Jacqui Lipton

Jacqui Lipton is the founder of Raven Quill Literary Agency as well as a consultant on business and legal issues for creative artists. She also teaches law and legal writing at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as several online venues. She writes regular columns on legal and business issues for authors for the SCBWI, Luna Station Quarterly, the Authors Alliance, and Savvy Authors. Her book "Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers" is forthcoming from University of California Press in the fall of 2020. She is repped by Jane Dystel at DGBLM.

Stories

Cover Photo: This photograph has a pale blue background. A white hand hold a white envelope, extending from the left side of the photo into the center

Decoding Rejections from Literary Agents

Agents get rejected by editors, writers get rejected by agents, and we’re all trying to figure out “when they said [x], what did they really mean?”

Sep 15, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk

Cover Photo: A smiling man with reddish hair sits in a coffee shop with a laptop open in front of him. The picture looks warm and friendly.

Managing Your Own Author Brand Online

This article discusses legal issues you may encounter while building up your author brand and creating an author website.

Jul 23, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk

Cover Photo: This photograph shows a green typewriter sitting on a white table. The paper scrolling out of the typewriter reads "copyright claim"

Avoiding Copyright Infringement

Make sure you won’t get in trouble for using others’ work in your writing.

Jun 24, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk

Cover Photo: This photograph shows someone wearing a gray sweater standing in front of a gray wall. With one hand, they are holding a blank white book open directly in front of their face.

The Nuts & Bolts of Self-Publishing

This article outlines the main contractual differences between traditional and self-publishing.

May 21, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk

Cover Photo: This photograph of the Hollywood sign is taken far down the hill and we're peering through dry grasses up at the brown hillside and bright blue sky

Writing About Real People

If you’re writing about real people and plan to publish your work, here are some things to keep in mind to stay out of legal trouble.

Apr 22, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk

Cover Photo: This photograph shows a black man signing contracts on a table. He is wearing business casual clothes and a fancy leather bag sits on the table next to him.

The Nuts & Bolts of Contracting with an Agent

Agency contracts are not the same as publishing contracts and it’s important not to confuse the two.

Mar 18, 2020

Don’t Write Alone | Shop Talk