Martin Luther King and Defamation on the Web: You Can't Defame the Dead

Image via WikipediaI learned something interesting and heart-breaking about defamation. I learned that under the law, you cannot defame the dead. In other words, once someone is dead you can legally say anything you want about them, even print falsehoods, and be protected from legal ramifications.

The reason this is relevant is because today is the day that many across the USA honor the memory of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. A white supremacy group bought the domain mlk.org, and has posted historically inaccurate and hateful speech about the man. Though the family of Dr. King may have a lawsuit due to 'squatters rights', they likely do not when it comes to the defamation of Dr. King.

This would also explain why so many come out with 'tell-all' books once someone has passed away. They can print any ugly, vile, malicious thing they want about the person in question.

How does this apply to you? If you have printed something factual but not pretty about someone who is deceased, you likely have legal protection. It also means that when gathering research about those who are deceased you should use extreme care in which sources you utilize. Those published after the death of the individual may not be accurate.

Source:
Fox News Video - Dethroning the King


If the video does not work, please try this link.

Freelance Writing and Taxes

Image via WikipediaThis post will become another ongoing resource for information with a link in the sidebar.

As of the date of this posting, the New Year (2009) is here and it is time to carry on the act of giving to others . . . by way of taxes to the government!

Yes, as a freelance writer you are considered ‘employed’ and responsible to pay not only income taxes (in the U.S.), but other items such as Self-Employment taxes may apply as well! Now is the time to begin collecting and compiling all of your income and expense information for the prior year (2008).

To keep yourself out of trouble with the government and help you know what you need when filing there are three things I keep in mind:

1-If you can’t prove it, don’t claim it! If you are audited you will be asked to provide PROOF of everything. If you don’t have proof, spare yourself trouble and don’t claim it. Make sure to get proof for it the next time. Make it a habit to document and get itemized receipts for everything related to your work as a freelance writer. Then be sure to file it in a safe place.

2-When filing taxes yourself, read all the b-o-r-i-n-g extra information that applies to what you can and cannot claim and write off. You may miss claiming something you can or claim something you cannot if you do not use extra care. Remember, the tax code changes EVERY year. What applied last year may not apply this year, or may have changed significantly

3-If someone else prepares your taxes and makes a mistake, you are STILL LIABLE for them! Be sure you use a reputable company/tax professional and that you look over your paperwork before you sign it. If they mess up, you will be liable for the taxes, interest, and penalties. (NOTE: in some cases the IRS will waive fees, and separate penalties may be lodged by the IRS against the preparer).
See:
Paid Preparer Mistakes – Who is Liable
http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/tax-preparer-made-mistake-in-2006-taxes-who-is-lia-13228.html
Paid Preparer Penalties
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=179707,00.html

In the United States, the deadline for filing and payment is April 15th. Between January 1 and April 15, many resources of free and low-cost help will be popping up and advertised. As I see them (the legit ones), I will add the information to this blog.

In the meantime, here are some links to get you started:

United States Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Homepage
http://www.irs.gov/

Recovery Rebate Credit – Important Information: You May Qualify
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=186065,00.html?portlet=6

Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center – IRS
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/selfemployed/index.html

IRS – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/index.html

Highlights of Recent Tax Changes (Publications listing)
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=174600,00.html

IMPORTANT:
Please note that with the economic situation of 2008, there has been talk of giving citizens of the U.S. a tax holiday for their 2008 taxes. As the year proceeds, more information will be released and updated about that by the government, and I will continue to post updates here for you. If you become aware of any updates or relevant information not listed here, or any corrections that need to be made, please email me with them and your source(s) of information for verification. Thank you!

Playing the Client Shuffle – Happy New Year!

Image via WikipediaWhile many view New Year’s as a time to make resolutions and make changes, in the life of a freelance writer, every month can be a time of making changes. Projects end, clients come and go, pay rates abruptly change, and work opportunities are like hot dates – they come in cycles of feast and famine. It can be difficult to formulate a concrete work plan when so much can be up in the air – especially considering the U.S. economy as of late.

