QLD Writing a Book - Ways to Prevent Defamation?

[Matthew Sargent]

Hi there,

I have been at the wrong end of the law, and the story is really pretty ridiculous. Unfortunately I feel that it's part of a systematic flaw in the way the Australian legal system is set up, and executed upon.

If I were to write a tell all book, how do I know what I can and can't say?

I would say I have direct evidence for about 50% of the story, to avoid defamation, but the other 50% is rather integral to the situation and includes quoting a police officer giving "advice", which was not accurate, to which they claim "no memory of", currently.

What ways can I approach this?

I'm 100% sick of s**t being swept under the rug, and while I don't know if I want to press charges for the events that happened to me, and with me, I know that letting it stay "buried" is against my morals.

 

[Clancy]

Make it an autobiography. And just be careful the way you describe controversial events, make it clear you are not describing something as fact, but how it looked from your perceptive and how it affected you... Have a look at how other people worded autobiographies containing controversial material (who did not get sued) and learn from that.

 

[Tim W]

If I were to write a tell all book, how do I know what I can and can't say?

You do what pro-writers and pro-publishers routinely do.
You send the manuscript for advice from a solicitor and barrister who work in the field of defamation.
This will cost you several thousand dollars.
Which is about one tenth of what it will cost you if you were to be successfully sued.