Non fiction or short story collection?

scfirenice · Jul 28, 2005

I have an outline for a collection of true stories titled, Love's Labor, Love's labor Lost. The stories are all labor and delivery related and all true. (I'm an L&D nurse) What I'm wondering is would they be considered non fiction?
Thanks
S

TashaGoddard · Jul 29, 2005

Yes, if they are true stories, they are non-fiction.

scfirenice · Jul 29, 2005

I guess I was asleep when I wrote that I think I was trying to ask how would you market them to editors/agents? Some agents do not look at short story collections but to me, they aren't really short stories. I'm not sure I'm getting this out right.
S

Lauri B · Jul 29, 2005

scfirenice said:
I guess I was asleep when I wrote that I think I was trying to ask how would you market them to editors/agents? Some agents do not look at short story collections but to me, they aren't really short stories. I'm not sure I'm getting this out right.
S

This isn't a short-story collection. If the stories happened and you were somehow a part of them, then it's a memoir. If you're not in the stories, it's simply nonfiction.

scfirenice · Jul 29, 2005

I'm not sure it's a memoir, the only part I play in these stories is that I was the nurse for all. They are meant to be inspiration stories, ie a 24 week infant that survives or one that doesn't and the parents have to deal with the loss.
S

TashaGoddard · Jul 30, 2005

I think that before you start marketing it, you need to make sure you have permission from the people in question to tell their stories. You might also need to check your employment contract for any confidentiality clauses. I'm not sure of the legalities of it, but I think there is definitely potential for legal problems.

Have you considered fictionalising the stories and submitting them on an individual short story basis to magazines? And when I say 'fictionalising' I mean 'really fictionalising' - i.e. not just changing the names. I think there is a considerable market for inspirational short fiction (at least most of the short story magazines on the shelves in this country consist mostly of that kind of fiction).

Good luck!

RainBrain · Jul 30, 2005

TashaGoddard said:
I think that before you start marketing it, you need to make sure you have permission from the people in question to tell their stories. You might also need to check your employment contract for any confidentiality clauses. I'm not sure of the legalities of it, but I think there is definitely potential for legal problems.

Have you considered fictionalising the stories and submitting them on an individual short story basis to magazines? And when I say 'fictionalising' I mean 'really fictionalising' - i.e. not just changing the names. I think there is a considerable market for inspirational short fiction (at least most of the short story magazines on the shelves in this country consist mostly of that kind of fiction).

Good luck!

she really doesn't have to go overboard with it. she can just use fictionalized names based on the real life stories she was going to tell anyway. no one will know anything.

if the story happened to James Boyd and she tells the same story but uses John Doe's name instead of James, that erases any chances for silly legal problems.

TashaGoddard · Jul 30, 2005

RainBrain said:
she really doesn't have to go overboard with it. she can just use fictionalized names based on the real life stories she was going to tell anyway. no one will know anything.

if the story happened to James Boyd and she tells the same story but uses John Doe's name instead of James, that erases any chances for silly legal problems.

I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Especially if she has signed a confidentiality clause. Perhaps one of our resident legal eagles will step in and clarify? Even if it is legal, I think is morally suspect. Telling someone's personal (and potentially harrowing) story without their express permission seems wrong to me. Although I suppose journalists do it all the time. Maybe I'm just being too squeamish!

RainBrain · Jul 30, 2005

TashaGoddard said:
I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Especially if she has signed a confidentiality clause. Perhaps one of our resident legal eagles will step in and clarify? Even if it is legal, I think is morally suspect. Telling someone's personal (and potentially harrowing) story without their express permission seems wrong to me. Although I suppose journalists do it all the time. Maybe I'm just being too squeamish!

its only personal if you use that person's name and exact location as in state and city.

the way i see it, a good writer should know how to masquerade other people's ideas for his without raising any eyebrows.

scfirenice · Jul 31, 2005

The names have all been changed, excpet for one, and I have her written consent. We do sign a confidentiality clause, but hospital Lawyers assure me that my stories are not breaching that clause. As you said, no names, dates, locations are given.
Thanks to both of you though and if any legal eagles have more thouhgts, please post!

RainBrain · Jul 31, 2005

scfirenice said:
The names have all been changed, excpet for one, and I have her written consent. We do sign a confidentiality clause, but hospital Lawyers assure me that my stories are not breaching that clause. As you said, no names, dates, locations are given.
Thanks to both of you though and if any legal eagles have more thouhgts, please post!

you can give names but just not the real names. if it happened in manhattan, new york, make up your own story about it happening somewhere in pasadena, california.

scfirenice · Jul 31, 2005

Yeah, that's pretty much how I was planning it. They are going to take place in an inner city high risk facility...period. I hadn't planned on naming a specific locale.

Non fiction or short story collection?

scfirenice

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