A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: What Happens When Authors Die?
It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is what happens when an author dies. I just returned from my best friend's funeral. I know that dying is a reality. (Lost my husband last year, two grandchildren the previous two years; definitely, a sad reality.) Really, though, what happens when an author dies from the legal and technical points of view? Well, there are a number of issues that have to be managed. Some things are automatic; others are required by law; yet others depend upon surviving partnerships of various sorts (including marriage, children, and the like). We have had several authors die, alas, and we always post an " in mem