I started my career as a literary agent/attorney, went on to become Senior Vice President and General Counsel of a major trade publisher for 20 years, and am now in private practice specializing in representing small- to mid-sized publishers. In other words, I have been on both sides of the negotiating table and have reviewed …

Question: One of our editors is working with an author on her first novel. The antagonist of the novel is based on an acquaintance of the author’s; this acquaintance is a man who went on to become successful in his profession despite the author’s belief that he was rather a villain. I know that people …