What should published authors do to prepare for their possible incapacitation or death? Consider these things unique to writers and their literary legacy.

Authors leave behind both a written and a human legacy. I’ve touched on the human side in my recent article, Mourning a Passing.  Here we will address some unique aspects of your written legacy. Taking certain measures will ensure that your wishes are carried out upon your incapacitation or death, and it will make the job of administering your wishes much easier for the person who must do it.

Your Property

First off, understand that each of your written works, whether articles or full-length books, is property, just like a piece of real estate, a car, or even a chair. Like real estate, you should consider what you’d like to have done with your work should you become seriously ill–or worse, die.

First Things First

Your executor or other person legally responsible for your affairs will need a list of people to contact in your behalf. Besides the practical business aspects, publishing professionals will want to send condolences to your loved ones in the event of your death.

You can make this process timely and easier if you write down the necessary information. It should be kept readily available so that it can be acted upon quickly, if necessary. For this reason, copies should be maintained outside of your safety deposit box.

Who Should Be Notified

If you are a book author and you are agented, you should leave written instructions to have your loved ones or your legal representative immediately inform your literary agent of your incapacity or death. Your written instructions should include the agent’s contact information and it should be stored with your living will (if any), your power of attorney (if any) and other such documents.

The agent will then notify the appropriate people at your publishing houses.

If you do not have an agent, then you should create a list of your current editors and their contact information so that your representative can notify them.

Certain relationships are close enough that the agent or editor should receive a phone call. If it’s a short-term relationship that is strictly about business, say to an articles editor to whom you’ve currently marketed your work, an email notification might be appropriate.  But only you, the writer, can determine this appropriateness—please don’t make others have to decide what to do.

Copyright 2007 by Barbara Doyen. All rights reserved.

See also:

Essential Things Every Author Should Do Right Now, Before Becoming Ill or Dying

Mourning a Passing

Your Will, Letter of Instruction, and Obituary or Author Bio

Important documents for authors to have prepared prior to your death.

Your literary work, whether published or not, is property, the same as real estate. If you’ve never been published before, your literary properties may or may not have any value. If you are an author of note, your published books might continue to bring in a good income for years to come, and your unpublished works might get published posthumously.

You should decide what you wish to happen to your writing in the event of your death.

Your Will

Your representative will be handling your publishing business affairs and passing on the rights to your literary property to your designated heirs. For this to happen, you should have a will in place.  Your heirs can receive unspecified literary works (which is easiest because you don’t have to update your will frequently) or you can name specific titles to go to specific people.

Note: If you have a corporation for your writing business, you will need to follow your attorney’s advice about how to list heirs to your literary properties. It is beyond the scope of this article series.

Your Letter of Instruction

This is a document separate from your will, but it should be referenced in your will. It further details personal and business things you wish to have done. By keeping it separate, you can change the specifics whenever you choose.

An easy way to do this might be to have a Word file on your computer labeled Current Letter of Instruction in the Event of My Demise. You should also keep a printed copy or several copies that you’ve signed, dated and placed where they will be quickly found, if needed.

Included in your Letter of Instruction might be the names of the publishing professionals who should be contacted immediately in the event of your death. It might also specify which heir gets the future royalties from which books, so that you don’t need to include these details in your will. (Be sure to check with your attorney for current advice about these things.)

Note: Decide what you want done about your manuscripts, notes and research.  Include this information either in your Letter of Instruction or else in your will. Authors with a following might consider donating these items to a college or university.

Your Author Biography, Autobiography or Obituary

You should be maintaining an up-to-date author biography anyway, but in the event of your death, it will become very helpful to your loved ones as they prepare your obituary.

If you become a noted writer, the media will want your Author Biography (written in third person) or Autobiography (written in first person), too. Your representative or next of kin can easily provide your current prepared document to anyone who asks for it.

Or, perhaps you’d prefer to write up your own obituary? After all, you are an author and it might be meaningful to others if you felt like doing this personally.

Either way, Author Bio/Autobio or self-written obituary, have this information readily available outside of your will.

Copyright 2007 by Barbara Doyen. All rights reserved.

See also:

What Every Author Should Do Right Now, Before Illness or Death

March 11, 2007

Recently, two of our author-clients died due to illness.

Both were fine writers whose careers were cut off much too quickly. We had anticipated a bright future with many more book projects from each.

Beyond that, working together leads to a special kind of closeness between writers and those who champion and support their work. We are mourning the loss not only of fine talent, but the memorable personalities behind that talent.

Authors might be surprised to know that people in busy publishing houses feel this loss, too. When I shared the sad news with a senior publishing house official, someone who had never met my author or directly interacted with her, he replied, “I guess when you have 2000 authors this sort of thing happens, but it sure is a slap to the face.”

An author’s legacy includes not only the words themselves, but also how they impacted others.

Not only the readers who buy and enjoy his or her printed words, but the full range of people who were involved in the whole process from bringing those words into publication, promoting and reviewing them, to selling them, and ultimately to those who acquire the finished product and post comments at places like amazon.com or discuss them in book clubs.

It’s quite a legacy.

The part I contributed to this process for these authors makes me feel good.

Copyright 2007 by Barbara Doyen. All rights reserved.

Related:

Authors, Prepare for the Unthinkable: Your Death

Your Will, Letter of Instruction, and Obituary or Author Bio

Your Literary Business Essentials