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To be published in 2026

Law for Writers & Editors

Practical guidance for book coaches, editors, and writers 

This is not a dry legal text book.

It answers real questions writers and editors and book coaches ask, all the time.

It uncovers insights into your legal position in the UK, whether you are:

^ A writer publishing a book

^ A writer hiring professional editorial support to finish your book

^ An editor, or a book coach, who works with writers on their books.

Law for Writers and Editors is written by me – I am an English lawyer who is also a writer, a book coach and an editor.
I live and breathe the business world of writing books.
I have practiced law for nearly four decades and grown interested in bringing together in one place much of the law that writers, editors and book coaches need to know.
There are great books you can get on the law of copyright in the UK, such as Gillian Davies and Ian Bloom’s Copyright Law for Writers, Editors and Publishers, and Thom & Porter’s Online and Social Media Law.
But I have never found one book that brings together all the legal issues writers, coaches and editors encounter.
Once you start thinking about it, the legal issues go way beyond glancing over publishing or agent contracts or worrying about copyright issues (though they are important enough to know about).

'Law for Writers & Editors'  is written for:

🪶    Editors and Book Coaches working in the UK who want to understand the legal framework they are operating in.
🪶    Writers of books – whether they self-publish and market their own books, or whether they seek a contract with a traditional publisher in the UK.
🪶    Writers who wish to hire a UK-based coach, editor, or other writing-related freelance professional.
Law for Writers & Editors is sensible and practical.
In natural language, it asks dozens of questions that arise in day-to-day writing and business practice.

It asks questions like these:

  • How long do I need to keep records for?

  • I’m editing my client’s diaries for publication. What defamation risk is she running?

  • Do I really need a written contract with my coaching client?

  • Might my relatives sue me for defamation in my memoir?

  • I have been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Should I?

  • How do I appoint a Literary Executor? (What do they even do?)

  • I want to publish my late mum’s memoir. Who has copyright?

  • Are there legal issues in using Chat GPT in my marketing?

Law for Writers & Editors  is clearly laid out.
It is easy to navigate with clear, topical chapter headings and a thorough index that allows you to pinpoint exactly the advice you need at the moment you need it.

Warning!

This book is useless in comparison to a real lawyer.

As I say in the book:

“Starting with a disclaimer is the friendly and helpful way my profession usually introduces itself to the world at large, and for good reason: personalised legal (and financial, and tax) advice is expensive because it is highly specialised and context-dependent. A book cannot fulfil that function.”

So, I have to disclaim all and any pretence that this book could ever be a substitute for proper, one-to-one legal advice that you can rely on.
Lawyers, eh? They’re all the same.