.

Scattered Stones, Book 2 of The Castle Keepers series, is a work of fiction. Names, characters (regardless of race), horses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s vast and wild imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons and animals, living or dead, or actual events, past or future, is purely coincidental. Many locations thought to exist in Nova Scotia—Glen Tosh, Wyvern, Goshen, Shulie—truly exists in this novel.

If you share a name with one of these fictional characters, I’m sorry; there are only so many unique names on the planet. Unless you really like the character, then you’re welcome.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted (or teleported) in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, Morse Code or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Final Words

Honestly, I’m having more fun publishing this novel than any before it. It’s partly because I’m not struggling to learn about self-publishing but mostly because I love this story. Personally, I believe it’s the best I’ve written. And the best thing is book 3 is shaping up to be even better.

To see the examples provided on The Book Designer blog, visit Getting Creative with Disclaimers.

What about you? Would you spice up your disclaimer?