Something I do while playing the client shuffle is reassess where I am at in my writing career and what I want to accomplish. I want to work fewer hours for more pay. For me, that plan has been in progress for the past year and while it has not progressed as quickly as I would have liked, it has indeed progressed.

Another aspect of my plan is to only take the work I want and enjoy. No more tedium and endless articles on b-o-r-i-n-g topics that numb my brain while my eyes glaze over and I begin to drool. (Seriously – it is not pretty!)

I have had some ‘lucky breaks’ along the way, but I have also worked hard to increase my skills, pad my resume, and learn from the masters. I no longer feel like I need to take low paying gigs or tedious work in order to pay the bills. I have my financial house in order and I have worked my way up to much better pay than what I got when I started. I still have plenty of room for growth and improvement, but I have the time and the drive to get there.

When it comes to your freelance plan for the new year, what do you hope to accomplish?

What Happens to Your Writing Work When You Die?

Image via Wikipedia

A writer I adore posed the question in a forum, and the answer is important to know.

When it comes to copyrights, if you own the rights to your work, you own them for the duration of your life plus 70 years if it was created after January 1, 1978. You may will those rights to your heirs.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, "For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author’s identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation,whichever is shorter."

When you assign the right to your work to someone else – when they buy, outright, the rights to your work, in perpetuity, they keep those rights forever. All other cases of purchase or transfer of rights may vary, so be sure to have an attorney go over the legalese with you as you draft your will.

It is a little trickier when it comes to residuals, so on those it is best to consult with those who are paying the residuals and a lawyer. In some cases, however, even if someone else owns the rights to your work, if they are paying you some type of residual income for that, you may be entitled by law to will those residuals to your heirs, in perpetuity.

It is a good idea to create printed information for your heirs in regards to the work you own the rights to and the work you are paid residuals on even though you do not own the rights to it.

Information in regards to any other revenue programs, affiliate links, and the like will also need to be spelled out in writing to your heirs.

Remember to give as much information as you can so that your heirs can easily locate and access your work and your willed residuals – including magazine & book names, web site addresses, addresses, company names, writing work titles, log-in information, and account numbers.

You do not need to register your work with the copyright office, but it helps if you do. When you do so, you do not have to register each one separately. There is a fee involved, and you are allowed to register groupings of your work all at the same time so you only pay once for that entire group of work.

For more information, please refer to the U.S. Copyright Office or the office of the entity in your country that handles such matters.

U.K. English vs. American English

Sometimes in research and in editing, you may come across spellings you are not familiar with of relatively common words. Before you use ‘Spellcheck’ to correct them, you need to consider if they are correct in U.K. or American English, and if it is more appropriate to leave the spelling as is rather than to alter it.

A few examples of such words are as follows:

U.K. English*****American English
colour*************color
favour*************favor
theatre************theater
shoppe************shop (a store, not the activity)
enquire/inquire****inquire

If you are directly quoting a source, it is proper to use the spelling used in that source. If the word is part of a proper name, double-check it to be sure the correct spelling is used in your writing. Sometimes in America, businesses choose U.K. spellings. ‘theatre’ and ‘shoppe’ are two examples of words with which this occurs most commonly.

Spelling is not the only way in which U.K. English and American English differ. Many common items have very different names in each country. A few examples are as follows:

U.K. English*****American English
bonnet*************hood
boot***************trunk
chips**************french fries
biscuits***********cookies
braces*************suspenders
suspenders*********garters
crisps*************potato chips

Generally, companies you write for will prefer one version of English to another. If you are unsure, ask.

One last thing to consider is that some words are pronounced differently in the U.K. and the U.S.A. When involved in a verbal interview, this may be confusing unless you are familiar with this fact. The words are spelled the same in both countries – they are just pronounced differently.

A few common examples are the words laboratory, schedule and renaissance.

For more information on U.K. English vs. American English, please refer to the following sources:

Enquire vs Inquire at Bartleby.com

American vs British English from University of Tampere

Additional Resources from Aussieslang.com